Finding that an abnormally active Bcl10 gene drives B cells to become cancerous suggests blocking the gene would be an effective treatment for MALT lymphoma
A gene that is crucial to the development and function of an entire family of immune cells is also key to understanding why one member of that family can become cancerous. Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Blood Research Institute at the Blood Center of Southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee, reported
September 1 is World Deafness Day
Deafness is a real and often underestimated health problem in Europe: 6% of the European population suffer of hearing impairment. It is now known that over 50% of all hearing impairments is caused by genetic factor. Over the last 7 years, the European Commission has channelled more than €10 million into research on different aspects of deafness. One particular project receiving support from the European Commission identified several genes which when
A new device being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton and Great Ormond Street Hospital is designed to optimise the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy techniques on babies and children suffering from breathing difficulties.
Rachael Gregson, a Research Fellow at the University’s School of Medicine and Great Ormond Street Hospital is leading the research and has developed an innovative sensing mat to measure chest physiotherapy.
Rachael says that although ches
Three Johns Hopkins researchers propose, for the first time, that HIV and other retroviruses can use a Trojan horse style of infection, taking advantage of a cloak of human proteins to sneak into cells.
The hypothesis explains 20 years of perplexing observations and suggests new ways to reduce HIV transmission and treat HIV infection, but it also implies that existing approaches to developing vaccines against HIV won’t work. A description of the hypothesis and its supporting evidence a
The Internet and the mail proved to be good aids in tracing chlamydia among young men. The results of an acclaimed project at Umeå University in Sweden are now being published in the September issue of the journal Eurosurveillance. With this method, 39 percent (396 of 1,016 interviewees), which is the highest published participation rate ever in a chlamydia screening of young men.
The project, being run by the researching general practitioner Daniel Novak together with his thesis director Ro
The majority of epilepsy patients who are seizure-free for the first year after surgery will have a favorable long-term outcome, according to a study in the August 26 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study examined 175 patients with intractable epilepsy (when the condition is not relieved by medication) who had surgery that removed a small portion of the brain identified as a region involved in seizure generation, and who were seizure-free
In keeping with a national trend, surgeons at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital say a new, less invasive approach to removing a kidney from a living donor is prompting more people to give one of their kidneys to someone in need of a transplant.
Over the past four years, the number of people donating a kidney at the hospital has doubled, from 14 in 1999 to 28 in 2002.
This is consistent with increases seen at other kidney transplant centers since the introduction several years ago
Radiologists are experimenting with contrast digital mammography to better diagnose cancer in dense breasts, according to a study appearing in the September issue of the journal Radiology.
“This advanced digital application is increasing the potential of mammography,” said the study’s lead author, Roberta A. Jong, M.D. “Contrast digital mammography makes cancers stand out against dense breast tissue that previously hid tumors with conventional film mammography,” said Dr. Jong, assistan
A long-standing medical discussion about how transplanted organs survive in a new body has received provocative new evidence from Mayo Clinic research. It shows a donated kidney survives in a new body by turning on a protective mechanism to shield it from the hostile environment of the patient’s immune system. The results are published in this month’s American Journal of Transplantation.
Says Mark Stegall, M.D., head of the transplant team that studied kidney genes’ response
Multifocal intraocular lenses improve near vision without compromising distance vision. However, patients with these intraocular lenses may experience reduced contrast sensitivity and they may see haloes around lights. These are the conclusions of a study appearing in the September issue of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Eye M.D. Association.
Monofocal lenses are the current standard of treatment, but usually require spectacles for near vis
Advancement To Revolutionize Oral Drug Delivery Zengen, Inc. announced today that its revolutionary drug delivery technology will be used in the new Chloraseptic® Relief Strips(tm), the only medicated oral strip for the treatment of sore throat. Zengen’s proprietary technology is the first to use drug active ingredients in an oral strip. “We are excited to be part of the new generation of Chloraseptic products,” said R. Steven Davidson, chief executive officer of Zengen.
Cancer patients could be benefiting more than they realise from diagnostic scans. Research published today in Breast Cancer Research suggests that a radioactive molecule widely used to evaluate advanced tumours can kill cancer cells.
Dr Ekaterina Dadachova and her team from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, USA, examined how radioactive glucose affects breast tumours in mice. They found that, injected at certain doses, the radiation from the glucose killed cance
Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have identified a gene called RFX4 that is responsible for the birth defect hydrocephalus in mice. Loss of a single copy of this gene in mice leads to a failure of drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain cavity, which causes the skull to swell.
About one child in 2,000 worldwide is afflicted by hydrocephalus. Identification of the mouse gene provides a means for researchers to study the possible genetic origins of
Weizmann Institute finding may lead to new treatments for psychological trauma
Is it possible to intentionally forget specific memories, without affecting other memories? Many would undoubtedly be happy to learn that unpleasant memories might be erased. This ability could be especially significant when it comes to the kind of traumatic memories that are debilitating to those experiencing them. It may well be that in the future, we will be able to wipe out, or at least dim, certain typ
Artemisinins are one of the only treatments for drug resistant forms of the malaria parasite. Drug resistant parasites are found in most parts of the world, and kill millions of children every year. Even though artemisinins have been used for decades to treat patients with malaria, no one knew how they worked. Now scientists at St George’s Medical School have discovered how artemisinins attack the malaria parasite. After years of clinical and laboratory based research, Professor Sanjeev Krishna and
Patients stay home, take a pill instead of IV chemotherapy
A doctor at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center has developed a new brain cancer treatment that, in a pilot study, shows promise at keeping more patients alive longer than the best current standard treatments for the disease. Preliminary findings were presented recently at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, and now the study is continuing for adults and will be expanded to include children natio
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