A Mayo Clinic study of more than 41,000 postmenopausal women in Iowa provides new evidence that the most common type of lung cancer in women is more closely linked to smoking cigarettes than previously recognized. The findings of the study will be published in the Dec. 15, 2002 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death in women for more than a decade. In 2000, about 68,000 American women died of lung cancer. That’s compared to
The protein that forms the protective capsid surrounding the West Nile virus genetic material may contribute to the deadly inflammation associated with the virus. West Nile virus, which has rapidly spread across the United States, causes neurological symptoms and encephalitis, which can result in paralysis or death. According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the West Nile virus capsid (WNV-Cp) is a destructive protein that can trigger apoptosis – the automatic self
Novel methods of measuring magnetic fields outside the head give further insights to the functioning of the human brain. In his doctoral thesis “Estimating Neural Currents from Neuromagnetic Measurements”, Kimmo Uutela developed new methods for finding electrical activity of the brain, which enable easier identification of different brain areas. The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers (TEK) and the Engineering Society in Finland (TFiF) honoured Uutela’s work with their joint doctoral thesis awa
Authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provide further evidence that the effect of sunlight on neurotransmitters in the brain plays a significant role in seasonal mood disorders.
The success of phototherapy (ultraviolet light therapy to stimulate brain neurotransmitter activity) and drugs that prevent the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin have suggested that serotonin itself has a role in the development of seasonal depression. However, concentrations
Rensselaer researchers have developed an automated system, called RPI-Trace3D, that can swiftly map capillaries in a live tumor. What used to take days of manually tracing the vessels, now takes two minutes. The diagnostic tool, in use at Harvard Medical School and at Northeastern University, is a boon to oncologists who aim to understand how blood vessels form in tumors.
For the first time, medical scientists can quickly and precisely measure blood vessel properties to quantify the effects
On Thursday 5 December 2002 an ESA-coordinated demonstration in medical telediagnostics was carried out on board the French hospital ship Sirocco.
In a project initiated by ESA in association with the Department of Space Medical Physiology at the University of Tours, the Vision and Robotics Laboratory at Bourges, Sinters Toulouse, and CNES, this was the first real-time demonstration of the use of a teleoperated robotic arm for echographic diagnosis in a remote situation.
The object
Surgeons at University Hospitals of Cleveland have demonstrated that the risk of brain damage associated with the use of the heart lung machine can be significantly reduced by modifying the traditional placement of cannulas (tubing) for returning blood flow to the patient. The findings were presented last month at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions conference in Chicago, Ill.
The neurological problems associated with bypass surgery have been widely reported. As
Four annual mass treatments of single doses of safe and inexpensive drugs found effective
Researchers report in the December 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reaching an important milestone in learning how to halt a major mosquito-borne disease affecting 120 million people around the world. The disease, called lymphatic filariasis and commonly known as elephantiasis, is a leading cause of physical disfigurement, social ostracism, and economic loss throughout Africa, Asia
Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a signaling pathway that is turned on when benign moles turn into early-stage malignant melanoma. The pathway could provide a new target for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the most lethal form of skin cancer. The research was reported in the December issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
A team of Emory scientists led by Jack L. Arbiser, MD, PhD, found that the signaling pathway called mitogen activated p
Heart disease is the most frequent, costly and severe complication of diabetes, affecting more than 70 percent of diabetic patients. There are geographic and ethnic differences in the risk of diabetic heart disease that cannot be fully explained by differences in conventional heart disease risk factors. Using a simple blood test, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have identified a gene that determines which diabetes patients are at greater risk for developing heart disease. U
Research may assist in the development of more effective vaccines and ability to boost immune systems of susceptible patients, such as the elderly
A key discovery about the immune system’s skill to fight off harmful disease-causing germs may lead to the ability to boost the immune systems of the elderly and otherwise susceptible, and offer more effective vaccines for the flu or AIDS, according to a study published in the November 29 issue of Science.
“This research is o
A new first-aid method of treating carbon monoxide poisoning could prevent brain damage in patients by delivering more oxygen to the brain than the standard treatment, according to a study by physicians at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network (UHN).
The study is published in the December issue of the U.S. based and peer-reviewed journal Annals of Emergency Medicine. The researchers, led by Dr. Josh Rucker, a Toronto General Hospital research fellow and resident in the Ane
Hopkins radiologists have found that a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) detects cancer spread better than PET alone. In a study to be presented at the Radiological Society of North America (Abstract #1458, 10:57 AM, Thursday, December 5, Room S502AB), researchers reported that overall, PET-CT improves the ability to distinguish cancerous from normal tissue and locate metastases, where they have spread. The study used a scanner that fuses CT technology, wh
Research community questioning legitimacy of Canadian drug approved for market in Africa
With one million deaths and 300 million new cases of malaria each year, the quest for a successful malaria treatment is urgent. But one new drug, touted by its manufacturer as safe and exceptionally effective, and already approved for sale by five African nations, is provoking suspicion in the malaria research community. At best, some researchers claim, the Canadian drug Malarex has not been ade
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions report that satellite imagery could be used to determine areas at high-risk for exposure to Sin Nombre virus (SNV), a rodent-born disease that causes the often fatal hantaviral pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in humans. According to the researchers, satellite imaging detects the distinct environmental conditions that may serve as a refuge for the disease-carrying deer mice. Higher populations of infected deer mice in
In a groundbreaking study, a North Carolina State University microbiologist has discovered that the bacteria associated with almost all human ulcers – one that is also correlated with the development of certain types of gastric cancer in humans – uses hydrogen as an energy source.
The finding is novel because most bacteria use sugars and other carbohydrates to grow, says Dr. Jonathan Olson, assistant professor of microbiology at NC State. The human pathogen Helicobacter pylori does not.
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