Research by US scientists has produced a novel finding about the effect on cancer of an important DNA repair gene and, as a result, identified the first clinically useful independent prognostic marker for early stage resected patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Their results should help doctors in the future to determine which of their patients with non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)[1] who have undergone surgery with curative intent are likeliest to suffer from recurrences or relapse
A new imaging method successfully identifies miniscule, young blood vessels that form during the development of plaques, according to a study in rabbits led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. These plaques are akin to atherosclerosis in humans, the primary cause of heart attack and stroke.
“We’ve developed a way to take non-invasive images of very early plaques, before they’re detectable by any other means,” says Samuel A. Wickline, M.D., professor of medici
Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have found that selective COX-2 inhibitors – a class of medications widely prescribed for painful inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis – interfere with the healing process after a bone fracture or cementless joint implant surgery.Their findings, published in the November issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, suggest that patients who regularly take COX-2 inhibitors should switch to a different medication, suc
A group of Italian investigators led by Drs Francesco Fallo (Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padova) and Dr Nicoletta Sonino (Department of Mental Health, Padova) explores a neglected issue: the relationship between daytime stress and the physiological lowering of blood pressure which should occur during sleep (dipping).
Scarce data are available on the influence of psychological aspects on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure patterns either in normotensive or hyper
’Surprisingly effective’ says French research team
A new drug that targets tumour blood vessels has produced a surprisingly effective response in its first patient study – shrinking the tumours in a number of patients treated so far, according to researchers carrying out the study at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France.
The drug, SU011248[1], which is given in capsule form, is a signal transduction inhibitor designed to act against several abnormally b
Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen with a diverse battery of virulence factors, each of which can act alone or in concert in the development of persistent and sometimes lethal infections such as sepsis, toxic shock syndrome, food poisoning and severe skin diseases.
Staphylococcal infections begin when the organism gains access to host tissues or the adjoining blood supply through breaches in the skin. More than 20% of healthy humans are natural carriers of S. aureus, 10%-20%
Most cancer patients are not killed by their primary tumors but succumb to metastatic disease. The most common human cancers–lung, breast, and prostate–frequently spread to bone, causing suffering and morbidity through pain, fractures, and nerve compression syndromes.
Tumor cells enter bones through blood and lymphatic vessels. In order to establish bone metastases, they have to influence bone metabolism. Most breast cancers that spread to bone express high levels of parathyroid hormone r
Thousands in southern Asia could be drinking arsenic-contaminated water from wells that are falsely labeled safe, while precious good water sits untapped in wells that are wrongly marked unsafe — a dire disparity for countries where water can be more valuable than gold.
A new study of wells in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, suggests the arsenic test kits used by field workers are frequently inaccurate, producing scores of incorrectly labeled wells. The findings were published this month
A paper published in the December, 2002 issue of Infection and Immunity by a research team at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center in New Orleans provides clear evidence that the lethal toxins of such infectious bacteria as Pseudomonas and anthrax can be blocked by a drug developed at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. The compound, called D6R (hexa-D-arginine), is a potent, stable, small molecule inhibitor of furin.
Bacteria produce a number of toxins whic
American Heart Association meeting report
Researchers safely transplanted 16 patients’ skeletal muscle cells into their own severely damaged hearts in the first human testing in the United States, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002.
“We have been able to regenerate dead heart muscle, or scar tissue, in the area of heart attack without increasing risk of death,” says lead author Nabil Dib, M.D., director o
American Heart Association meeting report
Preliminary findings of a study in rats suggests that a person’s own cells might one day replace artificial pacemakers, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002.
Studies conducted at Children’s Hospital Boston tested the ability of immature skeletal muscle cells to interconnect with heart cells and spread the electrical impulses that keep the heart beating properly.
American Heart Association meeting report
Researchers have built mechanically sound blood vessels out of tissue from human skin cells, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002. The technique involves tissue engineering, an emerging science that takes cells from the body, manipulates them in the laboratory to create functional tissue, and puts the new tissue back into the patient.
The goal is to produce healthy, fun
From ultraviolet radiation to food carcinogens, our bodies are bombarded with stuff that can make a normal cell go haywire, multiplying out of control and turning cancerous. Thanks to a set of tumor suppressor genes, however, we can defend against this daily onslaught.
Goaded into action, these genes push cells into a kind of molecular menopause, called senescence. The cells remain healthy, but they stop reproducing.
Researchers often assume that we need our tumor suppressor genes
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have successfully transplanted specialized cells that are critical to sperm development in mice, restoring sperm production in once-infertile animals.
The research, reported on the Web site of the journal Biology of Reproduction, may give scientists a better understanding of how Sertoli cells — which surround spermatogenic stem cells — nourish sperm production and the survival of stem cells.
“Spermatogen
Morphochem AG, a leader in novel chemistries for small molecule drug discovery, has announced that one of its leading programmes, inhibitors of blood coagulation Factor Xa, led to the identification of novel, orally available anti-thrombotics in preclinical studies. Details of these preclinical studies will be presented at a meeting of investment analysts and pharmaceutical executives to be held in Basel on 21st November.
Commenting on the Factor Xa programme, Dr Lutz Weber, CEO of Morphochem sa
Aspirin conclusively reduces the risk of a first heart attack by 32%, according to a new report by researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute. The findings were presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
Charles H. Hennekens, MD, co-director of Cardiovascular Research, published the first randomized trial of aspirin in primary prevention. Under his direction, Rachel S. Eidelman, MD, a cardiology fellow, performed a detaile
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