Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center are leading a nationwide clinical trial to determine whether a new genetic test can be used to personalize treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

“By using a molecular diagnostic test to assess whether a breast tumor will respond to chemotherapy, we’re hoping to more precisely identify which patients can be adequately treated with hormonal therapy alone and which patients will truly benefit if chemotherapy is added to the treat

Research could lead to new treatments, diagnostic tests for IPF

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have identified biochemical signals that attract pathogenic cells to damaged lung tissue – one of the first steps in a chain of events leading to a lethal disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive disease that kills 40,000 Americans each year. Exposure to toxic environmental agents like ber

A new study reveals how the production of a potent immune regulator called interferon gamma (IFNg) is controlled in natural killer (NK) cells, immune cells that typically defend the body against cancer and infections.

IFNg, produced by NK cells and other cell types, plays a critical role in killing pathogen-infected cells and in defending against tumor cells. However, overproduction of IFNg is also dangerous to the body and can cause autoimmune diseases. But exactly how the bo

Listening to music can reduce chronic pain by up to 21 per cent and depression by up to 25 per cent, according to a paper in the latest UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

It can also make people feel more in control of their pain and less disabled by their condition.

Researchers carried out a controlled clinical trial with sixty people, dividing them into two music groups and a control group.

They found that people who listened to music for an hour ever

Researchers at the University of Dundee are calling for 100 new volunteers to help them with ground breaking research into improving current health care services for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is fast becoming an epidemic and experts are predicting the problem will continue to get worse as people limit the level of physical activity they do. Since 1999, the number of people with diabetes in Tayside has increased from 9005 to 14,632.

Although regular physical a

Study finds men with enlarged prostate can benefit from Botox injections

When researchers at the Chang Gung University Medical College, Taiwan and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine injected botulinum toxin A, or Botox, into the prostate gland of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition commonly referred to as enlarged prostate, they found that it eased symptoms and improved quality of life. Their results, based on 41 men with the condition, will be pre

Selenium, an essential dietary mineral that can act as an antioxidant when incorporated into proteins, has been shown in many studies to reduce the incidence of cancers — notably lung, colorectal and prostate.

“The problem is, nobody seems to know how the mechanism works, and that’s not trivial,” said Alan Diamond, professor of human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago and principal investigator in an ongoing multidisciplinary study set up at UIC to help a

Developing superior screening options is paramount in the treatment of colon cancer, as it has one of the highest cure rates of all cancers when detected early. Scientists are continuing to refine the practice of colorectal screening, evaluating novel methods aimed at increasing patient comfort while improving outcomes and further decreasing the risk of developing the disease. Research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2006 (DDW) offers updates in colon screening sedation to improve pa

In the first clinical study of its kind in North America, women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were treated using muscle-derived stem cell injections to strengthen deficient sphincter muscles responsible for the condition. Results of the study, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, suggest that the approach is safe, improves patients’ quality of life and may be an effective treatment for SUI. The findin

Findings to be published in the journal Nature

Researchers from the University of Colorado-Denver and Health Sciences Center and Stanford University have discovered a molecular mechanism that explains how cells respond to DNA damage and other acute stresses, and if disrupted can cause cancer. Their findings, which could lead to new diagnostic markers and cancer treatments with fewer side effects, will appear in two reports in the May 21 advanced online version of the journal Natu

Since late 2004, a large outbreak of chikungunya fever in the Indian Ocean has caused a public health crisis and alarmed international experts. A team of scientists led by Sylvain Brisse (of the Pasteur Institute) now reports the first molecular data on the viruses involved in the outbreak in the international open-access journal PLoS Medicine.

The outbreak affects the populations of Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Réunion. It is much larger than any previous out

The world’s smallest life forms could be the answer to one of today’s biggest problems: providing sustainable, renewable energy for the future. Using a variety of natural food sources, bacteria can be used to create electricity, produce alternative fuels like ethanol and even boost the output of existing oil wells, according to research being presented this week at the 106th General Meeting of the (ASM) American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida.

“Microbial fuel cel

Newfound differences in turtle behavior pose a conservation challenge

Studying members of a large population of loggerhead sea turtles that nest on the Cape Verde islands off of West Africa, researchers have found an unexpected dichotomy in turtle behavior: While some turtles leave the nesting grounds to feed on bottom-dwelling sea life in shallow coastal waters, others leave Cape Verde to roam the much deeper open ocean along the African coast and exhibit a distinct feeding strategy.

In a study of the effects of aging on gene expression, researchers have found that variation in gene expression among individuals tends to increase with age. The findings, which impact our understanding of the molecular forces that govern age-related changes, are reported in the May 23rd issue of Current Biology by Mehmet Somel and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Cambridge.

One long-standing observation concerning the physiologic

… the prevention of upper digestive tract cancers

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, suggest that cysteine containing tablets and chewing gum can be a new way for the prevention of upper digestive tract cancers.

It has been estimated that in developed countries up to 80 % of the cancers of mouth, pharynx and oesophagus are caused by smoking and alcohol drinking. According to Finnish researchers these epidemiological findings can at least in part be

Eating the right foods will make all the difference when it comes to footballing success for England during next month’s football World Cup.

Diet is an essential part of sports training today; eating the right foods and drinks at the right time can really make the difference when it comes to (any type of) sports performance.

But how do you know what to eat and what to avoid? Nutrition is a minefield at the best of times, so here are ten top diet tips(1) to help boost t