Study suggests possible role for BK virus in prostate cancer

Chances are excellent that your urinary tract is home to a pathogenic organism called the human BK virus. Most of the time, the virus lurks quietly in the kidneys without causing problems. But in people with a depressed immune system — especially those who have just received a kidney transplant — the virus can cause serious kidney and bladder disease. Now, new research by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical Sc

Travelers suffering from ’Montezuma’s revenge’ may not necessarily have to avoid tasty cuisine

Travelers suffering from “Montezuma’s revenge” may not necessarily have to avoid tasty cuisine. In a comparison of two groups of patients receiving antibiotics to treat travelers’ diarrhea, those who restricted their diet to broth and bland foods did not recover any faster than those who ate anything they wanted, according to an article in the August 1 issue of Clin

Nor can it be recommended for those with pleural tuberculosis who are not co-infected with HIV

Prednisolone, a glucocorticoid that is sometimes added to anti-tuberculosis drug regimens, should not be used to treat patients with pleural tuberculosis and HIV infection, nor can it be recommended for those with pleural tuberculosis who are not co-infected with HIV, according to a study in the August 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

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Encouraging results of Phase II conformal radiation trial for ependymoma could resolve the dilemma on whether to withhold therapeutic radiation from children to preserve their cognitive development

A radiation therapy technique that kills brain tumors in children while sparing normal tissue allows young patients to enjoy normal development of memory, reasoning, problem-solving and other cognitive functions, according to investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The res

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, crippling age-related disease characterized by the gradual destruction of cartilage cushioning the joints. To assess cartilage erosion, doctors routinely rely on measurement of the joint space width using radiographs. To be visible on an X-ray film, however, significant cartilage degradation must have already occurred. By the time radiographs reveal destruction, the damage to the joint is usually irreversible. Due to this method’s relatively insensitive nature, it al

Neurosurgeons at Rush University Medical Center are the first in Chicago to implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy. The neurostimulator may be able to suppress seizures in patients with epilepsy before any symptoms appear, much like the commonly implanted heart pacemakers which stop heart arrhythmias before any symptoms occur.

Dr. Richard W. Byrne, neurosurgeon at Rush and member of the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuro

A new study using positron emission tomography (PET) determined PET is a more accurate way to diagnose recurrent melanoma than the present, standard procedures.

Published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, the research conducted by David Fuster, MD, and his team at the University of Pennsylvania (PENN), Division of Nuclear Medicine, found that, by using PET as a routine clinical tool in diagnosing recurrent melanoma, significant changes in patient care can, an

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. To further narrow the gap between diagnosis and effective therapy, physicians at the University of Pennsylvania Health System now offer several promising approaches to brain tumor treatment, including novel imaging for oncologic neurosurgery and refined genetic testing for tumors to better target treatment.

Through enhanced magnetic resonanc

Scientists have developed an experimental vaccine against ricin, a potential biological threat agent, which fully protected mice from aerosol challenge with lethal doses of the toxin. The study was performed at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

Ricin is a toxin derived from the castor plant, which is grown throughout the world for commercial purposes. Approximately one million pounds of castor beans are used each year in the process of man

New method allows scientists to probe fundamental questions of surface science

A team of researchers including University of California, Riverside Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Ludwig Bartels has developed a technique to take extremely fast snapshots of molecular and atomic movement. The development is considered a significant advance in surface science, the study of chemical reactions taking place on the surface of solids.
The results are reported in the current issue of t

Researchers from Rockefeller University are enlisting proteins produced by viruses in a novel strategy that may someday help prevent bacterial infections in hospitals and nursing homes.

Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophage, worm their way into bacterial cells, copy themselves and then, as an exit strategy, produce enzymes that quickly destroy the bacterial cell wall, killing the bacteria and releasing the viral offspring.

“These are highly evolved enzymes that work effic

New, clear-leaded safety glasses allow eye cancer patients to see during week-long sessions of radiation therapy at home, without sacrificing safety, according to a study by Paul T. Finger, MD, director of Ocular Tumor Services at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, that was published in the June, 2004 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

The best treatment today for tumors that grow inside the eye, called intraocular tumors, is plaque therapy, in which a small bowl-shape

Expert-witness physicians who specialize in interpreting chest x-rays for plaintiffs in lawsuits claiming asbestos-related injury greatly overstate their findings, compared with independent readers interpreting the same films without knowing their source, reports the August issue of Academic Radiology, published by Elsevier on behalf of the Association of University Radiologists.

In a study of 492 chest x-rays obtained by plaintiffs’ lawyers and entered as evidence in lawsuits ag

For patients who suffer severe heart damage during a heart attack and those with weak hearts who must undergo high-risk procedures, a new ventricular assist device that can be inserted without open-chest surgery assumes 85 percent of the heart’s pumping function for several hours or more than a week. The potentially lifesaving device benefits patients who arrive in the emergency room after experiencing damaging heart attacks, as well as those whose hearts are too frail to undergo major procedur

Researchers at the University of York are beginning a major study into the ethical and personal issues raised by a potential revolution in healthcare, which could incorporate individualised medical care – pharmacogenetics – into clinical practice.

The use of genetic testing as a routine part of medical treatment opens exciting horizons, but brings with it the responsibility to understand the concerns individuals may have about DNA sampling, and about wider issues such as the possi

Blocking growth factor stops rejection process

For the first time scientists have found that a growth factor called vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3), known to cause the growth of lymphatic vessels in the body, controls how immune cells traffic (move) within the eye and also stimulates the immune system to reject corneal transplants–the most common type of transplantation performed. The researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Massachusetts E