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Blood test for HPV could help identify cancer patients suitable for lower treatment doses

A blood test for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, may help researchers forecast whether patients with throat cancer linked to the sexually transmitted virus will respond to treatment, according to preliminary findings from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers test new strategy to increase effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry

Researchers from Brazil and Texas have started testing on humans a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry, used by dentists to reduce patient discomfort during the application of injected anesthesia - required for more invasive procedures such as fillings, tooth extraction or surgery.

4 Oct 2017

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have engineered a new way to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology inside cells and have demonstrated in mice that the technology can repair the mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle-wasting disease.

4 Oct 2017

ATA’s informative symposia to focus on recent advances in thyroid research

The 87th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA), taking place October 18‒22, 2017, in Victoria, British Columbia, will offer informative symposia presented by pioneering investigators and key opinion leaders.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers develop novel blood analyzer to improve anemia detection

About one quarter of the world's population suffers from anemia, a disease caused by a concentration deficiency of hemoglobin in red blood cells. To reduce the burden of anemia, health officials need a better picture of the disease's global impact, an understanding made viable by a portable and affordable way to analyze blood.

3 Oct 2017

Genital herpes was inherited from human ancestors

There are two main herpes simplex viruses that cause herpes in man – those that cause cold sores or HSV1 and those that cause genital herpes or HSV2. Humans and chimpanzees both were affected by HSV1 millions of years ago when their lineages split. HSV2 however did not leap on to humans until much later shows new research.

3 Oct 2017

Researchers identify new cancer-causing pathway behind most aggressive type of leukemia

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has identified a new cancer-causing pathway behind most cases of an aggressive type of leukemia, findings that could lead to new targeted treatment approaches.

3 Oct 2017

Wake Forest Baptist receives NIH grants to study risks associated with kidney transplants

The National Institutes of Health has awarded two five-year grants to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center worth more than $5 million to prospectively study the effects of a genetic variation in organ donors that appears to contribute to survival of kidneys after transplantation.

3 Oct 2017

Hepatitis C drug’s lower cost paves way for Medicaid, prisons to expand treatment

Valerie Green is still waiting to be cured. The Delaware resident was diagnosed with hepatitis C more than two years ago, but she doesn't qualify yet for the Medicaid program's criteria for treatment with a new class of highly effective but pricey drugs. The recent approval of a less expensive drug that generally cures hepatitis C in just eight weeks may make it easier for more insurers and correctional facilities to expand treatment.

3 Oct 2017

Studies shed new light on leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage

Two recent Northwestern University studies shed new light on the mystery of the leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage, laying the foundation for further research in an understudied but crucially important field of genetic study.

3 Oct 2017

UTHealth study focuses on how gene-environment interactions impact cocaine use disorder

Studying the effect of environmental stressors on the development of cocaine use is the focus of a $2.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

3 Oct 2017

Rapid, sensitive genetic test successfully detects some aggressive types of pancreatic cancer

A genetic test developed at UPMC proved highly sensitive at determining which pancreatic cysts are most likely to be associated with one of the most aggressive types of pancreatic cancer, UPMC and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists reported in Gut, the journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology.

3 Oct 2017

Liquid biopsy can reveal response to checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapies

In a first-of-its-kind study, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that a blood sample, or liquid biopsy, can reveal which patients will respond to checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapies.

3 Oct 2017

Study tests stepped care model of treatment for youth with anxiety

A stepped care model of treatment for youth with anxiety can be effectively delivered using at least 14% less therapist time than traditional treatment service, reports a study published in the October 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

3 Oct 2017

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

A team of Chinese researchers have for the first time “mended” defective embryos using chemical surgery to free them of a faulty gene that leads to beta thalassemia. Until now this defect was found to be incorrigible caused due to a single misspelling in the DNA code. Beta thalassemia is a dreaded blood disorder wherein the child is unable to make healthy blood needing blood transfusions on a regular basis. The study was published this week in the journal Protein and Cell.

2 Oct 2017

Benefits of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Biomarkers fall into different categories: diagnostic biomarkers, are used to identify a disease; prognostic biomarkers, help clinicians to determine, for example, whether you're more likely to die or have problems with a disease; and there are some that can be used to inform treatment, to determine whether one therapy would be more successful than another.

2 Oct 2017