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Compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech and swallowing.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Technology helps Stanford shed new light on coronary bypass surgery

On March 31, Joel Dyels celebrated his 72nd birthday by having coronary bypass surgery at Stanford Hospital. He also became the third patient at Stanford - and in the United States - to benefit from a new imaging system that lets doctors see the blood pathways they have created while the patient's chest is still open.

12 Apr 2005

Consent forms should be more readable

When children are part of a clinical trial, their parents must sign a document agreeing to the treatment and procedures used in the study. But what if they don't understand what they're being asked to sign?

12 Apr 2005

Researcher grows new insulin-secreting beta cells from pancreatic tissue

JDRF-funded researchers in Canada and Massachusetts have stimulated the birth of new insulin-secreting beta cells by treating human islets with a mixture of two naturally occurring peptides: epidermal growth factor (EGF) and gastrin.

12 Apr 2005

Women with heart attacks benefit from stenting

Female heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty have a higher risk of death than men, but stenting may improve their outcomes, according to a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 Apr 2005

UAB reaction to Lancet study on human papilloma virus (HPV)

The prominent British medical journal Lancet published results of a clinical trial on a vaccine for human papilloma virus (HPV) The virus is a leading cause of cervical cancer and genital warts.

10 Apr 2005

Experts available for comment on controversy over a nevirapine

The controversy over a nevirapine clinical trial conducted in the late 1990s threatens to limit the use of a drug that has saved hundreds of thousands of babies in the developing world from HIV infection, according to experts from the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

7 Apr 2005

Women with heart attacks benefit from stenting

Female heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty have a higher risk of death than men, but stenting may improve their outcomes, according to a study reported in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Apr 2005

Use of smokeless tobacco helped hard-to-quit smokers give up their habit

The study, published in the January-March issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, reports on subjects who were contacted seven years after completion of a smoking cessation program that replaced cigarettes with smokeless tobacco products as a harm-reduction strategy.

7 Apr 2005

Osteoporosis drug reduces women's risk of mild cognitive impairment

A drug prescribed for the prevention of osteoporosis reduced women's risk of mild cognitive impairment by 33 percent in a worldwide clinical trial led by researchers at San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

6 Apr 2005

Novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions

Scientists have discovered a novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions by topping up the immune cells responsible for controlling them.

6 Apr 2005

Heart transplant patients benefit from new technology

New technology for cardiac transplant patients indicates a patient's risk of organ rejection with a simple blood test. News of this revolutionary testing method will be presented today at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation's (ISHLT) Annual Meeting and Scientific Session in Philadelphia.

6 Apr 2005

Fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants reduces need for traditional ulcerative colitis treatment

According to a study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, a nutritionally complete oral supplement enriched with fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants reduces reliance on traditional therapies for people with ulcerative colitis.

6 Apr 2005

Nasal filter new weapon against hay fever

The first clinical trial of a nasal filter has shown that they can significantly reduce both the number of people experiencing symptoms and the severity of their symptoms.

5 Apr 2005

Promising new therapy that prompts the immune system to aid in the fight against melanoma tumors

Melanoma is a particularly deadly form of skin cancer very resistant to treatment. Researchers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of South Florida are testing a promising new therapy that prompts the immune system to aid in the fight against melanoma tumors.

5 Apr 2005

Tarvacin shows significant anti-viral activity

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals today announced that there will be two presentations, April 4 and 6, at the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) annual meeting in San Diego, California, indicating the anti-viral potential of its Tarvacin antibody. Dr. Melina Soares of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas will present pre-clinical data titled "Targeting inside-out phospholipids on viruses in a guinea pig model of Lassa fever."

4 Apr 2005

Low levels of oral cannabis induces psychosis

Recreational cannabis use has previously been associated with psychotic reactions even in clinical situations where cannabis is administered orally at low doses, now Swiss researcher Dr. Bernard Favrat and colleagues at Institut Universitaire de Medicine Legale in Lausanne have confirmed this in the first such report, in closely monitored subjects participating in a clinical trial.

4 Apr 2005

Chronic pain treatments more effective when taken together

People suffering from chronic, debilitating pain caused by nerve damage or disease report better pain relief at lower doses of a combined drug treatment than from either drug administered individually, a new Queen’s study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) shows.

3 Apr 2005

Cannabis-based medicines given in a highly-controlled clinical environment unexpectedly lead to strong psychotic effects

Volunteers taking cannabis-based therapeutic drugs as part of a controlled trial, which had been approved by an ethics board as safe for the subjects, experienced psychotic effects just as strong as if they had smoked cannabis. These findings, highly unexpected in such a controlled environment, are published today in the peer-reviewed, Open Access journal BMC Psychiatry.

3 Apr 2005