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Routine, inexpensive blood test sharpens heart disease risk predictions

Routine measurements of white blood cell counts that provide a ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes may offer a simple and low-cost way to refine predictions of heart attack or death, according to a new study in the May 17, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 May 2005

Testosterone appears to benefit, not harm, cardiovascular health of middle-aged men

Although men suffer more coronary heart disease than women, the blame should not be placed on testosterone, according to a new study in the May 17, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 May 2005

Bioniche granted additional patent for mycobacterial cell wall technology

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven human and animal health biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has had a new patent issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on its core mycobacterial cell wall technology.

18 May 2005

A drug that controls blood pressure and reduces heart risk also appears to protect against diabetes

In new results from the VALUE trial that pitted the drug valsartan against another blood pressure drug, amlodipine, the patients taking valsartan were found to have a 23 percent lower risk of developing diabetes during the four or more years of the study.

18 May 2005

New blood tests for both prostate and colon cancer

Tessera Inc., a Seattle-based biomedical company is, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Getzenberg, Director of the Brady Urological Research Institute at Johns Hopkins University, developing blood tests for both prostate and colon cancer and expects to commence clinical trials on EPCA (Early Prostate Cancer Antigen), its first blood test for prostate cancer, before the end of this year.

18 May 2005

Tobacco brands still appearing in PG-13 rated movies

Seven years after tobacco companies signed the Master Settlement Agreement prohibiting them from paying for tobacco brand appearances in movies, the number of tobacco brand appearances in PG-13 rated movies has not experienced a statistically significant decrease, according to a study by Dartmouth Medical School researchers.

18 May 2005

Radioimmunotherapy streamlines non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and colleagues have found a way to streamline a new form of treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

18 May 2005

Language cues can provide the "glue" that helps fasten certain visual patterns into small children's memories

Doctoral candidate Banchiamlack Dessalegn and her mentor, Barbara Landau, the Dick and Lydia Todd Professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins, tackled that question via a query of their own: Would children who are given verbal cues while viewing mirror image visual patterns remember them more accurately, and longer, than would children who were not given those cues?

18 May 2005

Unrestrained retina too much of a good thing

When primitive nerve cells begin forming an eye in the mouse embryo, they are programmed to build a retina. But the ability to see depends upon connecting the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Unless these embryonic cells are given the right cue at the right time, they mistakenly form a huge eye that consists entirely of retina and lacks the optic nerve.

18 May 2005

Medical robots to cover ward rounds

Remote Presence (RP6) Robots allow a medical expert to visually examine and communicate with a patient from anywhere in the world, via the machine, using wireless technology. The robots (nicknamed by staff Sister Mary and Dr Robbie) can also be used for surgical teaching and even videoconferencing.

18 May 2005

Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain

Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain, according to researchers at the Douglas Hospital Research Center. Their findings, published in a recent issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology, show increased stress hormones lead to memory impairment in the elderly and learning difficulties in young adults.

17 May 2005

Zevalin safe and effective for non-Hogdkin's lymphoma patients

According to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) study, patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) previously treated with chemotherapy and adult stem cell transplantation can safely tolerate Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that targets radiation directly to a tumor.

17 May 2005

Tumor vasculature has become an attractive target in the treatment of cancer.

Treatment with a protein fused to an antibody in tumor-bearing mice led to coagulation of the blood within the tumor blood vessels, tumor tissue death, and tumor growth delay, according to a new study in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 May 2005

Exposure to radioactive iodines in childhood is associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer

Exposure to radioactive iodines, mainly iodine 131 (I-131), in childhood is associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Importantly, both iodine deficiency and supplementation appear to modify this risk, according to a new study in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 May 2005

Smoking may have a devastating effect on gastrointestinal health

Smoking may have a devastating effect on gastrointestinal health and increase a person's risk of developing pancreatic and liver cancer, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2005 (DDW). Furthermore, data from the Nurses' Health Study shows that meat intake and smoking play a part in significantly increasing a woman's risk of colorectal cancer.

17 May 2005