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Block buster cancer drug Avastin gives hope to brain tumor victims

According to a new study the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin has shown promising results in treating brain cancer victims.

19 Nov 2007

More women opting to have both breasts removed when cancer has been found in only one breast

Researchers are reporting a 150 percent increase between 1998 and 2003 in American women opting to have both breasts removed when cancer has been found in only one breast—a procedure called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM).

16 Nov 2007

New guidelines for ureteral stone management

The American Urological Association (AUA) is pleased to announce the release of a new Guideline for the Management of Ureteral Calculi prepared as a collaborative effort with the European Association of Urology (EAU).

16 Nov 2007

Experts say obese women should be refused fertility treatment

A fertility organisation in Britain is saying that severely obese women should be barred from having National Health Service fertility treatment until they have lost weight.

15 Nov 2007

Risks of cosmetic surgery under the spotlight again

The safety of cosmetic surgery has again become an issue following the death of the mother of rapper Kanye West.

15 Nov 2007

Cultural habits influence oral cancers

Clinicians from the USC School of Dentistry unravel connection between the incidence of oral cancer and race and ethnicity-- as part of first epidemiological study of oral cancer in California.

15 Nov 2007

Ultrasound may better classify ovarian tumors

Experts examining patterns in ultrasound images can more accurately classify ovarian tumors as benign or malignant than can pre-surgical blood tests, according to a study published online in the Nov. 13 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Nov 2007

GPRC5A gene found to be a tumor-suppressor for lung cancer

The GPRC5A gene, which is under-expressed in human lung cancer cells, suppresses lung tumors in mouse models and could provide a key to attacking lung cancer in humans, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 21 edition of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Nov 2007

Higher-risk kidneys may help solve organ shortage facing older adults

New research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center suggests that age alone shouldn't be a barrier to receiving a kidney transplant – and that using donated kidneys that would once have been discarded may help alleviate the burgeoning organ shortage among older adults.

14 Nov 2007

Implanting myoblasts may improve severe urinary incontinence

Estimates are that up to 70 million people worldwide may be suffering from severe urinary incontinence. A major cause of urinary incontinence is a deficiency of the urethral sphincter muscle, often associated with trauma during child birth, resulting from prostate surgery, or due to aging.

14 Nov 2007

Diet low in carbohydrates may stunt prostate tumor growth

A diet low in carbohydrates may help stunt the growth of prostate tumors, according to a new study led by Duke Prostate Center researchers. The study, in mice, suggests that a reduction in insulin production possibly caused by fewer carbohydrates may stall tumor growth.

14 Nov 2007

Zinc transporters regulate pancreatic cancer

Zinc, an important trace element for healthy growth and development, can be related to pancreatic cancer. Too much ZIP4, a molecule that enables the transport of zinc into cells, promotes the growth and spread of pancreatic tumors cells, said a group of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Florida in Gainesville, in a report which appears online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

13 Nov 2007

UK women have caught up with men in their alcohol consumption

As levels of binge drinking in the UK rise, doctors in this week's BMJ report three cases of bladder rupture in women who attended hospital with lower abdominal pain.

13 Nov 2007

Targeted muscle reinnervation allows prosthetic arms to brain's signals

Motorized prosthetic arms can help amputees regain some function, but these devices take time to learn to use and are limited in the number of movements they provide.

13 Nov 2007

Telemedicine may play in the diagnosis of eye diseases

Two studies being presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2007 Annual Meeting suggest that telemedicine may have a significant role to play in the diagnosis of eye diseases, increased patient compliance and patient access to quality care.

13 Nov 2007

New insights into cataracts

Using the tools and techniques of soft condensed matter physics, a research team in Switzerland has demonstrated that a finely tuned balance of attractions between proteins keeps the lens of the eye transparent, and that even a small change in this balance can cause proteins to aggregate and de-mix.

13 Nov 2007

Life-threatening gene defect related to thoracic aortic disease discovered

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has identified a defective gene that affects vascular smooth-muscle cells in people who suffer from hereditary thoracic aortic disease, which can kill victims with little warning in the prime of their lives.

13 Nov 2007

Improved surgery technique for endothelial disease of the cornea

In a research presentation today at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting, Massimo Busin, MD, department head and professor of ophthalmology at the Villa Serena Hospital, Forli, Italy, described a technique that significantly improved results in patients being treated for endothelial disease of the cornea, the transparent covering of the front of the eye that provides much of its optical power.

13 Nov 2007

FDA strengthens warnings for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved revised boxed warnings and other safety-related product labeling changes for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), which treat certain types of anemia.

13 Nov 2007

New approaches to wet age-related macular degeneration treatment

Two particularly notable research presentations at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting described new approaches to the treatment of "wet" Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of severe vision loss in the western world in people over age 50.

13 Nov 2007