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Studies provide new information on diet and blood pressure in kidney disease patients

Three studies presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week provide new information on diet and blood pressure in kidney disease patients.

3 Nov 2012

Adding angiogenesis inhibitor to anti-HER2 drugs extends survival in mice with breast cancer

Adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to treatment with a HER2-inhibiting drug could improve outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who develop brain metastases. In their report published online in PNAS Plus, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report the first preclinical study combining antiangiogenic and anti-HER2 drugs in an animal model of brain metastatic breast cancer.

3 Nov 2012

Intensified antibiotic treatment can improve prognosis of patients with TB meningitis

Researchers from the Radboud UMC have conducted the first study globally to show that intensified antibiotic treatment can improve the prognosis of patients with tuberculous (TB) meningitis, the most severe form of TB which carries a mortality of up to 50%.

3 Nov 2012

Baylor University receives two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness

Baylor University has been awarded two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness, the complex medical condition that affects veterans of the 1991 war. The grants, from the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs of the U.S. Department of Defense, total nearly $1.6 million, and bring current federal funding for Baylor's Gulf War research program to over $2.3 million.

3 Nov 2012

Bypass surgery offers people with diabetes better long-term survival than stents

People with diabetes mellitus who undergo heart bypass surgery for multiple blocked arteries have a significantly better 5-year-survival rate than diabetic patients who undergo angioplasty with drug-eluting stents (DES), according to a study published in the November 2012 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

3 Nov 2012

Near-complete blood flow restoration necessary to preserve neurological function following stroke

Two Rhode Island Hospital researchers recently found that restoring near-complete blood flow to the brain is necessary to restore or preserve neurological function following stroke. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Yet until their research was complete, many physicians and researchers believed that partial blood-flow restoration was good enough. Not anymore.

3 Nov 2012

State of glycocalyx barrier indicates vascular risk in dialysis patients

The glycocalyx barrier – a mesh of proteoglycans and associated glycosaminoglycans present on vascular endothelium – is impaired in patients with renal failure, probably contributing to their predisposition to endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease, say researchers.

2 Nov 2012

Repeated surgeries may improve survival for patients with glioblastomas

People who undergo repeated surgeries to remove glioblastomas - the most aggressive and deadliest type of brain tumors - may survive longer than those who have just a one-time operation, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

2 Nov 2012

New video-protocol details steps to generate human iPSCs from peripheral blood cells

Stem cells are a valuable resource for medical and biological research, but are difficult to study due to ethical and societal barriers. However, genetically manipulated cells from adults may provide a path to study stem cells that avoid any ethical concerns. A new video-protocol in JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments), details steps to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from cells in the peripheral blood.

2 Nov 2012

Takeda, Affymax announce data from OMONTYS Phase 3 studies on anemia due to CKD

Affymax, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (TPUSA) today announced the presentation of post-hoc sub-group analyses of the EMERALD Phase 3 studies that evaluated OMONTYS (peginesatide) Injection, an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA), for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult dialysis patients.

2 Nov 2012

Antipsychotic drugs associated with increased mortality among people with schizophrenia

Results of a Johns Hopkins study suggest that individuals with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to live longer if they take their antipsychotic drugs on schedule, avoid extremely high doses and also regularly see a mental health professional.

2 Nov 2012

High blood cholesterol far more common than previously recognized

High blood cholesterol, a serious hereditary disease, is far more common than previously recognised and not treated sufficiently.

2 Nov 2012

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjó-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia.

2 Nov 2012

Cardio exercise OK in high-risk CVD patients

US study results indicate that cardiopulmonary exercise is well tolerated, even when performed by individuals with high-risk cardiovascular disease.

1 Nov 2012

Multiple sclerosis disease activity reduced by leukaemia drug, even when first-line treatment has failed

A drug which was originally developed to treat leukaemia and other cancers of the immune system offers substantial improvements over existing treatments in reducing relapse rates for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), even when they have not responded well to first-line treatment, according to the results of two phase 3 trials published Online First in The Lancet.

1 Nov 2012

Study finds link between severe sepsis and chronic diseases

It's a major cause of death, yet few of us have ever heard of it. Sepsis occurs when a patient's immune system overreacts to an infection, triggering a potentially fatal, system-wide inflammation. Severe sepsis strikes about 750,000 Americans each year, most of them older and often ill, with as many as half of these patients dying as septic shock shuts down their organs. Furthermore, patients in many Southern states are about twice as likely to develop sepsis for reasons unknown.

1 Nov 2012

Mobile technology can help people in less-developed countries manage hypertension

Hypertension is one of the greatest epidemics threatening the health of people in low and middle-income countries. For patients struggling with high blood pressure in countries with limited access to health care, the key to improving health may be as simple as a phone call.

1 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 1, 2012

Today's headlines include highlights from the campaign trail, from the top of the ticket to some of the attention-grabbing Senate races across the country, as well as a report that the Obama administration will not oppose efforts to reopen the religious challenge to the health law.

1 Nov 2012

Regular blood test may help predict survival in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

A routine blood test may help predict survival in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma, according to new findings by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers. The results will be presented on Wednesday, October 31 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 54th Annual Meeting.

1 Nov 2012

Study shows reduced risk of liver-related mortality in African American women with HIV/HCV

A new study shows that African American women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are less likely to die from liver disease than Caucasian or Hispanic women. Findings in the November issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, indicate that lower liver-related mortality in African American women was independent of other causes of death.

1 Nov 2012

Blood News and Research

Studies provide new information on diet and blood pressure in kidney disease patients

Adding angiogenesis inhibitor to anti-HER2 drugs extends survival in mice with breast cancer

Intensified antibiotic treatment can improve prognosis of patients with TB meningitis

Baylor University receives two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness

Bypass surgery offers people with diabetes better long-term survival than stents

Near-complete blood flow restoration necessary to preserve neurological function following stroke

State of glycocalyx barrier indicates vascular risk in dialysis patients

Repeated surgeries may improve survival for patients with glioblastomas

New video-protocol details steps to generate human iPSCs from peripheral blood cells

Takeda, Affymax announce data from OMONTYS Phase 3 studies on anemia due to CKD

Antipsychotic drugs associated with increased mortality among people with schizophrenia

High blood cholesterol far more common than previously recognized

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

Cardio exercise OK in high-risk CVD patients

Multiple sclerosis disease activity reduced by leukaemia drug, even when first-line treatment has failed

Study finds link between severe sepsis and chronic diseases

Mobile technology can help people in less-developed countries manage hypertension

First Edition: November 1, 2012

Regular blood test may help predict survival in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

Study shows reduced risk of liver-related mortality in African American women with HIV/HCV

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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