Therapy News and Research

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Polymer-based therapy for breast cancer

Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer followed by radiation therapy often experience breast deformities that can only be corrected through reconstructive surgery.

3 May 2006

Lipoxin A4 regulates bronchial epithelial cell responses to acid injury

Doctors are gaining new leverage in the fight against lung injury caused by acid reflux. The paper by Bonnans et al., "Lipoxin A4 regulates bronchial epithelial cell responses to acid injury," appears in the April issue of The American Journal of Pathology and is accompanied by a commentary.

3 May 2006

CT angiography is highly accurate in detecting high-grade artery stenosis

MD-CTA (64-slice CT angiography) is highly accurate in detecting and grading extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) stenoses in which the artery is closed between 70-90% when compared to color-coded Doppler sonography, power Doppler and B-flow ultrasound

3 May 2006

Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

3 May 2006

Initial experience of FDG-PET/CT guided IMRT of head and neck carcinoma

Doctors have discovered that combining images derived from positron emission tomography and computed tomography in the planning and delivery of radiation treatment for patients with head and neck cancer leads to more accurate delivery of the radiation dose and an increased chance for survival.

3 May 2006

Possible target for future therapies aimed at delaying or stopping Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Neurological Sciences Institute (NSI) have located a possible target for future therapies aimed at delaying or stopping Alzheimer's disease.

2 May 2006

Sperm-producing stem cells found in testicles could be extracted, grown in the lab, and frozen for future use

Men may cringe at the idea, but sperm-producing stem cells found in testicles could be extracted, grown in the lab, and frozen for future use.

2 May 2006

DNA taxi

Despite few successes to date, gene therapy is a highly promising approach for medical therapy in the future.

1 May 2006

New treatment against persistent ulcer-inducing bacteria successful

For those who suffer from stomach ulcers, the daily routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner can be painful. A common cause of these ulcers, as well as other gastric malignancies, is a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori .

1 May 2006

New method could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments

Scientists from Imperial College London and Pfizer have developed a new method that could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments. The authors anticipate that the development will advance biomedical research further towards development of personalised medicines.

28 Apr 2006

Tumour specific drugs may render therapies based on a tumor's anatomical location obsolete

The results of a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis could eventually have oncologists removing their specialties from their shingles by making therapy based on a tumor's anatomical location obsolete.

28 Apr 2006

Amyloid protein content in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease risk

Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp are the first to show that the quantity of amyloid protein in brain cells is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid protein has already been known to be the primary component of the senile plaques in the brains of patients. The new discovery demonstrates that the greater the quantity of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is.

28 Apr 2006

Combinatorial approach found to reverse the onset of type 1 diabetes

A major finding, which represents an important step toward a potential cure for type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, has been made by a research team at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI). The team, led by Matthias von Herrath, M.D., an internationally recognized expert on the molecular basis of type 1 diabetes, used a combinatorial treatment approach in laboratory mice and found it reversed recent onset type 1 diabetes in the majority of animals tested.

28 Apr 2006

Finding indicate why some kinds of Leukemia are more aggressive than others

New clues to why some kinds of leukemia are more aggressive and deadly than others are coming from research examining the types of genetic damage that allow some blood cells to grow out of control, scientists report.

28 Apr 2006

Osteoporosis could be caused by factors other than declining estrogen levels

New evidence in the April 21, 2006 Cell challenges the long-standing notion that declining estrogen levels alone lead to osteoporosis after women go through menopause. The researchers rather found that high levels of pituitary-derived follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) cause bone loss in mice. The pituitary is a master gland found at the base of the brain.

26 Apr 2006

New drug may revolutionize how chronic iron overload is treated in chronic anemia patients

Those with severe chronic anemias need frequent blood transfusions to remain healthy, but such frequent transfusions can cause a potentially deadly buildup of iron in the body, leading to heart and liver failure. The traditional treatment to remove excess iron is so onerous that many patients choose to forgo it, putting their own lives at risk. The results of an international study on deferasirox, a new drug that may revolutionize the way chronic iron overload is treated, will be published in the May 1, 2006, issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.

26 Apr 2006

Forsenol reduces tablet burden on end stage renal disease patients with hyperphospatemia

According to data presented at the National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) 2006 clinical meeting in Chicago, IL, a conversion to the non-calcium phosphate binder FOSRENOL (lanthanum carbonate) from other phosphate binder therapies provides continued mean serum phosphorus control for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with hyperphosphatemia, while significantly reducing their daily tablet burden and the total daily dose of phosphate binder medication.

26 Apr 2006

Four subtypes of blood cancer identified

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborators have identified four distinct genetic subtypes of multiple myeloma, a deadly blood cancer, that have different prognoses and might be treated most effectively with drugs specifically targeted to those subtypes.

26 Apr 2006

Prefrontal cortex in the brain damaged by both alcoholism and chronic smoking

Alcoholism is commonly associated with chronic smoking, and both alcohol and nicotine are believed to act on the same brain region. Research builds upon previous research that identified four potential alcohol-sensitive genes in the prefrontal cortex, finding that smoking also influences the expression of these genes.

26 Apr 2006

'Resonance' may be the reason for virologic failure in STI drug therapy

Researchers have been puzzled over why HIV-positive patients who have periodic, built in interruptions in their drug therapy reach a point where the therapy no longer reduces their viral loads, even in the absence of any evidence of acquired drug resistance.

25 Apr 2006