Therapy News and Research

RSS

New generation drug therapy targets the individual

The days of ‘one size fits all’ medicines may soon be a thing of the past for people undergoing radical drug therapies for chronic or serious illnesses.

5 Jun 2004

Breakthrough in gene therapy

Despite a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs during the past 15 years, gene therapy has continued to attract many of the world's brightest scientists. They are tantalized by the enormous potential that replacing missing genes or disabling defective ones offers for curing diseases of many kinds.

3 Jun 2004

Drug helps children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who take 36- or 54-mg doses of once-daily CONCERTA® (methylphenidate HCl) CII are more likely to achieve significantly greater symptom response and symptom reduction than children with ADHD who take CONCERTA 18 mg once daily or near-equivalent doses of methylphenidate three-times-a-day, a study shows.

3 Jun 2004

Drug helps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

A drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

3 Jun 2004

Exercise can help brain healing process

Exercise can stimulate injured neurons to regenerate their axons, which are the primary transmission lines of the nervous system, according to a study published June 1 in the print edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the last week of May in the early online edition.

2 Jun 2004

Drug to extend lives of colorectal cancer patients

A drug designed to cut off a tumor's blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Compulsive hoarding study could improve diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders

A PET imaging study conducted at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute indicates the neurobiology of America's estimated 1 million compulsive hoarders differs significantly from people with other obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. The findings indicate that different medications could improve treatment success.

2 Jun 2004

Chromium picolinate supplementation reduced carbohydrate cravings and atypical depression

Results of a new double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial found that daily supplementation with chromium picolinate significantly reduced some key symptoms of atypical depression.

2 Jun 2004

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech, Inc. and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the first Phase III study of an anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, showing that the addition of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) to the IFL chemotherapy regimen (5-FU/Leucovorin/ CPT-11) significantly extended survival in patients with first-line (previously untreated) metastatic colorectal cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Treating post-traumatic stress disorder

Trinity Western University researchers are conducting comparative studies for three treatments of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that, in the last 10 years, have helped reduce and eliminate PTSD symptoms in female victims of sexual assault.

2 Jun 2004

Bone marrow stem cells exposed to damaged liver tissue quickly convert into healthy liver cells

Bone marrow stem cells, when exposed to damaged liver tissue, can quickly convert into healthy liver cells and help repair the damaged organ, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

2 Jun 2004

'somatoform', or 'psychosomatic', disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders found in general practice

A study from the Netherlands has shown that ‘somatoform’, or ‘psychosomatic’, disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders found in general practice. At least one out of six patients seen by a general practitioner has a somatoform disorder.

2 Jun 2004

Improving blood pressure control of people 80 years and older

Improved blood pressure control of people 80 years and older, especially women, must be made a national priority, a Northwestern University researcher urged at the American Society of Hypertension’s 19th Annual Scientific Meeting in May.

2 Jun 2004

Research may help to reduce infection and multiple organ failure after injury

While physicians are able to treat patients who suffer blood loss after major injuries, a large number of these patients go on to develop infections or multiple organ failure, in which the functioning of the body vital organ systems, such as the lungs, heart, kidneys of liver, go awry.

2 Jun 2004

New medical patent covering the generation of genetically enhanced therapeutic antigens

Morphotek, Inc. announced today the issuance of United States Patent 6,737,268 covering the generation of genetically enhanced therapeutic antigens.

2 Jun 2004

Virtual reality to help the diagnosis of back problems

Virtual reality conjures up images of video games - dizzying flights on simulated jets or auto races at death-defying speeds. But researchers at Ohio University have developed a kinder, gentler use for the technology: the diagnosis of back problems.

2 Jun 2004

New therapy to send cancer-killing drugs directly to tumours

Disguising a molecule to get it past the body's immune system could greatly enhance the success of a groundbreaking new therapy, Cancer Research UK scientists report in the British Journal of Cancer this week.

2 Jun 2004

Australian researchers to help people overcome their phobias

What do spiders, heights and elevators have in common? All three can make some people sick to the stomach with fear.

1 Jun 2004

Microbes in your gut could be cause of allergies

Allergies making your life miserable? Tired of popping antihistamines like candy? Can't go anywhere without your inhaler? The real problem may not be your stuffed-up head. It could be the microbes in your gut.

1 Jun 2004

36 percent of Americans are using complementary and alternative medicines

A new, comprehensive government survey, released by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), reveals that 36 percent of Americans are incorporating complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) into their health care regimen.

1 Jun 2004