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Combination biotherapies safe, promising for melanoma patients

The combination of two different biotherapies may be beneficial for patients with inoperable melanoma, according to a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) study presented at the 44th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

1 Jun 2008

Golf for a long life!

Golf can be a good investment for the health, according to a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. The death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status, which correspond to a 5 year increase in life expectancy. Golfers with a low handicap are the safest.

1 Jun 2008

How advanced prostate cancer becomes resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy

For the past 70 years the treatment of choice for advanced, metastatic prostate cancer has been androgen-deprivation therapy. That is, the suppression of circulating testosterone - the hormone that fuels prostate-cancer growth - via surgical castration (orchiectomy) or medical castration with testosterone-blocking drugs. While such therapy buys time for patients, it is not a cure, as inevitably the cancer becomes resistant to the androgen deprivation and continues to grow.

1 Jun 2008

Minnesota Health Care Group to launch pilot 'pay-for-performance' initiative to reduce treatment costs for depression

The Buyers Health Care Action Group, a health care purchasing coalition in Minnesota for large employers, on Wednesday announced a pay-for-performance pilot program that will reward physicians who effectively treat depressed patients, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

30 May 2008

Japan awards new prize for HIV/AIDS, malaria work in Africa

Japan recently awarded the first Hideo Noguchi Prize to two recipients for their work on HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa, AFP/Google.com reports.

30 May 2008

CFC-propelled inhalers no longer available as of Dec. 31 2008

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a public health advisory to alert patients, caregivers and health care professionals to switch to hydrofluoroalkane (HFA)-propelled albuterol inhalers because chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-propelled inhalers will not be available in the United States after Dec. 31, 2008.

30 May 2008

Quality of life predicts cancer survival

Head and neck cancer patients who reported lower physical quality of life were more likely to die from their disease, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The findings could mean that identifying patients with poor quality of life could also identify patients with particularly aggressive tumors.

30 May 2008

Bilateral cochlear implants: A case when two are definitely superior to one

A study of cochlear implant patients seen by Indiana University School of Medicine physicians is the first research to show evidence that cochlear implants in both ears significantly improves quality of life in patients with profound hearing loss and that the cost of the second implant is offset by its benefits.

30 May 2008

New projects to raise UK profile in synthetic biology

Four UK Research Councils have come together to announce funding for new projects designed to rapidly build the UK's expertise and capacity in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

30 May 2008

Post-menopausal therapy to improve women's quality of life

A recent research work by the University of Granada advises post-menopausal women the use of Replacement Hormone Therapy (RHT) for at least five years.

29 May 2008

Wireless vision implant

About 30 million people around the world have grown legally blind due to retinal diseases. The EPI-RET project has sought for a technical solution for the past twelve years to help these patients. This work has resulted in a unique system - afully implantable visual prosthesis.

29 May 2008

Rett syndrome gene found to be full of surprises

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has transformed scientists' understanding of Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes autistic behavior and other disabling symptoms. Until now, scientists thought that the gene behind Rett syndrome was an "off" switch, or repressor, for other genes. But the new study, published today in Science, shows that it is an "on" switch for a startlingly large number of genes.

29 May 2008

Cancer survivors are living "in limbo" with unmet needs for care

Many long-term survivors of cancer are not receiving the necessary symptom management that they require to help them live with the consequences of their disease, its treatment, or both, according to a leading professor of palliative medicine.

28 May 2008

Hospitals hire 'nocturnists' to improve patient care during night, weekend hours, Wall Street Journal reports

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how some hospitals have begun "taking steps to improve safety and reduce their own legal liability from mishaps" that occur during "thinly staffed" night and weekend shifts, when patients "suffer higher rates of death, complications and medical errors."

28 May 2008

University of Pennsylvania researcher to launch drug trial in Chinese province among IDUs

David Metzger, director of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Division at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues plan to launch a trial in China among injection drug users to determine if a drug that reduces the craving for heroin also can reduce the spread of HIV through the sharing of contaminated needles, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

28 May 2008

Speed of breast movement linked to breast pain

The speed at which breasts move during exercise could be key to understanding breast pain, according to an expert at the University of Portsmouth.

28 May 2008

New cancer stem cell identified behind metastatic tumors

The molecular profile of cancer stem cells that initiate metastatic colon tumors is significantly different from those responsible for primary tumors, according to new research from a team at Weill Cornell Medical College.

28 May 2008

Estrogen drives distinct, aggressive prostate cancer

Using a breakthrough technology, researchers led by a Weill Cornell Medical College scientist have pinpointed the hormone estrogen as a key player in about half of all prostate cancers.

28 May 2008

Scientists identify a brain mechanism underlying persistent cocaine craving

Scientists have identified a mechanism in the brain that helps to explain why craving for cocaine, and the risk of relapse, seems to increase in the weeks and months after drug use is stopped. The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

28 May 2008

Patients to benefit from multi-million pound research funding

NHS patients in North West London will benefit from a multi-million pound research project leading to the rapid introduction of new, effective treatments for a wide range of medical conditions.

27 May 2008