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Researchers discover new biomarker for cyanide poisoning

Researchers have found a new biomarker for cyanide poisoning, which may extend its detection window in death investigations by weeks if not months.

2 Feb 2012

GSA's new resources address pain management, labeling changes for acetaminophen

The pain suffered by older adults is the shared focus of the two newest entries in The Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) From Publication to Practice series.

1 Feb 2012

OPN-305 may improve survival outcomes for kidney transplant patients

New research published online in the FASEB Journal details a new antibody, called "OPN-305" that may significantly improve survival outcomes for those receiving donated kidneys and other organs.

1 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa reconsiders lawmakers' benefits

Two bills introduced in the Iowa House last week would curtail benefits for lawmakers. ... House File 2118 also removes per diem and daily allowances from inclusion in lawmakers' pension calculations, but also requires members and employees of the General Assembly to pay a portion of their health-insurance premiums. That premium payment would have to be at least $100 a month.

1 Feb 2012

General anesthesia may lower recurrence risk in patients with HCC

For patients undergoing a minimally invasive treatment for liver cancer, the risk of recurrent cancer appears lower with general anesthesia compared to regional (epidural) anesthesia, reports a study in the February issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

1 Feb 2012

Majority of children can safely quit anti-rejection drugs after liver transplant from parents

Physicians at three transplant centers have found in a pilot study that a majority of children who receive liver tissue from a parent can eventually stop using immunosuppression (anti-rejection) medications safely. These drugs, which tamp down natural immune function, have been linked to a bevy of complications, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure.

1 Feb 2012

CPET measurement predicts mortality in patients following liver transplantation

Researchers from the U.K. determined that preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a specific predictor of 90-day survival following liver transplantation.

1 Feb 2012

Specific gene mutation triggers development of NAFLD

A team of scientists from the University of Utah and the University of California at San Francisco has discovered that the mutation of a gene encoding a ketone body transporter triggers accumulation of fat and other lipids in the livers of zebrafish.

1 Feb 2012

Scientists identify TDO enzyme as new target for cancer therapy

Scientists from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) in Brussels identified a new target for cancer therapy, an enzyme which prevents the immune system from recognizing and destroying certain types of tumors.

1 Feb 2012

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing may predict post-liver transplantation survival

Researchers from the U.K. determined that preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a specific predictor of 90-day survival following liver transplantation. Study results available in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, shows that the CPET measurement—the anaerobic threshold or fitness level—significantly predicts mortality in patients post-transplantation.

31 Jan 2012

ESC welcomes 'intriguing' study on heart failure

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) welcomes an "intriguing" study, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, featuring a completely novel approach for improving endothelial function in heart failure.

31 Jan 2012

HSP40/70 linked to hepatitis C infection

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.

31 Jan 2012

Newly discovered molecular pathway may explain how AML develops

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a molecular pathway that may explain how a particularly deadly form of cancer develops. The discovery may lead to new cancer therapies that reprogram cells instead of killing them. The findings are published in a recent paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

30 Jan 2012

CRT launches Acublate to develop HIFU cancer surgery device

Cancer Research Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, has today launched Acublate Limited, a spin-out company which will develop a next-generation High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) surgery device to treat a range of solid tumour types.

27 Jan 2012

New system safe, effective in delivering CsA to organ transplant patients

A new system for delivering a drug to organ transplant patients, which could avoid the risk of harmful side effects, is being developed by scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

27 Jan 2012

Study: Live liver donor transplantation safer than previously believed

People who donate a portion of their livers for transplant to a relative or friend whose liver is failing can generally expect to live long, healthy lives and recover safely from the donation surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers have found.

27 Jan 2012

Strong link between high HuR protein levels and malignancy of HCC

Researchers at CIC Biogune, the Cooperative Centre for Research into Biosciences and led by Dr. Maria Luz Martinez Chantar, have found a strong relationship between high levels of Hu antigen R (HuR) protein and the malignancy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, through a novel molecular process in the investigation of this pathology and known as neddylation.

27 Jan 2012

Major surgery to donate a portion of liver does not interfere with long, healthy life

26 Jan 2012

Link between high fructose intake and cardiovascular risk in adolescents

Evidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk is present in the blood of adolescents who consume a lot of fructose, a scenario that worsens in the face of excess belly fat, researchers report.

25 Jan 2012

Cholesterol receptor allows entry of HCV virus into human liver cells

A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

24 Jan 2012