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The big donor shortage

Associate Professor Catherine Waldby of the University of Sydney looks at the fraught and often frightening world of organ donation in an opinion piece.

16 Jun 2007

Nanosized bioceramic particles could function as efficient gene delivery vehicles with target specificity for the spleen

A detailed comparison of different types of ceramic nanoparticles has found that those made of silica can efficiently transport therapeutic genes to the spleen and trigger a potent immune response capable of attacking tumors.

14 Jun 2007

Quantum dots outline brain tumors for surgical removal

Although surgical removal of a tumor can be the most effective way of treating brain cancer, neurosurgeons are often faced with the dilemma of determining the exact border between a tumor and the healthy tissue that surrounds it.

14 Jun 2007

New target for Type 2 diabetes

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a potential new target for treating type 2 diabetes, according to a new study that appeared online this week in Nature.

14 Jun 2007

Cancer death rates remain high decades after exposure to arsenic

Death rates from lung and bladder cancer remained high decades after residents in northern Chile were exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, according to a new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Pontificia Universidad Cat'lica de Chile in Santiago.

14 Jun 2007

New contributor to aggressive cancers

Mutations in the cell adhesion molecule known as integrin alpha 7 (integrin 7) lead to unchecked tumor cell proliferation and a significantly higher incidence in cancer spread, or metastasis, in several cancer cell lines, report researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Jun 2007

New regulator of fat metabolism identified

Over the past several years, animal studies have shown that high-fat, low-carbohydrate “ketogenic” diets cause demonstrable changes in metabolism and subsequent weight loss.

8 Jun 2007

New understanding of anti-malarial drug resistance

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they are moving closer to understanding why the most lethal form of human malaria has become resistant to drug treatment in the past three decades.

8 Jun 2007

Lack of sun, low vitamin D and the elderly

It's not yet clear why overweight elderly adults have low levels of vitamin D in their blood.

8 Jun 2007

In mice, drug protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online in Nature.

8 Jun 2007

Singapore too finds poison Chinese toothpaste

Singapore is the latest country to question China's food safety standards after Chinese-made toothpaste was found to contain diethylene glycol, or DEG, a poisonous chemical used in solvents and anti-freeze.

7 Jun 2007

78 percent of living right liver donors experienced post-operative complications

More than 78 percent of living right liver donors experienced post-operative complications, according to a new study that uses a replicable complication classification system. Most of the complications were minor, though some were more serious.

5 Jun 2007

Liver cancer drug Nexavar, a major breakthrough

A trial of an experimental drug to treat advanced liver cancer has helped extend patients lives by as much as three months.

4 Jun 2007

When HIV and liver disease co-exist

Since successful antiretroviral therapies have made HIV a treatable condition, more HIV patients who are also infected with hepatitis B or C are experiencing the progression of their liver disease.

3 Jun 2007

C-reactive protein identified as marker for prostate cancer survival

Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers have identified a protein that is a strong indicator of survival for men with advanced prostate cancer.

3 Jun 2007

Liver cancer patients with high serum levels of hepatitis B virus face poorer outcomes

In the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), researchers report their findings from the first-ever study examining the prognostic value of serum HBV DNA levels for patients with liver cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

3 Jun 2007

FDA approves Norditropin for short stature in children with Noonan syndrome

Novo Nordisk has announced that Norditropin (somatropin[rDNA origin] injection) received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of short stature in children with Noonan syndrome.

3 Jun 2007

Avoid Chinese toothpaste!

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers to avoid using tubes of toothpaste labeled as made in China, and issued an import alert to prevent toothpaste containing the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG) from entering the United States.

3 Jun 2007

Apple peel shows anti-cancer potential

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, Or, what appears to be more accurate: An apple peel a day might help keep cancer at bay, according to a new Cornell study.

3 Jun 2007

Once-fatal metabolic disorders treatable

People with a class of rare genetic disorders that often lead to brain damage, coma and death can be successfully treated with drugs, says a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

1 Jun 2007