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Developing 'roadmaps' for enhancing the professional culture of medical schools

There is change afoot in the way medicine is being taught. Rigorous course work, state of the art laboratories and demanding clinical training are necessarily at the forefront. To complement the constant updating of the technical preparation of future physicians, a movement is growing determined to produce doctors who are not only outstanding clinicians, but who are also compassionate individuals able to communicate well with patients, their families and other caregivers.

22 Apr 2008

Chemotherapy causes delayed severe neural damage

Cancer treatment with chemotherapeutic agents is often associated with delayed adverse neurological consequences - an occurrence often referred to as "chemobrain" - that may compromise the quality of life of a proportion of cancer survivors.

21 Apr 2008

First comprehensive look at treatment practices for nonepileptic seizures

A new nationwide clinician survey provides the first comprehensive look at what is community care or 'treatment as usual' for nonepileptic seizures (NES), laying the groundwork for clinical trials aimed at identifying effective treatments for this neuropsychiatric disorder.

21 Apr 2008

Chronic inflammation triggers cell fusions that could protect neurons

Chronic inflammation triggers bone marrow-derived blood cells to travel to the brain and fuse with a certain type of neuron up to 100 times more frequently than previously believed, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

20 Apr 2008

Iron nanoparticles spot tumor spread in patients with kidney cancer

Iron nanoparticles designed to collect in lymph nodes containing metastatic cancer cells have proven that they can help physicians detect metastatic spread of prostate cancer.

18 Apr 2008

Frequent migraines linked to women's risk of cardiovascular disease

New research shows women who have weekly migraine are significantly more likely to have a stroke than those with fewer migraines or no migraine at all, but those with lower migraine frequency may face increased risk of heart attacks.

17 Apr 2008

Study shows factors influencing premature infant survival, disability

Based on observations of more than 4,000 infants, researchers in an NIH newborn research network have identified several factors that influence an extremely low birth weight infant's chances for survival and disability. The findings offer new information to physicians and families considering the most appropriate treatment options for this category of infants.

17 Apr 2008

New drug for melanoma riluzole shows promise

Rutgers Professor Suzie Chen has found that riluzole, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug used to treat Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), slows the growth of melanoma, the most aggressive form of malignant skin cancer.

16 Apr 2008

Drugs in the pipeline: new therapies that could change treatment strategies

The investigational drug AZD2171 (cediranib) may help shrink tumors and prolong survival of patients with a relatively common, aggressive type of brain cancer, according to results from a clinical trial conducted by Boston researchers.

16 Apr 2008

New understanding of systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is characterized by the formation of fibrosis, or scar tissue, on internal organs as well as the skin.

15 Apr 2008

Scientists solve arsenic's cancer paradox

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how arsenic works as an effective treatment for leukaemia - according to a report in Nature Cell Biology.

15 Apr 2008

Lipitor and Celebrex combined may halt prostate cancer

Researchers at Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy have shown that administering a combination of the widely used drugs Celebrex (celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and Lipitor (atorvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug) stops the transition of early prostate cancer to its more aggressive and potentially fatal stage.

15 Apr 2008

Brain study may lead to improved epilepsy treatments

Using a rodent model of epilepsy, researchers found one of the body's own neurotransmitters released during seizures, glutamate, turns on a signaling pathway in the brain that increases production of a protein that could reduce medication entry into the brain.

15 Apr 2008

Stopping unwanted cell death: novel avenue for drug development

Research published in Nature Chemical Biology reveals that three specific inhibitors of a cell death pathway, termed necroptosis, all target and inhibit RIP1 kinase, a protein that can direct cells into necrosis.

13 Apr 2008

Targeted therapy combo overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients benefit from use of USFNA of lymph nodes

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (USFNA) of the lymph nodes is a safe, useful, and minimally invasive procedure for diagnosing metastatic disease in patients who are undergoing preoperative staging for breast cancer, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Rhode Island Hospital/Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI.

13 Apr 2008