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New kidney test better elder mortality predictor

A study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) has found that a test of kidney function that measures blood levels of cystatin C -- a protein produced by most cells in the body -- is a far more accurate predictor of mortality risk in elderly people than the current standard kidney function test, which measures levels of the protein creatinine.

20 May 2005

Disease progression model of pancreatic cancer developed

Building on previous work, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed an animal model of pancreatic cancer that closely mimics disease progression in humans. From this, they hope to develop new treatments for this deadly disease.

20 May 2005

New drug fluticasone was just as effective as beclomethasone and budesonide at opening up constricted breathing passages

A new inhaled drug for chronic asthma may improve lung function as much as two older inhaled asthma drugs but at half the dose, a review of recent studies concludes.

19 May 2005

Obese people incorrectly diagnosed with asthma

Clinical tests carried out by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research indicate obese people may be incorrectly being diagnosed and treated for asthma when in fact the reason for shortness of breath may be related to the extra weight they carry.

18 May 2005

EraGen Biosciences and Bayer announce agreements for new cystic fibrosis (CF) assay

EraGen Biosciences, a rapidly growing molecular diagnostics company and Bayer HealthCare LLC, Diagnostics Division, announced today that EraGen has licensed its patented MultiCode-PLx® System to Bayer HealthCare in an exclusive worldwide agreement for Cystic Fibrosis.

18 May 2005

Concurrent radiation, chemo, followed by surgery lengthens lung cancer patients' survival

Patients whose lung cancer has spread to the lymph nodes have a better chance of long-term survival if they receive combined modality therapy, such as concurrent radiation and chemotherapy followed by surgery, according to a study that Loyola University Health System’s Dr. Kathy S. Albain presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

18 May 2005

Antiretroviral therapy may prevent excess risk of some cancers in people with HIV

In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

18 May 2005

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Chest X-rays may miss 40% of clinically significant thoracic injuries in multiple trauma patients that can be caught by chest CT, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

18 May 2005

Tumor vasculature has become an attractive target in the treatment of cancer.

Treatment with a protein fused to an antibody in tumor-bearing mice led to coagulation of the blood within the tumor blood vessels, tumor tissue death, and tumor growth delay, according to a new study in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 May 2005

New drug combination prevents breast cancer growth pre-surgery

A new type of drug originally developed for lung cancer can reduce the size of breast cancer tumours when taken in combination with other drugs.

17 May 2005

Gefitinib (Iressa) could reduce the size of breast cancer tumours

Giving women with early breast cancer a drug called gefitinib (Iressa) before surgery could reduce the size of their tumours, suggests a randomised trial published online today by The Lancet Oncology.

17 May 2005

No serious health risk for commuters on London's Underground

Commuters and workers on the London’s Tube network, gearing up for another potentially suffocating summer below ground, can at least take some comfort from research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

17 May 2005

Whole-body MRI takes less than twenty minutes to accurately scan a patient’s entire body for cancer spread to the bone

Whole-body MRI with an automatic moving table is effective for evaluating the entire skeleton in patients with suspected bone metastasis (cancer that has spread to the bone from other parts of the body) in a single imaging scan-and it only takes between 15 and 18 minutes, say two different European studies.

17 May 2005

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

MDCT pulmonary angiography is replacing the ventilation-perfusion lung scan to diagnose suspected pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients, say researchers from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

17 May 2005

Antibody combined with cancer drug shows promise against breast tumors

An antibody that targets the blood vessels nourishing tumors significantly reduced breast cancer formation and growth in mice when combined with a current cancer drug, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

16 May 2005

Drugs that block the enzyme Odc prevent the onset of cancers

The drug DFMO prevents cancer in laboratory models of lymphoma but fails to kill existing cancerous cells that have lost the ability to self-destruct, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

16 May 2005

Emerging evidence supports early detection, monitoring, and in some cases treatment for children suffering from high blood pressure

One year after recommending that children should be checked for high blood pressure starting at age 3, medical experts reviewed additional supporting evidence for the pediatric blood pressure guidelines at the American Society of Hypertension's Twentieth Annual Meeting (ASH 2005).

16 May 2005

Significant non-coronary findings found during heart CT scans point to importance of trained radiologists

A significant percentage of patients undergoing targeted CT of the heart have abnormalities outside the coronary arteries, some of which could be life threatening, and as a result need the experience of trained radiologists to interpret them, say researchers from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor.

16 May 2005

Tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73%

A new custom-designed tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73% without compromising diagnostic image quality, say researchers from the VCU Health System, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and Physicians, in Richmond.

16 May 2005

Tarvacin equivalent plus Docetaxel inhibits breast tumor growth by 93%

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that a research article titled "A Monoclonal Antibody that Binds Anionic Phospholipids on Tumor Blood Vessels Enhances the Antitumor Effect of Docetaxel on Human Breast Tumors in Mice" was published in the May 15 issue of Cancer Research.

16 May 2005

Lungs News and Research

New kidney test better elder mortality predictor

Disease progression model of pancreatic cancer developed

New drug fluticasone was just as effective as beclomethasone and budesonide at opening up constricted breathing passages

Obese people incorrectly diagnosed with asthma

EraGen Biosciences and Bayer announce agreements for new cystic fibrosis (CF) assay

Concurrent radiation, chemo, followed by surgery lengthens lung cancer patients' survival

Antiretroviral therapy may prevent excess risk of some cancers in people with HIV

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Tumor vasculature has become an attractive target in the treatment of cancer.

New drug combination prevents breast cancer growth pre-surgery

Gefitinib (Iressa) could reduce the size of breast cancer tumours

No serious health risk for commuters on London's Underground

Whole-body MRI takes less than twenty minutes to accurately scan a patient’s entire body for cancer spread to the bone

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

Antibody combined with cancer drug shows promise against breast tumors

Drugs that block the enzyme Odc prevent the onset of cancers

Emerging evidence supports early detection, monitoring, and in some cases treatment for children suffering from high blood pressure

Significant non-coronary findings found during heart CT scans point to importance of trained radiologists

Tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73%

Tarvacin equivalent plus Docetaxel inhibits breast tumor growth by 93%

The ultimate guide to lung research tools and protocols eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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