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Aspirin may prevent cancer metastasis and halt its progress: Study

Aspirin has numerous benefits. It is already known that it may prevent cancer. Research shows it may also be an effective treatment for halting the disease once it has started. An analysis of five large trials of people who took a daily low dose aspirin showed that among those who developed cancer it reduced its spread to distant organs by 40 to 50 per cent.

21 Mar 2012

Bone-marrow derived MSCs may reduce acute rejection rates in kidney recipients

Among patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing living-related kidney transplants, the use of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal (cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) stem cells instead of antibody induction therapy resulted in a lower incidence of acute rejection, decreased risk of opportunistic infection, and better estimated kidney function at 1 year, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Mar 2012

Common pain relievers could cause hypertension

Diseases such as kidney failure and endocrine tumors are among the suspects causing high blood pressure - but could the common pain relievers in your medicine cabinet be the culprit? According to Prof. Ehud Grossman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center, many common over-the-counter and prescription medications are underlying causes of hypertension, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and aneurisms.

21 Mar 2012

Indian patent court licenses generic copy of Bayer’s blockbuster anticancer drug

Last week an Indian patent court shocked the $600 billion global pharmaceutical business by ordering Bayer, the German health care giant, to allow a tiny Indian generic drug company to sell cheap copies of the blockbuster cancer drug Nexavar – even though everyone agrees that the drug is protected by a patent. Instead, the court decided that Bayer had an obligation to make Nexavar available to people in India who needed it.

20 Mar 2012

Maryland officials seek to boost enrollment in high risk insurance plan

People with medical problems often have trouble buying insurance but the program, funded by the federal government, offers plans designed for them.

20 Mar 2012

U.S. Senator from Texas receives NSBRI's Pioneer Award

In recognition of her ongoing support of the nation's human spaceflight program, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is the 2012 recipient of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute's (NSBRI) Pioneer Award.

20 Mar 2012

NIH awards Avaxia $1.5M Phase II SBIR grant to develop antibody therapeutic for IBD

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotech company using its proprietary platform technology to develop orally-active antibody therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, is proud to announce that it has received a second round of funding from the National Institutes of Health for its work in inflammatory bowel disease.

19 Mar 2012

Addition of two MRI sequences to MRPA improves detection of pulmonary embolism

New research shows that the addition of two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences to a common MR angiography technique significantly improves detection of pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening condition traditionally diagnosed through computed tomography.

19 Mar 2012

Scientist generates mutant version of IL-2 protein to treat advanced cancers

The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity.

19 Mar 2012

3 million Australians to develop diabetes by 2025

According to the latest figures, one in three of today's young Australians will go on to develop diabetes. A new assessment of national health data released by Diabetes Australia today shows 1.5 million Australians currently have diabetes. It says the diabetes rate is likely to at least double in Australia over the next decade, and predicts 3 million people will have type 2 diabetes by 2025.

18 Mar 2012

Researchers report higher price tag for robotic prostatectomy surgery

In perfecting the science of medicine, advancements always face exhaustive scrutiny and opposition. Typically, these rigors focus on confirming the efficacy of a procedure or treatment to ensure it remains in the patient's best interest for healing or wellness. More recently, with heightened emphasis on government-funded healthcare, medical procedures such as robotic prostatectomy surgery for prostate cancer treatment are under fire for cost.

17 Mar 2012

Experts highlight latest advances in use of biomarkers in various diseases

Over the last few decades there has been an explosion in the discovery of biomarkers for diagnosis, disease monitoring, and prognostic evaluation. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "Biomarkers: New Tools of Modern Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores the promise and challenges of biomarker discovery and highlights the latest advances in the use of biomarkers in various diseases.

16 Mar 2012

CUMC scientists develop a way to recreate personalized immune mouse

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have developed a way to recreate an individual's immune system in a mouse. The "personalized immune mouse" offers researchers an unprecedented tool for individualized analysis of abnormalities that contribute to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, starting at the onset of disease.

15 Mar 2012

New rule ensuring equal access for ESRD patients receives DPC praise

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation's largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, applauded the Administration for taking steps to solidify a key provision that will ensure end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have equal access to private coverage as Affordable Care Act reforms are implemented.

14 Mar 2012

Researchers identify first gene mutation associated with chronic, often fatal form of neuroblastoma

Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with a chronic and often fatal form of neuroblastoma that typically strikes adolescents and young adults. The finding provides the first clue about the genetic basis of the long-recognized but poorly understood link between treatment outcome and age at diagnosis.

14 Mar 2012

Azithromycin associated with lower duration of bacterial carriage in E. coli outbreak

In the E coli outbreak in Germany in May 2011, treatment with azithromycin was associated with a lower frequency of long-term carriage of the bacteria and shorter duration of shedding of the bacteria in stool specimens, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

Modified Citrus Pectin binds and blocks harmful effects of Galectin-3

Galectin-3 sounds like a planet out of "Star Trek," but it can be much more ominous. Recently, distinguished integrative physician Isaac Eliaz, M.D., presented breakthrough research demonstrating that the protein Galectin-3 is an active biomarker for numerous life-threatening diseases. Even more importantly, Dr. Eliaz showed how Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) binds and blocks Galectin-3 throughout the body.

14 Mar 2012

Living-donor parathyroid gland transplant allows young woman to forgo 60 pills per day

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System performed a rare living-donor parathyroid gland transplant to help a 22-year-old woman maintain normal calcium levels without the need for high-dose supplementation.

13 Mar 2012

Study describes horrific experiences of poor organ trafficking victims

A Michigan State University anthropologist who spent more than a year infiltrating the black market for human kidneys has published the first in-depth study describing the often horrific experiences of poor people who were victims of organ trafficking.

13 Mar 2012

Human diseases with Drosophila counterparts discussed at annual conference

More than two-thirds of human genes have counterparts in the well-studied fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, so although it may seem that humans don't have much in common with flies, the correspondence of our genetic instructions is astonishing. In fact, there are hundreds of inherited diseases in humans that have Drosophila counterparts.

12 Mar 2012