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Study reveals publics’ ignorance of anatomy

A study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the open access journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were generally incapable of identifying the location of major organs, even if they were currently receiving relevant treatment.

11 Jun 2009

New drug for muscle degenerating diseases shows great promise

A new drug being studied for the treatment of muscle degenerating diseases has shown promising results. According to a study published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology, Debio 025 is as effective as current drugs but, crucially, does not cause unwanted immunosuppressive effects.

10 Jun 2009

Discovery of new angiogenesis protein - possible cancer drug target

To grow and spread, tumors need new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. One growth factor that causes angiogenesis has been identified - vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF - and drugs to inhibit VEGF are already in use. But not all tumors respond to the therapy initially or over the long term. Thus new growth factors need to be identified to aid in developing the next generation of angiogenesis inhibitors.

9 Jun 2009

New lung cancer therapy with vaporized viral vector shows promise

A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea.

9 Jun 2009

Cremophor-based paclitaxel ‘chemo’ drug triggers fatal allergic reactions

A chemotherapy drug that is supposed to help save cancer patients' lives, instead resulted in life-threatening and sometimes fatal allergic reactions.

9 Jun 2009

Under-representation of women in cancer research

Women continue to be under-enrolled in cancer clinical trials, according to a new review, published in the July 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that greater efforts are needed to ensure that oncologists know the true effects of treatments and medical procedures in female patients.

9 Jun 2009

Cisplatin doubles lung cancer survival time in mice

A lung cancer treatment that inhibits nicotine receptors was shown to double survival time in mice, according to Italian researchers.

9 Jun 2009

Drug-resistant tuberculosis a very real threat in the Pacific region

Health officials in the Pacific are concerned about two new strains of tuberculosis - multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) - both strains have been found to be resistant to the two most powerful drugs that have been used to treat tuberculosis (TB) for the past five decades.

5 Jun 2009

Experimental drug five times more effective against MDR-TB than conventional therapy

A Johnson & Johnson-run study found that its experimental drug TMC207 could make conventional tuberculosis treatment five times more effective against multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) because it cleared traces of the TB bacteria in the sputum of 48 percent of study volunteers after eight weeks, Reuters reports (Emery, Reuters, 6/3). The results were published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

4 Jun 2009

Drug derived from the hydrangea root shows promise for autoimmune disorders

A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children's Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

4 Jun 2009

Cigarette smoking does not affect everyone in same way

Cigarette smoking induced COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease that results in severe breathing difficulty. According to World Health Organization (WHO) it is the fourth leading killer worldwide. However the mechanisms responsible for some smokers developing COPD and others evading the disease have not been well understood.

4 Jun 2009

Discovery of critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer

A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.

4 Jun 2009

Report says 650,000 cancer deaths avoided between 1990 and 2005

The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report finds that 15 years of steady declines in overall cancer death rates translate to about 650,000 deaths from cancer avoided or delayed during that time period. The estimate comes from 'Cancer Statistics 2009,' published early online and appearing in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

4 Jun 2009

Importance of preventing vascular congestion in heart failure

Preventing vascular congestion is an important mediator in heart failure, reports a study in the June issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure, published by Elsevier.

4 Jun 2009

Discovery of protein that helps determine progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers say the protein - Serum surfactant protein A - is superior to other IPF predictors and could lead to better decisions about treatment and timing of lung transplantation.

4 Jun 2009

Prophylactic cranial irradiation prevents early lung cancer metastases to the brain

A national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment. The study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, June 1.

3 Jun 2009

Research looks at relationship between death rates from lung cancer and how much a person smoked

It's common knowledge that smoking raises risks of lung cancer. And yet researchers haven't known whether continued smoking by lung cancer patients would increase the risk of the cancer's spread.

3 Jun 2009

Diabetic medication 'glibenclamide' may prevent nicotine-induced SIDS

According to researchers at McMaster University, exposure of the fetus to nicotine results in the inability to respond to decreases in oxygen - known as hypoxia - which may result in a higher incidence of SIDS.

3 Jun 2009

Hydrogen peroxide marshals immune system

When you were a kid your mom poured it on your scraped finger to stave off infection. When you got older you might have even used it to bleach your hair. Now there's another possible function for this over-the-counter colorless liquid: your body might be using hydrogen peroxide as an envoy that marshals troops of healing cells to wounded tissue.

3 Jun 2009

Simple MRI test involving breathing oxygen helps determine cancer therapy success

A simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test involving breathing oxygen might help oncologists determine the best treatment for some cancer patients, report researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

3 Jun 2009