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Integrated approach to IMRT provides quality care for head and neck cancer patients

Results from a University of Pittsburgh study demonstrate that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer can be uniformly delivered in a large health care system of academic and community cancer centers through a centralized planning and treatment process.

28 Oct 2007

Highly targeted radiation therapy for prostate cancer prevents damage to surrounding organs

Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers have found that highly targeted radiation therapy for prostate cancer can ensure that the majority of persons with this tumor will not have any long-term rectal damage.

28 Oct 2007

Extensive review supports safety of silicone breast implants

An exhaustive review - the first in almost a decade, including the latest evidence on the health effects of silicone breast implants - finds no increase in the risk of cancers, connective tissue diseases, or other serious chronic diseases.

28 Oct 2007

Mindfulness-based stress reduction study

A researcher at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) is initiating a study of "mindfulness-based stress reduction," a technique often used in behavioral medicine for stress reduction but not before as an adjunct in the treatment of alcohol use disorders.

28 Oct 2007

Education program leads to lasting improvement of cancer knowledge in African Americans

Disparities in access to health care and education hinder minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations from receiving needed cancer services and often lead to delayed cancer diagnoses.

28 Oct 2007

FDA warns about 'stay awake drug' Provigil

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning in connection with the drug Provigil because of dangerous side effects.

28 Oct 2007

Blood markers can help choose best dose for antiangiogenic drugs

Scientists at Sunnybrook have new information that may help to improve the use of anti-cancer drugs designed to block the growth of new blood vessels in tumors, a process called angiogenesis that is critical to tumor growth.

25 Oct 2007

Stanford researchers get precise picture of cell target for drugs

More than half of all drugs given to patients work by targeting a particular type of "docking station," or receptor, found on body cells, to steer the cell's machinery toward healing an illness.

25 Oct 2007

piRNAs play an important role in controlling gene function

A study by researchers at the Yale Stem Cell Center for the first time demonstrates that piRNAs, a recently discovered class of tiny RNAs, play an important role in controlling gene function, it was reported this week in Nature.

25 Oct 2007

Public not so sure about 'personalized medicine'

Ordinary people worry about the extra, and often burdensome, responsibilities which could come with scientists' promises of 'personalised medicine', according to evidence to be presented at a major two-day showcase of groundbreaking social science research into the whole field of genomics, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

25 Oct 2007

Diffusion tensor imaging shows structural changes in mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers report that diffusion tensor imaging can identify structural changes in the white matter of the brain that correlates to cognitive deficits even in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

25 Oct 2007

HIV patients are actually sicker when they begin therapy

It was hoped that as HIV treatment improved and as HIV-related public health initiatives encouraged people to be tested for the disease and seek care, that HIV-infected patients would seek care quickly.

25 Oct 2007

French clay fights flesh-eating bug

French clay that kills several kinds of disease-causing bacteria is at the forefront of new research into age-old, nearly forgotten, but surprisingly potent cures.

25 Oct 2007

Valsartan might help prevent Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease that is the most common form of dementia, is characterized by the formation in the brain of plaques containing misfolded beta-amyloid protein.

25 Oct 2007

Human decision-making linked to an individuals' need to maintain a homeostatic balance

A researcher at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine suggests that psychiatrists may need to approach the treatment of psychiatric patients from a new direction - by understanding that such individuals' behavior and decision-making are based on an attempt to reach an inner equilibrium.

25 Oct 2007

Many medical disorders may be languishing in mountains of discarded gene data

Previously hidden obesity-related genes have been uncovered from old experiments by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

24 Oct 2007

Specialists in infectious disease and global health convene at Philadelphia meeting

Nearly 2,500 physicians and scientists from institutions around the world such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health will meet at the 56th American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's Annual Meeting on Nov. 4-8, in Philadelphia to discuss the latest research on infectious diseases and bioterrorist and global health threats.

24 Oct 2007

Hands quicker than eyes when it comes to screening

That fleeting moment of regret between clicking the wrong icon and seeing an unwanted web page pop onto the screen could make a huge difference in improving the accuracy of visual searches in medicine and homeland security.

24 Oct 2007

Role of cholesteryl ester hydrolase in reducing heart disease identified

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a key enzyme called CEH in reducing heart disease, paving the way for new target therapies to reduce plaques in the arteries and perhaps in the future, help predict a patient's susceptibility to heart disease.

24 Oct 2007