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Twin studies identify genes that influence human health in unexpected ways

Daniel O'Connor, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has studied about 265 twin pairs over the past few years, which has led him to some surprising discoveries.

18 Apr 2007

Treatment costs fall and quality improves when patients use self-treatment tools

Encouraging patients to become involved in providing their own care can reduce the cost and improve the quality of long-term medical treatment, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in PLoS Medicine this week.

18 Apr 2007

No survival benefit for gastric cancer patients who undergo intensive postoperative chemotherapy

A more intensive postoperative chemotherapy regimen for high-risk gastric cancer patients did not improve their survival, according to a randomized controlled trial in the April 18 Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

18 Apr 2007

Rotavirus can spread beyond the intestine into blood

A new study in PLoS Medicine has shown that children who have rotavirus, a very common cause of diarrhea in children, and who have antigens (protein fragments from the surface of the virus) in their blood, also have infectious virus in their blood.

18 Apr 2007

Researchers observer proteins important in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's moving along axons

Using a novel video-imaging system, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have been able to observe proteins important in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease moving along axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry proteins away from the cell body.

18 Apr 2007

Factors that dictate risk of developing primary or secondary cancer

Every day, people make assumptions, educated and not, about their risk for developing cancer.

18 Apr 2007

Triphala hinders the growth of pancreatic cancer cells

A new study from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute suggests that a commonly used herbal supplement, triphala, has cancer-fighting properties that prevent or slow the growth of pancreatic cancer tumors implanted in mice.

18 Apr 2007

Vaccine halts progression of pancreatic cancer in some patients

A dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine for pancreatic cancer developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has successfully stalled the disease from progressing in a handful of patients three years post-vaccination.

18 Apr 2007

Chemicals in cruciferous vegetables may provide cancer-fighting benefit

Chemicals in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, watercress, cabbage and cauliflower, appear to not only stop human prostate cancer cells from growing in mice but also may cut off the formation of blood vessels that "feed" tumors, says a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute study.

18 Apr 2007

Assessing exposure to airborne nanomaterials

New methods and tools for measuring exposure to airborne engineered nanomaterials will be required to protect the health of workers in nanotechnology-related jobs, estimated to total 10 million people by 2014, according to two occupational health experts writing in the inaugural issue of the journal Nanotoxicology.

18 Apr 2007

World's first MRI-compatible surgical robot

Surgery is about to change with the introduction of a new surgical robotic system at the University of Calgary/Calgary Health Region.

18 Apr 2007

New combined imaging promises insights into multiple sclerosis

Researchers have developed a way to use three types of microscopic imaging techniques simultaneously to analyze living tissue and learn more about the molecular mechanisms of multiple sclerosis, information that could help lead to earlier detection and new treatments.

18 Apr 2007

Risks and benefits of antidepressant treatment for children with depression

According to a new study, conducted by the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice (CIPP) at Columbus Children's Hospital and published in the April 18 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), there is more information for parents about the risks and benefits of antidepressant treatment for children with depression and anxiety disorders.

18 Apr 2007

Nanoparticle delivery system delivers cancer-suppressing gene in M. D. Anderson trial

A cancer-suppressing gene has been successfully delivered into the tumors of stage 4 lung cancer patients via an intravenously administered lipid nanoparticle in a phase I clinical trial at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

18 Apr 2007

New vaccine strategy for head and neck cancers

Most attempts to create therapeutic cancer vaccines are based on custom-made approaches that use a patient's own tumor cells to generate a strong immune response against cancer.

18 Apr 2007

Global Fund must fund salaries of health workers to deliver HIV, TB and malaria treatments

In this week's PLoS Medicine, a team of international health experts issue a bold call to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria: fund the salaries of health workers or else risk a situation in which medicines for these three diseases are made available in poor countries but there are no health professionals to deliver them.

18 Apr 2007