Neuro oncology News and Research

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New director appointed at the Saint John’s Neuroscience Institute

Saint John’s Health Center today announced the appointment of world-renowned neurosurgeon Amin Kassam, MD, as Director of the new Saint John’s Neuroscience Institute and faculty member of the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s. Dr. Kassam will lead the development of the new Neuroscience Institute which will offer an international minimally invasive neurosurgery center, as well as neuro-oncology, neuro-vascular surgery and other neuroscience services.

31 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Genome-wide map shows precisely where microRNAs do their work

MicroRNAs are the newest kid on the genetic block. By regulating the unzipping of genetic information, these tiny molecules have set the scientific world alight with such wide-ranging applications as onions that can't make you cry and therapeutic potential for new treatments for viral infections, cancer and degenerative diseases. But the question remains: How do they work?

17 Jun 2009

Needle biopsies safe in 'eloquent' areas of brain

After a review of 284 cases, specialists at the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute have concluded that performing a stereotactic needle biopsy in an area of the brain associated with language or other important functions carries no greater risk than a similar biopsy in a less critical area of the brain.

3 Jun 2009

3 events offer hope for people with brain tumors

People with brain tumors, and those who love and care for them, will observe Brain Tumor Awareness Week with three educational and celebratory events sponsored by the University of Rochester Medical Center and James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2009

Avastin safe and effective at delaying tumor progression

The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

6 Apr 2009

Discovery of marker for severity in adult brain cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a new biological indicator that may help identify which brain-cancer patients have the most aggressive forms of the disease.

1 Apr 2009

Angiogenesis inhibitor improves glioblastoma survival by reducing edema

The beneficial effects of anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas appear to result primarily from reduction of edema - the swelling of brain tissue - and not from any direct anti-tumor effect, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of master regulator of motor neuron firing

When the Human Genome Project was complete, DNA bowed out of the limelight and gave way to RNA as a major player in genetic regulation.

15 Mar 2009

Promising clinical trial for Progeria "premature aging" disease

One of the fastest translations of a basic research discovery into a promising clinical trial for an "untreatable" and fatal disorder will be discussed publicly for the first time by the key players in this remarkable research story, on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)'s annual meeting in San Francisco.

14 Dec 2008

Best treatments found for long-term survival in low-grade gliomas

A new Mayo Clinic study found that patients with low-grade gliomas survived longest when they underwent aggressive surgeries to successfully remove the entire tumor.

3 Dec 2008

Antineoplaston treatment for gliomas granted orphan drug designation by FDA

The Burzynski Research Institute, Inc. (BRI) has announced that its antineoplaston A10 and antineoplaston AS2-1 therapy (ANP) has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the treatment of gliomas. It is estimated that in 2008 more than 21,000 men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with this type of cancer, with prevalence estimated at approximately 84,000 cases.

2 Dec 2008

Novel device enhances efficacy of standard chemotherapy

NovoCure Ltd. presented results yesterday evaluating the Novo-TTF device in vitro and in a pilot clinical trial that showed the device enhanced the efficacy of standard chemotherapy (temozolomide) treatment in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients.

24 Nov 2008

New method provides panoramic view of protein-RNA interactions in living cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not - could not - by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not -- could not -- by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

New hope for a better treatment for childhood cancer

Children who are diagnosed with cancer could benefit from better diagnosis and treatment in the future thanks to a new research project involving clinicians and scientists at The University of Nottingham.

20 Oct 2008

UAB joins elite brain cancer research group

Brain cancer experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have been selected for membership in the Ivy Genomics-Based Medicine Project. The project is a national consortium of cutting-edge hospitals and academic centers working to improve treatment and survival for patients with a kind of malignant brain tumor called a glioma.

8 Jul 2008