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Using light under your skin

You have a tiny wound on your hand that doesn’t heal, a bad burn on your chest – or an injured retina. Your doctor cannot tell how serious the injuries are below the surface. He needs tissue samples. That means using a scalpel, which again equals pain, perhaps even a risk. Soon there may be hope for an improved and totally harmless method to peer under the surface of the skin: light.

23 Apr 2005

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can successfully identify the characteristics of coronary plaques

A catheter-based imaging technology called optical coherence tomography (OCT) can successfully identify the characteristics of coronary plaques in patients with various cardiac symptoms. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will appear in the journal Circulation.

29 Mar 2005

Update on Sudan I contamination

The Food Standards Agency has released an update on food products contaminated with the illegal dye Sudan I.

22 Feb 2005

New genetic clues provide better understanding of epilepsy

Two specific areas in chromosome 7 and chromosome 16 have been associated with photosensitivity, an epilepsy-related trait, by a team of European scientists in the January issue of Human Molecular Genetics.

5 Jan 2005

Pioneering surgical technique for treatment of breast cancer

Women in Britain with breast cancer will soon benefit from a pioneering surgical technique developed by Professor Robert Mansel and his team at Cardiff University, Wales College of Medicine in the UK.

16 Nov 2004

World’s strongest acid may have a role in synthesizing pharmaceuticals

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered the world’s strongest acid. Remarkably it is also the gentlest acid. This non-toxic and non-corrosive acid may have a role in processes such as improving the quality of gasoline, developing polymers and synthesizing pharmaceuticals.

16 Nov 2004

Body's 'internal marijuana': A new target for treatment of schizophrenia, Parkinson's?

“Endocannabinoids” is an impressive word that sounds like the name for a group of tribal warriors or an ancient people. Actually, it is the scientific term for beneficial molecules produced in the brain that act as “a sort of internal marijuana in our system

4 Nov 2004

Gene regulated by need to process proteins linked to enlargement of protein processing factory

Part of a cellular mechanism that regulates the folding of new proteins into their proper shapes also includes a genetic response that enlarges the factory where both protein folding and packaging of proteins occurs.

2 Nov 2004

Hormone therapy findings suggest a complex relationship between marketing, scientific evidence and prescribing patterns

Pharmaceutical companies slashed their promotional spending for hormone therapies by more than a third following reports in July 2002 of health risks associated with the drugs, but within the year they beefed up their marketing efforts to promote lower-dose forms of the medications

1 Nov 2004

Cellular enzyme represents a potential new target for developing improved HIV drugs

Scientists have discovered that a cellular enzyme helps ferry HIV genetic instructions out of the cell nucleus where they can then be translated into proteins to begin their most destructive work.

1 Nov 2004

Pegasys with ribavirin combo may best for reducing hepatitis C viral levels

Interim study results indicate a certain drug combination treatment may suppress the hepatitis C virus more quickly than another.

1 Nov 2004

Chronic diseases linked to obesity could put the brakes on economic progress in many developing countries

Chronic diseases linked to obesity could put the brakes on economic progress in many developing countries unless urgent action is taken, experts warned at the opening of the first major international conference on obesity in Africa yesterday (Oct 28).

29 Oct 2004

Nonprescription medications to treat upper respiratory infections could save $4.75 billion a year

Using nonprescription, or over-the-counter (OTC), medications to treat common upper respiratory infections could save $4.75 billion a year, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University.

26 Oct 2004

Transplanted human retinal stem cells can successfully regenerate

"We transplanted the cells early in the animals' development when all the nutrients and signals they needed for differentiation were still there," says lead author Brenda Coles, a U of T laboratory technician working under the supervision of Professor Derek van der Kooy in the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology. "When their eyes fully developed, the human cells survived, migrated into the sensory part of the eye and formed the correct cells."

25 Oct 2004

National Cancer Institute symposium exploring the application of nanotechnology in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, which includes The Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center and the Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals of Cleveland, will sponsor a National Cancer Institute symposium exploring the application of nanotechnology in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.

25 Oct 2004

Findings could lead to improvements in the next generation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators

For people who suffer from a rapid heartbeat condition called tachycardia, an implanted device can usually nudge the racing blood pump back into a normal rhythm by applying electrical pulses to the heart.

25 Oct 2004

High levels of a protein called LRP6 can make cancer cells more aggressive

The protein's ability to enhance tumor development suggests that the gene that codes for LRP6 is an oncogene--a gene that contributes to tumor development when overactivated.

25 Oct 2004

New understanding of how poxviruses jump from species to species

A Canadian study conducted at Robarts Research Institute sheds new light on how poxviruses can jump from species to species -- and will lead to further exploration of another potential candidate in the emerging field of “oncolytic viruses” to fight cancer.

25 Oct 2004

Infection plays a larger role than lack of oxygen in premature infants with brain injury

Johns Hopkins researchers have dispelled the widespread belief among obstetricians that, in premature infants, brain injury results from a lack of oxygen, also called hypoxia, when, in fact, infection plays a larger role.

24 Oct 2004

Human primitive spinal cord cells may delay symptoms and paralysis associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

Human primitive spinal cord cells delayed symptoms and paralysis by a week when implanted in the spinal cord of rats destined to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers from Johns Hopkins report.

24 Oct 2004

OCT News and Research

Using light under your skin

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can successfully identify the characteristics of coronary plaques

Update on Sudan I contamination

New genetic clues provide better understanding of epilepsy

Pioneering surgical technique for treatment of breast cancer

World’s strongest acid may have a role in synthesizing pharmaceuticals

Body's 'internal marijuana': A new target for treatment of schizophrenia, Parkinson's?

Gene regulated by need to process proteins linked to enlargement of protein processing factory

Hormone therapy findings suggest a complex relationship between marketing, scientific evidence and prescribing patterns

Cellular enzyme represents a potential new target for developing improved HIV drugs

Pegasys with ribavirin combo may best for reducing hepatitis C viral levels

Chronic diseases linked to obesity could put the brakes on economic progress in many developing countries

Nonprescription medications to treat upper respiratory infections could save $4.75 billion a year

Transplanted human retinal stem cells can successfully regenerate

National Cancer Institute symposium exploring the application of nanotechnology in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer

Findings could lead to improvements in the next generation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators

High levels of a protein called LRP6 can make cancer cells more aggressive

New understanding of how poxviruses jump from species to species

Infection plays a larger role than lack of oxygen in premature infants with brain injury

Human primitive spinal cord cells may delay symptoms and paralysis associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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