Medical Condition News

RSS

Study: Subjective memory deterioration could be the first manifestation of Alzheimer's

Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, and Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen in Bonn succeeded for the first time in demonstrating that even in merely subjective cases of memory deterioration changes may be visible in certain brain structures.

3 Aug 2011

New approach to overcome complexities of developing more effective drugs for treating diseases

Pharmaceutical scientists typically face a meager five percent success rate for anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials. To help improve this success rate, Japanese scientists, led by Dr. Tetsuya Terasaki, one of the top pharmaceutical scientists focused on drug transporters, have developed a new approach designed to overcome complexities of developing new, more effective drugs to treat diseases, including cancer.

3 Aug 2011

Combination molecules with BRAF inhibitors may help overcome drug resistance in melanoma patients

About 50 to 60 percent of patients with melanoma have a mutation in the BRAF gene that drives the growth of their cancer. Most of these patients respond well to two novel agents being studied in clinical trials that inhibit the gene, with remarkable responses that are, unfortunately, almost always limited in duration.

3 Aug 2011

EAST clinical trial to assess early comprehensive rhythm control therapy for AF

The first patient has been enrolled, in Hamburg, Germany, for the largest pan-European study to determine whether an early comprehensive rhythm control strategy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) will benefit patients.

3 Aug 2011

Role of molecular imaging in diagnosis and clinical trials

Two new studies published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) provide insight into the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) to differentiate between types of dementia and to identify pharmaceuticals to slow the progress of dementia. With proposed National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer's Association guidelines for detecting Alzheimer's-related brain changes expected in September, these articles give a preview of what may be to come.

3 Aug 2011

Insight into how brain organizes during development

Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have taken an important step in identifying how the brain organizes itself during development. The findings, published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology today, describe - in more detail than ever before - the consequences of the loss of a key molecule involved in establishing proper brain architecture during brain development.

3 Aug 2011

Posttraumatic stress disorder linked to persistent fears of recurrent SAH

One-third of patients who have survived a life-threatening subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have disabling symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports a study in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 Aug 2011

Alcohol, tobacco use increase risk of upper aero-digestive tract cancers

Upper aero-digestive tract cancers (UADT), especially those of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx, are often referred to as alcohol-related cancers as it has been shown repeatedly that heavy drinkers, in particular, are at increased risk.

3 Aug 2011

Mood-related brain protein linked to sadness during cigarette withdrawal

Heavy smokers may experience sadness after quitting because early withdrawal leads to an increase in the mood-related brain protein monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has shown. This finding, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, may also explain why heavy smokers are at high risk for clinical depression.

3 Aug 2011

Double-lung transplant survivor stays busy since retirement

Fewer than half of lung transplant patients survive for five years. But nearly 14 years after receiving a double-lung transplant at Loyola University Medical Center, Damian Neuberger's lungs continue to function normally. He breathes easily while walking four or five miles a day.

3 Aug 2011

Combination of six common QA measures could prevent radiotherapy errors

A combination of several well-known safety procedures could greatly reduce patient-harming errors in the use of radiation to treat cancer, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers.

3 Aug 2011

Biomoda to receive European patent for porphyrin-based compound to detect cancer

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. received notification from the European Patent Office of its intention to grant the company's patent application related to a method of using Biomoda's proprietary porphyrin-based compound to detect cancer and pre-cancerous cells in body fluid and tissue samples.

3 Aug 2011

Biotica acquires full rights to rapamycin analogue program from Pfizer

Biotica Technology Ltd. today announced that it has regained full rights from Pfizer Inc. to its rapamycin analogue program, including transfer of data and materials.

3 Aug 2011

Researchers sample hydrogenotrophic microbes in the healthy human colon

They make up less than one-hundredth of 1 percent of the microbes that live in the colon, but the bacteria and archaea that sop up hydrogen in the gut are fundamental to colon health. In a new study, researchers take a first look at these "hydrogenotrophic" microbes, mapping where they live and how abundant they are in different parts of the lower intestine.

3 Aug 2011

Better communication needed between caregivers and their relatives with dementia

Caregivers and their relatives who suffer from mild to moderate dementia often have different perceptions regarding the amount and quality of care given and received. A study by researchers at Penn State and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging examined a major source of those differences -- caregivers do not understand the things that are important to their relatives with dementia.

3 Aug 2011

Risperidone does not appear to reduce military-related PTSD symptoms

Patients with military-related, chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms that were not improved with use of an antidepressant medication did not experience a reduction in PTSD symptoms with use of the antipsychotic medication risperidone, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

3 Aug 2011

Eating legumes, brown rice and dried fruit may decrease risk of colorectal cancer

Eating legumes at least three times a week and brown rice at least once a week was linked to a reduced risk of colon polyps by 33 percent and 40 percent respectively, according to Loma Linda University research recently published in Nutrition and Cancer.

3 Aug 2011

Study evaluates humor and laughter in patients with COPD

Having a sense of humor is associated with improved emotional functioning and an enhanced quality of life among patients with a chronic lung illness, but the actual act of laughing out loud can reduce lung function, at least in the short term, research suggests.

3 Aug 2011

Negative physiological changes may raise risk of type 2 diabetes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 percent of Americans have inactive lifestyles and 75 percent do not meet the weekly exercise recommendations to maintain good health.

3 Aug 2011