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VATS lobectomy best for NSCLC patient short-term outcomes

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy offers better short-term outcomes for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer than open lobectomy, multi-institutional research confirms.

28 Jan 2015

Plasma EGFR mutation cfDNA predicts advanced lung cancer outcome

Monitoring plasma cell-free DNA levels of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations may indicate prognosis for patients with lung adenocarcinoma after EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, research suggests.

28 Jan 2015

SRS fails to improve survival for NSCLC brain metastases patients

Phase III trial findings suggest that carrying out stereotactic radiosurgery before chemotherapy does not improve overall survival for non-small-cell lung cancer patients with asymptomatic brain metastases compared with chemotherapy alone.

28 Jan 2015

EGFR–TKI response worse in NSCLC patients with rare EGFR mutations

In patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, rare epidermal growth factor receptor mutations are associated with a poorer response to EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitors compared with frequently occurring ones, according to a study published in Lung Cancer.

28 Jan 2015

Quest Diagnostics, CDC collaborate to reduce deaths from hepatitis

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced that it will collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify trends in screening, diagnosis and treatment for four strains of viral hepatitis in the United States, based on insights revealed by analysis of Quest's national testing database.

From Quest Diagnostics 28 Jan 2015

Brain inflammation linked to clinical depression

A new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that the measure of brain inflammation in people who were experiencing clinical depression was increased by 30 per cent. The findings, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, have important implications for developing new treatments for depression.

28 Jan 2015

Inhibiting CDK6 protein prevents leukemic stem cells

Despite enormous progress in cancer therapy, many patients still relapse because their treatment addresses the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause, the so-called stem cells. Work in the group of Veronika Sexl at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has given a tantalizing clue to a solution.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers advance generalized concept for future studies of mental resilience

Researchers at the Research Center Translational Neurosciences of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany have advanced a generalized concept as the basis for future studies of mental resilience. Their new approach is based on a mechanistic theory which takes as its starting point the appraisals made by the brain in response to exposure to stressful or threatening situations.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers use game theory to predict interactions of cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Basel and the University of East Anglia were able to predict the interactions of cancer cells using game theory. Their results have been published by the scientific journal PNAS.

28 Jan 2015

Manchester researcher discover novel way to eradicate cancer stem cells

A way to eradicate cancer stem cells, using the side-effects of commonly used antibiotics, has been discovered by a University of Manchester researcher following a conversation with his young daughter.

28 Jan 2015

Preventing obesity-related inflammation may reverse type 2 diabetes

Preventing inflammation in obese fat tissue may hold the key to preventing or even reversing type 2 diabetes, new research has found.

28 Jan 2015

Study shows that some older women with breast cancer could avoid radiotherapy

Some older women with breast cancer could safely avoid radiotherapy, without harming their chances of survival, a study has shown.

28 Jan 2015

ICU patients using ventilators could benefit from assistive communication tools

A new study reveals that more than half of patients in intensive care units (ICU) using ventilators to help them breathe could benefit from assistive communication tools.

28 Jan 2015

TGH develops unique new method to help high-risk patients receive a lung transplant

A unique new method to treat a specific group of patients who are at greater risk of rejecting a donor lung, allowing them to live longer after transplant without rejection, has been developed by the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network.

28 Jan 2015

HCI researchers find cell mechanism that may trigger pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have found that defects in how cells are squeezed out of overcrowded tissue to die, a process called extrusion, may be a mechanism by which pancreatic cancer begins. From these findings, they may have identified an effective way to reverse the defective extrusion's effects without destroying normal tissues nearby.

28 Jan 2015

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists identify the brain's on-off thirst switch

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

28 Jan 2015

New study shows mechanism behind tubulin transport in cilia

Defective cilia can lead to a host of diseases and conditions in the human body--from rare, inherited bone malformations to blindness, male infertility, kidney disease and obesity. Scientists knew that somehow these tiny cell organelles become deformed and cause these diseases because of a problem related to their assembly, which requires the translocation of vast quantities of the vital cell protein tubulin.

28 Jan 2015

Pollinator decline could increase risk of malnutrition, disease

A new study shows that more than half the people in some developing countries could become newly at risk for malnutrition if crop-pollinating animals -- like bees -- continue to decline.

28 Jan 2015

Reducing A2A adenosine receptor levels prevents memory impairments in Alzheimer's mouse model

A study by scientists from the Gladstone Institutes shows that decreasing the number of A2A adenosine receptors in a particular type of brain cells called astrocytes improved memory in healthy mice. What's more, reducing receptor levels also prevented memory impairments in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jan 2015

Alzheimer's Association announces new research grants to study potential drug therapies

Many academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies have identified new Alzheimer's drug therapy candidates, but lack the funding to move them into human testing. At the same time, few funding sources support early-phase clinical drug trials. As a result, too many promising studies stall out early in the discovery process.

28 Jan 2015