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Dendritic cell vaccine induces immune responses in patients

A new process for creating a personalized vaccine may become a crucial tool in helping patients with colorectal cancer develop an immune response against their own tumors. This dendritic cell (DC) vaccine, developed at Dartmouth and described in a research paper published this week in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, was used after surgical resection of metastatic tumors to try to prevent the growth of additional metastases.

25 Nov 2010

How HIV kills CD4 T cells

Researchers appear to have an explanation for a longstanding question in HIV biology: how it is that the virus kills so many CD4 T cells, despite the fact that most of them appear to be "bystander" cells that are themselves not productively infected. That loss of CD4 T cells marks the progression from HIV infection to full-blown AIDS, explain the researchers who report their findings in studies of human tonsils and spleens in the November 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication.

25 Nov 2010

Breastfeeding while remaining on epilepsy medications may not affect child's IQ

There's good news for women with epilepsy. Breastfeeding your baby while taking your seizure medication may have no harmful effect on your child's IQ later on, according to a study published in the November 24, 2010, online issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Nov 2010

American Board Diplomat joins Ascendant Neuro for treating pain management

Ascendant Neuro is pleased to announce the addition of Jack A. Chapman, M.D., a nationally recognized pain management specialist, who will work to further advance the group's minimally invasive pain treatment techniques through the innovative use of neurostimulators and other conservative treatments.

25 Nov 2010

Haiti cholera death toll increases, U.N. boosts estimate for number of expected cases

"The cholera epidemic in Haiti is gathering pace and some violence is expected when the country holds elections this week, U.N. officials warned Tuesday," Agence France-Presse reports. The official death toll from cholera is now above 1,400, but "experts believe that the real toll is close to 2,000 dead and the number of cases is between 60,000 and 70,000 rather than the 50,000 given by the authorities, Nigel Fisher, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Haiti said," according to the news service (11/23).

25 Nov 2010

Chronic jet lag alters brain's intricate role in memory processing

Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that cause memory and learning problems long after one's return to a regular 24-hour schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists.

25 Nov 2010

DSM wins Most Innovative Health Ingredient Award

DSM Nutritional Products triumphed at this year's HiE Excellence Awards with Fruitflow® - the first natural, scientifically substantiated solution for the promotion of healthy blood flow. As well as winning the Most Innovative Health Ingredient Award, DSM also won an Excellence Award in the category of Heart Health.

25 Nov 2010

Mercury from dental fillings exceeds Reference Exposure Level: Report

A new risk assessment report submitted by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that mercury from dental fillings is estimated to cause 67.2 million Americans to exceed the Reference Exposure Level (REL) of 0.3 ug/m3 established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in 1995.

25 Nov 2010

Media outlets continue to follow major HIV/AIDS developments this week

Media outlets continued to track the major developments in HIV/AIDS this week, including: prevention research using an antiretroviral; new UNAIDS estimates of HIV/AIDS around the world; and Pope Benedict XVI's stance on condoms for HIV prevention.

25 Nov 2010

Intelerad releases new embedded Multi-Method Reporting module for InteleOne, IntelePACS solutions

Intelerad® Medical Systems, a leader in medical imaging PACS and workflow solutions, today announced their new embedded Multi-Method Reporting™ module for their InteleOne™ and IntelePACS® solutions.

25 Nov 2010

Poor governance major cause of Africa’s water problems, AfDB report says

A report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the 3rd Africa Water Week, points to poor governance as a major cause of the inadequate water supply that threatens the health of millions living in Africa, 234next.com reports

25 Nov 2010

Diogenes study investigates optimum diet composition for preventing, treating obesity

Researchers at the Faculty of Life Sciences (LIFE), University of Copenhagen, can now unveil the results of the world's largest diet study: If you want to lose weight, you should maintain a diet that is high in proteins with more lean meat, low-fat dairy products and beans and fewer finely refined starch calories such as white bread and white rice.

25 Nov 2010

Cannabis compounds trigger immune cells that promote cancer growth

An international team of immunologists studying the effects of cannabis have discovered how smoking marijuana can trigger a suppression of the body's immune functions. The research, published in the European Journal of Immunology, reveals why cannabis users are more susceptible to certain types of cancers and infections.

25 Nov 2010

Embryonic stem cell research has not made good on taxpayer investment

In 2004 Robert Klein, chairman of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), helped pass Proposition 71, establishing the CIRM with a state taxpayer-funded $3 billion budget for ten years. The measure was passed with promises of affordable cures for virtually all diseases, cures specifically from embryonic stem cells and cloning, as well as tremendous financial payback for the citizens of California. The Los Angeles Times recently noted that Klein plans to seek up to $3 billion more from state taxpayers for his stem cell fiefdom.

25 Nov 2010

Public health: Frequency of dialysis treatment questioned, chemotherapy drug shortages

A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that receiving dialysis six days a week results in better self-reported patient health than the conventional treatment of three times per week.

25 Nov 2010

RCSI review highlights development in drug discovery field

A research review carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and published in 'Nature Reviews and Drug Discovery' (October 2010) has highlighted the lessons, opportunities and recent developments in the area of drug development for cardiovascular disease, auto-immune disorders and multiple sclerosis.

25 Nov 2010

Middle East meeting addresses global food security

At a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council to address global food security, ministers "pledged to a set of recommendations meant to improve co-operation and develop policies that could cope with a sudden interruption of food supplies" and vowed to "improve co-operation with international bodies such as the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on food security matters," The National reports (Detrie, 11/24).

25 Nov 2010

Privacy complaint targets online health sites

The New York Times: Consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging popular health websites are collecting too much information from users, saying that "site visitors who provide personal details about themselves might not be aware that QualityHealth [among other websites] collects information about people's medical conditions, preferred medicines and treatment plans and uses it to profile its users for prescription drug marketing" (Singer, 11/23).

25 Nov 2010

Tension-dependent stabilization helps chromosome separation machinery

Scientists have discovered an amazingly simple way that cells stabilize their machinery for forcing apart chromosomes. Their findings are reported Nov. 25 in Nature.

25 Nov 2010

Brain sees same face as male or female depending on field of view

Neuroscientists at MIT and Harvard have made the surprising discovery that the brain sees some faces as male when they appear in one area of a person's field of view, but female when they appear in a different location.

25 Nov 2010