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Postoperative chemotherapy does not improve survival in gastric cancer patients

The use of combination chemotherapy following surgery did not improve survival in patients with gastric cancer, according to a randomized clinical trial published online March 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

12 Mar 2008

Post brain injury: New nerve cells originate from neural stem cells

Most cells in the human brain are not nerve cells, but supporting cells (glial cells).

12 Mar 2008

Turning off rogue macrophages

University of Pennsylvania scientists studying macrophages, the biological cells that spring from white blood cells to eat and destroy foreign or dying cells, have discovered how these "policemen" differentiate between friend and foe.

12 Mar 2008

A road map to safer pain control, cost savings during colonoscopies

At a time when several U.S. health insurers have discontinued payment for use of the sedative propofol during most screening colonoscopies, physicians at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that an alternative way to administer the drug could both save millions of health care dollars and provide a safer way to deliver optimal pain relief.

12 Mar 2008

Switch for programmed cell death promotes spread of glioblastoma

Malignant tumors have usually lost their ability to destroy themselves by programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

12 Mar 2008

New imaging technique provides better view of Barrett's esophagus

Novel techniques to improve the quality of imaging are helping doctors get a better look at esophageal conditions such as Barrett's esophagus (BE), but they do not necessarily improve the diagnosis or physician agreement on images, according to a study published this month in Gastroenterology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

12 Mar 2008

New resuscitation approach for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest associated with increased survival

Patients who had cardiac arrests outside of the hospital setting and were treated with a resuscitation approach designed to limit interruption of chest compressions, termed minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR), were more likely to survive than those patients who received standard treatments, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Mar 2008

Myostatin shows promise for muscular dystrophy

Myostatin, a protein that blocks muscle growth, has shown promising results as a potential therapeutic target for treating muscular dystrophy in animal studies, where its inhibition led to increased muscle mass and strength.

12 Mar 2008

New cancer research model bridges health disparity gap

The Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network (ACORN), a national oncology clinical trial network, has announced that it is bridging the disparity gap in healthcare to underserved communities by enrolling more than double the national average of African Americans in cancer-related clinical trials.

12 Mar 2008

New findings do not support recommendation for universal screening on hospital admission for MRSA

New findings do not support the recommendation for universal screening on hospital admission for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections in surgical patients, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Mar 2008

Monthly contact with counselor provides some benefit for maintaining weight loss

Weight-loss program participants who had a brief, monthly personal contact intervention - most often a 10-15 minute phone conversation - regained less weight than participants who were in a Web-based intervention or self-directed program, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Mar 2008

Study finds equal care in hospitals

A University of Maryland study of whether people receive different quality of hospital care because of their race or ethnicity found that when whites and minorities are admitted to a hospital for the same reason, they receive the same quality care in that hospital.

12 Mar 2008

Less education may mean shorter life

It's no secret that over the last few decades, life expectancy in the United States has been rising.

12 Mar 2008

Cervarix shows long-term protection from cervical cancer

New data demonstrate that GlaxoSmithKline's cervical cancer candidate vaccine, CERVARIX provides significant protection for women against the four most common cancer- causing human papillomavirus types for nearly six and a half years, the longest duration of protection reported to date.

12 Mar 2008

UT Southwestern offers free educational sessions on weight-loss surgery

UT Southwestern Medical Center is now offering free monthly education sessions for potential patients interested in weight-loss surgery.

12 Mar 2008

Glaucoma associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death in black patients

In a population of African origin, persons with diagnosed and treated glaucoma appeared to have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes, according to a study by Suh-Yuh Wu, and colleagues in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University, the University of the West Indies, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

12 Mar 2008