Medical News

RSS

Discoveries pave way for use of new therapies for advanced thyroid cancer

For many years, patients with advanced thyroid cancer faced bleak prospects and no viable treatment options. But now, building on recent discoveries about the genetics and cell signaling pathways of thyroid tumors, researchers are developing exciting new weapons against the disease, using kinase inhibitors that target tumor cell division and blood vessels.

30 Sep 2013

House votes to delay health law, repeal medical device tax

Senate Democrats say they cannot accept the provisions in House GOP's newest bill to fund the government. Without agreement between Senate and House, the government could shut down Tuesday.

30 Sep 2013

Chinese and Western medicine combination could offer new hope for cancer treatments, therapies

Combining traditional forms of Chinese and Western medicine could offer new hope for developing new treatments for liver, lung, colorectal cancers and osteosarcoma of the bones.

30 Sep 2013

Oxytocin helps humans accept others, study finds

Oxytocin - often referred to as the 'love hormone' because of its ability to promote mother-infant attachment and romantic bonding in adults - could also make us more accepting of other people, as found in new research, "Oxytocin Sharpens Self-other Perceptual Boundary," by Neuropsychoanalysis Foundation research grantee Valentina Colonnello Ph.D. published online today in Psychoneuroendocrinology.

30 Sep 2013

Health expenditure link to cancer survival in Europe

The more an EU national government spends on health, the fewer the deaths after a cancer diagnosis in that country, according to new research to be presented to the 2013 European Cancer Congress today (Sunday) and published simultaneously in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology.

30 Sep 2013

Parsing the premiums in new Obamacare exchanges

Media outlets analyze the data on premiums for 36 states released this week by the Obama administration -- looking at the impact of competition on prices and assessing which regions -- and which consumers -- might be winners or losers in the new online marketplaces.

30 Sep 2013

Department of Defense backs tissue-engineering research for soldiers, civilians

A $75 million Department of Defense grant to improve technologies to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield and advance care for the public will involve bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

30 Sep 2013

Diabetic patients at greater risk of breast, colon cancer

Diabetes is linked to an increased risk of developing cancer, and now researchers have performed a unique meta-analysis that excludes all other causes of death and found that diabetic patients not only have an increased risk of developing breast and colon cancer but an even higher risk of dying from them.

30 Sep 2013

Novel nuclear MRI technique delivers roughly 10-nanometer spatial resolution

A team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University has devised a novel nuclear magnetic resonance imaging technique that delivers a roughly 10-nanometer spatial resolution.

30 Sep 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013

In state politics, anti-Obamacare attacks continue as outreach ramps up

Some state officials tout their anti-Obamacare credentials as enrollment efforts pick up on the eve of the Oct. 1 opening of new online marketplaces.

30 Sep 2013

New treatment methods aim to help people reduce binge-eating behavior

Two new treatment methods under investigation at Drexel University aim to help people reduce binge-eating behavior.

30 Sep 2013

Colorectal cancer in younger people appears to be more aggressive

Younger patients with colorectal cancer that has spread (metastasised) to other parts of the body represent a high-risk group that is less likely to respond to anti-cancer treatments.

29 Sep 2013

First Phase II study: Everolimus drug slows spread of advanced papillary kidney cancer

The first Phase II study to investigate the use of the anti-cancer drug, everolimus, for the initial treatment of advanced papillary kidney cancer has shown that it is successful in slowing or preventing the spread of the disease, according to research to be presented today (Sunday) at the 2013 European Cancer Congress.

29 Sep 2013

Colorectal cancer screening in European countries highly effective in reducing mortality

Screening for colorectal cancer in European countries is highly effective in reducing mortality from the disease. Some of the resources currently being devoted to breast and prostate screening programmes, where the evidence of effectiveness is much less clear-cut, should be reallocated to the early detection of CRC, the 2013 European Cancer Congress will hear today (Sunday).

29 Sep 2013

Doing yoga during menopause linked to less insomnia

Taking a 12-week yoga class and practicing at home was linked to less insomnia-but not to fewer or less bothersome hot flashes or night sweats. The link between yoga and better sleep was the only statistically significant finding in this MsFLASH (Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health) Network randomized controlled trial.

29 Sep 2013

Biochemists discover promising vitamin D-based treatment that can halt MS

A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course.

29 Sep 2013

Study provides new insights into type 1 diabetes pathology

Joslin researchers have identified immune cells that promote growth of beta cells in type 1 diabetes. This study provides further evidence of a changed role for immune cells in type 1 diabetes pathology. The study appears online today and will also appear in the January issue of Diabetes.

29 Sep 2013

Researchers discover severe health consequences of folic acid deficiency

Researchers from the universities of Calgary and Cambridge, UK, have discovered that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects, such as spina bifida and heart abnormalities, on subsequent generations.

29 Sep 2013

Scientists identify 140 regions of genetic code believed to contain undiscovered cancer genes

Scanning the DNA of nearly 5,000 tumor samples, a team led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute has identified 140 regions of scrambled genetic code believed to contain many undiscovered cancer genes.

29 Sep 2013