Scientists have designed a first draft of a mathematical model that someday could guide treatment decisions for advanced prostate cancer, in part by helping doctors predict how individual patients will respond to therapy based on the biology of their tumors. These decisions would apply to treatment of cancer that has already spread beyond the prostate [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first system that can repair a failed or problematic aortic endograft, a fabric tube used to repair a dangerously large aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the large blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. FDA’s action will provide surgeons with a minimally-invasive [...]
Metabolic syndrome biomarkers predict subsequent decline in lung function after particulate exposure, according to new research involving rescue personnel exposed to World Trade Center (WTC) dust. In a nested case-control study of 327 non-smoking FDNY 9/11 rescue workers, metabolic syndrome biomarkers measured within six months of exposure to WTC dust predicted decline of forced expiratory [...]
FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., said today she is revoking the agency’s approval of the breast cancer indication for Avastin (bevacizumab) after concluding that the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use. Avastin will still remain on the market as an approved treatment for certain types of colon, [...]
The development of simple tests to predict a leukemic relapse in young patients is a step closer thanks to researchers from the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Montreal. Approximately 20 percent of young leukemia patients who are treated with stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood will experience leukemic relapse. The [...]
Collaborative research from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has shown that psoriasis patients have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, especially if the psoriasis is moderate to severe. Now, Penn researchers have discovered the potential underlying mechanism by which the inflammatory skin disease impacts cardiovascular health. In [...]
Hirano bodies are almost indescribably tiny objects found in nerve cells of people suffering from conditions such as Alzheimer’s, mad cow and Lou Gehrig’s diseases. Yet for decades, researchers weren’t sure if these structures helped cause the conditions or appeared after onset of the disease and had some other role. Now, in research at the [...]
Researchers in the United States have shown, for the first time, that it is possible to screen cancer patients for a broad range of cancer-causing genetic mutations as part of normal clinical practice. By identifying patients’ individual genotypes within a relatively short time frame, doctors are able to target tumours with the most appropriate therapy. [...]
Diabetics with kidney failure shouldn’t lower their blood glucose as much as diabetics without kidney failure Highlights Diabetic patients with kidney failure benefit the most when their hemoglobin A1C levels, which reflect blood glucose levels, are between 7% and 8%. For diabetics who need dialysis, hemoglobin A1C levels of 8% or greater or less than [...]
A new research report contributes to the increasing evidence that repeated occupational exposure to certain chemical solvents raises the risk for Parkinson’s disease. Researchers analyzed the occupational histories of twins in which one of the pair developed the neurodegenerative disorder, and assessed that twin’s likelihood of exposure to six chemicals previously linked to Parkinson’s. Of [...]
