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VCU Massey Cancer Center spearheads novel clinical study for lymphoma patients

The Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center recently opened a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored, phase II clinical study for certain sub-types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The study is based on research from VCU Massey Cancer Center as well as other centers suggesting that combining two novel, recently approved drugs that have shown effectiveness in certain blood cancers may be active in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or mantle cell lymphoma. The study is intended for patients whose disease has progressed following treatment with other regimens.

Study confirms colorectal cancer screening should start at age 50

Bethesda, MD (Sept. 1, 2008) – Colorectal adenomas, the precursor polyps in virtually all colorectal cancers, occur infrequently in younger adults, but the rate sharply increases after age 50. Additionally, African Americans have a higher rate of proximal, or right-sided, polyps, and may have a worse prognosis for survival if the polyps become cancerous. Therefore, the results of this study further emphasize the importance of colonoscopies, which view the entire colon, for the prevention of colorectal cancer beginning at age 50.

Biosensors DES demonstrates equivalent safety and efficacy to industry leading DES

Munich, Germany, 1 September 2008 – Biosensors International Group, Ltd ("Biosensors", "Company", BIG:SP) today announced that a next-generation drug-eluting stent, developed by Biosensors, has demonstrated equal safety and efficacy as compared to Johnson & Johnson's industry leading drug-eluting stent, CYPHER SELECT™ ("Cypher"), based upon nine-month clinical and angiographic follow-up data.

Connolly tells Manchester conference: Tutankhamen fathered twins

Two foetuses found in the tomb of Tutankhamen may have been twins and were very likely to have been the children of the teenage Pharaoh, according to the anatomist who first studied the mummified remains of the young King in the 1960s.

Professor Robert Connolly, who is working with the Egyptian authorities to analyse the mummified remains of Tutankhamen and the two stillborn children, will discuss the new findings at the Pharmacy and Medicine in Ancient Egypt Conference at the University of Manchester today (Monday 1 September 2008).

Networks for life

Munich , Germany , Tuesday 2 September 2008:

The very early phase of STEMI is the most critical one, because patients can die before the medical system can reach them and because the best treatment for STEMI is reperfusion therapy given as soon as possible, either by pharmacological fibrinolysis or primary PCI (coronary angiography and angioplasty, with stent placement in the coronaries). As a matter of fact, "time is muscle" for STEMI patients and the later the culprit occluded coronary artery is opened; the worse the outcome for patients.

Safety of antithrombotic treatment in acute coronary syndromes

The management of acute coronary syndromes (with or without ST segment elevation) requires the use of anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents (aspirin, clopidogrel and/or glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors), beta-blockers, thrombolytics in some cases, and revascularization / reperfusion.

Pre-hospital treatment on the way to percutaneous coronary intervention

Because it is sometimes (in about 1/3 of patients presenting with signs of STEMI) difficult to determine exactly the time of onset of infarction, reperfusion therapy should be considered when there are clinical or electrocardiographic signs of ongoing ischaemia even if, according to the individual patient, symptoms started over 12 hours ago. Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is the recommended therapy of choice if performed by an experienced team as soon as possible after first medical contact.

Nearly half of US adults will develop painful knee osteoarthritis by age 85: study

Almost half of all U.S. adults and nearly two-thirds of obese adults will develop painful osteoarthritis of the knee by age 85, a study based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests.

The study also found that a person's lifetime risk rose as their body mass index or BMI increased, with the greatest risk found in those whose weight was normal at age 18 but were overweight or obese at 45 or older.

Ondansetron reduces vomiting, hospital admissions in children with gastroenteritis

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have demonstrated that a drug called ondansetron helps reduce vomiting, the need for intravenous fluids and hospital admissions in children with acute gastroenteritis.

Gastroenteritis is an infection, often caused by a virus, that causes vomiting and diarrhea. It is often popularly called "stomach flu" and is a very common ailment in children during the winter months.

Researchers offer first direct proof of how osteoarthritis destroys cartilage

A team of orthopaedic researchers has found definitive, genetic proof of how the most common form of arthritis destroys joint cartilage in nearly 21 million aging Americans, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The findings serve as an important foundation for the design of new treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), researchers said.

Scientists use remote satellite imaging to predict outbreaks of infectious disease

Scientists in the USA have established a way to predict outbreaks of cholera, making it easier to control. This finding could provide a model to predict and potentially control outbreaks of other important infectious diseases.

Cholera is a serious, ancient water-borne infectious disease, which is an unpredictable and severe problem for developing countries.

World Cancer Declaration sets ambitious targets for 2020

A summit of more than 60 high-level policymakers, leaders and health experts have adopted a global plan aimed at tackling the growing cancer crisis in developing countries.

The plan, contained in the World Cancer Declaration, recommends a set of 11 cancer-busting targets for 2020 and outlines priority steps that need to be taken in order to meet them. It was presented Sunday at the close of the World Cancer Congress in Geneva and offered as a global template for governments and other groups to tailor as they devise their own plans to guide local efforts.

New discovery about growth factor can be breakthrough for cancer research

A research team at the Ludwig Institute and Uppsala University has discovered an entirely new signal path for a growth factor that is of crucial importance for the survival and growth of cancer cells. This discovery, published in today’s issue of Nature Cell Biology, opens up an entirely new landscape for research on breast and prostate cancer, among other types.

Scientists find second site for prostate cancer gene

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues who are studying a prostate cancer gene called HNF1B have found a second independent site within the HNF1B gene on chromosome 17 (17q12) – increasing the number of genetic variants that may contribute to risk of developing the disease.

Survey: 'Tanorexia' common among university students

PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 2, 2008) -- A new study conducted at a large university finds more than 25 percent of those surveyed reported symptoms of tanning dependence, including symptoms similar to alcohol and drug-addicted individuals. Suggestively, the study also found those with a tanning dependence tend to be more likely to be thin and smoke cigarettes than others. The study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center is published in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior.