CHICAGO -- Among women with a certain type of high-grade ovarian cancer, having BRCA2 genetic mutations, but not BRCA1, was associated with improved overall survival and improved response to chemotherapy, compared to women with BRCA wild-type (genetic type used as a reference to compare genetic mutations), according to a study in the October 12 issue of JAMA.
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BRCA2 genetic mutation associated with improved survival and chemotherapy response in ovarian cancer
Men who took 400 international units (I.U.) of vitamin E daily had more prostate cancers compared to men who took a placebo, according to an updated review of data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). The findings showed that, per 1,000 men, there were 76 prostate cancers in men who took only vitamin E supplements, vs. 65 in men on placebo over a seven-year period, or 11 more cases of prostate cancer per 1,000 men. This represents a 17 percent increase in prostate cancers relative to those who took a placebo.
Using a laser to remove wires connecting implanted pacemakers and defibrillators to the heart is as safe in people age 80 or older as it is in younger patients, according to research reported in Circulation: Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology, an American Heart Association journal.
"We wanted to know if age was a risk factor in this procedure, and if octogenarians fare as well as younger patients," said Roger G. Carrillo, M.D., senior study author and chief of surgical electrophysiology at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida. "We found no difference in risk."
HOUSTON - Women with high-grade ovarian cancer live longer and respond better to platinum-based chemotherapy when their tumors have BRCA2 genetic mutations, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Institute for Systems Biology report in the Oct. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Cleveland: Men who take a daily vitamin E supplement – a regimen once thought to reduce cancer risk – face an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to results of a large national study.
The finding comes from a report summarizing the latest results of the Selenium andVitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). Eric Klein, M.D., chair of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic, is the lead author.
ITHACA, N.Y. — People experience the world through five senses but sharks, paddlefishes and certain other aquatic vertebrates have a sixth sense: They can detect weak electrical fields in the water and use this information to detect prey, communicate and orient themselves.
2,4-D is coming back. What many might consider a "dinosaur" may be the best solution for growers fighting weed resistance today, said Dean Riechers, University of Illinois associate professor of weed physiology.
"Farmers can't imagine going back to 2,4-D or other auxin herbicides," Riechers said. "But herbicide resistance is bad enough that companies are willing to bring it back. That illustrates how severe this problem is."
AURORA, Colo. (Oct. 11, 2011) – Researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have developed a test that identifies key biomarkers in advanced lung cancer that helped reduce the risk of death by 36 percent over a 30- month period in a recent clinical trial.
AMES, Iowa – In the two years since Iowa State University's Adam Bogdanove, along with student Matthew Moscou, published their groundbreaking gene research in the cover story of the journal Science, researchers around the world have built on those findings to explore further breakthroughs.
Science has published another article by Bogdanove in the Sept. 30 issue that updates the scientific community on where the research has been since 2009 and where it is heading.
Your friend debuts a questionable haircut and asks what you think of it. Brutal honesty would definitely hurt his feelings, so what do you say? Most people in this situation would probably opt for a vague or evasive response, along the lines of "It's really unique!" or "It's so you!" Politeness helps us get through awkward social situations like these and makes it easier for us to maintain our relationships.
LEXINGTON Ky. (Oct. 11, 2011) — According to new research by University of Kentucky investigators, an emerging pharmaceutical platform used in treating a variety of diseases may produce unintended and undesirable effects on eye function. The paper, "Short-interfering RNAs Induce Retinal Degeneration via TLR3 and IRF3", appears in the current online edition of the journal Molecular Therapy, a publication of the Nature Publishing Group and the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
It is one of the rarest shrubs in the southeastern United States, and for scientists trying to save it, the critically endangered Michaux's sumac (Rhus michauxii) is not cooperating.
So far botanists have exposed the hard-, thick-coated seeds of this native North American plant to boiling water, dry heat up to 284 degrees Fahrenheit and flames from a propane blowtorch to try to coax them into germination. Nothing has worked.
(Garrison, NY) The Hastings Center is exploring the ethical challenges that clinicians and organizations face when providing medical care to undocumented immigrants in the United States. The project is supported by a grant from the Overbrook Foundation Domestic Human Rights Program.
Troy, N.Y. – DNA and protein sequencing have forever transformed science, medicine, and society. Understanding the structure of these complex biomolecules has revolutionized drug development, medical diagnostics, forensic science, and our understanding of evolution and development. But, one major molecule in the biological triumvirate has remained largely uncharted: carbohydrate biopolymers.
The US Secretary of Health recently supported a recommendation that all babies born in the US are to be screened for critical heart defects, before leaving hospital. Behind this decision is a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, and the West Götaland Region's maternity units in Sweden which shows that a simple test can save the lives of newborns with these heart defects. Other countries too are set to make the test mandatory.