New Queen's University research has shown that the growth of melanoma, one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, can be slowed when a little known gene called MicroRNA 193b is added.
Victor Tron, head of pathology and molecular medicine, focused on miR-193b when he discovered that it was deficient in melanoma tumors and because there were very few studies done about the gene. The miRNA-193b gene is found in people's DNA and was unknown until 10 years ago.
Researchers at the University of Granada -in collaboration with the Clinical Hospital San Cecilio and the University Rey Juan Carlos- have proven that the psychological and physiological state of patients with tension headache improves within 24 hours after receiving a 30-minute massage.
Australian and Vietnamese researchers have estimated the current prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Vietnam, and have developed a simple tool for identifying individuals at high risk.
Often triggered by sedentary lifestyles and high-fat or high-sugar diets, diabetes is a condition where the body becomes less able to make and use insulin, a hormone that reduces sugar in the blood by moving it into cells for energy use.
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) just released an enhanced and revised set of clinical recommendations designed to help oncologists deliver the best quality care to their patients.
The ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) offer vital, evidence-based information including the incidence of the malignancy, diagnostic criteria, staging of disease and risk assessment, treatment plans and follow-up.
Diagnosis of celiac disease is based on a characteristic enteropathy in an intestinal biopsy and evidence that these changes are gluten-triggered. The appropriate use of simpler and more accurate tools would add reliability to the diagnosis of celiac disease. Thus, the celiac disease-related serology might have a key role in defining new diagnostic standards for celiac disease.
Early knowledge of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) response to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is crucial for determining treatment success, timing of repeat treatment, and patient prognosis. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used 1-3 mo after treatment to evaluate anatomical tumor response, based upon changes in tumor size and contrast-agent enhancement. Alternatively, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can be used as a functional imaging technique to depict thermally induced motion of water molecules.
Liver damage is common in patients with tumor following chemotherapy. Although early liver damage causes no symptoms and is reversible in most patients, it occasionally progresses to more severe liver impairment, which may be irreversible, it is thus necessary to demonstrate the presence and severity of drug-related parenchymal changes. At present, the liver function test [alanine aminotransferase (ALT)] is the main index in diagnosis of drug-induced hepatic damage. However, the ALT value is found a less sensitive index and perhaps cannot thoroughly reflect hepatic toxicity.
Women who have the most serious form of angina are three times as likely to develop severe coronary artery disease (CAD) as men with the same condition, according to the July issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Canadian researchers looked at the records of 23,771 patients referred for first diagnostic angiography over a six-year period.
Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) recover from exacerbations equally well if they are treated at home or in a hospital, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. Furthermore, longer treatment with antibiotics does not appear to offer any additional benefit over shorter courses.
The study was published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
A new report from the EarlyBird Diabetes Study suggests that physical activity has little if any role to play in the obesity epidemic among children. Obesity is the key factor behind diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
EarlyBird is based at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, UK, and has been observing in detail a cohort of city school children for the past 11 years.
Hyperglycemia during critical illness may be used as a warning of future diabetes. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care have found a significant association between acute illness complicated with hyperglycaemia and the future development of type II diabetes or glucose intolerance.
Americans with lung disease may face a far greater level of lung damage than either they or their doctor suspect, depending on their individual genetic heritage, according to a study to be released July 7. The research implications range from diagnosing the severity of asthma, to disability decisions or eligibility for lung transplants, researchers say.
CHICAGO (July 7, 2010) – A decline in the number of international medical graduates (IMGs) is threatening patient access to quality surgical care, according to a new study in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
