Tiny particles that can carry drugs and target cancer cells may offer treatment hope for those suffering with pancreatic cancer. New research to be presented in November at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles reveals that tumor-penetrating microparticles (TPM) have been specifically designed to break through hard-to-infiltrate barriers and deliver drugs more effectively and efficiently than the standard form of chemotherapy such as those injected through a vein.
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NEW YORK—November 2, 2009—A new study from a recent issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family shows that women who exit welfare (under TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), are as likely to marry as women of similar socioeconomic backgrounds who were never on welfare. Marriage rates are lower while women receive TANF, but since most women receive welfare benefits for a short period of time, the overall effect of welfare participation on marriage rates is very small.
Pateamine A (PatA), a natural product first isolated from marine sponges, has attracted considerable attention as a potential anti-cancer agent, and now a new activity has been found for it, which may reveal yet another anti-cancer mechanism. That's the assessment of Daniel Romo, a Texas A&M chemistry professor, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in research involving this novel marine natural product.
Researchers at the University of Warwick have identified a particular combination of health problems that can double the risk of heart attack and cause a three-fold increase in the risk of mortality.
The team, led by Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health at Warwick Medical School Dr Oscar Franco, has discovered that simultaneously having obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar are the most dangerous combination of health factors when developing metabolic syndrome.
Ever since the Falklands wolf was described by Darwin himself, the origin of this now-extinct canid found only on the Falkland Islands far off the east coast of Argentina has remained a mystery. Now, researchers reporting in the November 3rd issue of Current Biology who have compared DNA from four of the world's dozen or so known Falklands wolf museum specimens to that of living canids offer new insight into the evolutionary ancestry of these enigmatic carnivores.
Study results: MIT cancer biologists have identified a subpopulation of cells that can give rise to pancreatic cancer. They also found that tumors can form in other, more mature pancreatic cell types, but only when they are injured or inflamed, suggesting that pancreatic cancer can arise from different types of cells depending on the circumstances.
DeKalb, IL – We all know adolescents get testy from time to time. Thank goodness we don't have young tyrannosaurs running around the neighborhood.
In a new scientific paper, researchers from Northern Illinois University and the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford report that adolescent tyrannosaurs got into some serious scraps with their peers.
The evidence can be found on Jane, the museum's prized juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in 2001 in Montana.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
DALLAS – Nov. 2, 2009 – Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) should be considered a new standard of care for early-stage lung cancer treatment in patients with co-existing medical problems, according to results from a national clinical trial led by UT Southwestern Medical Center physicians.
In this study, 55 patients diagnosed with early non-small-cell lung (NSCL) cancer and unable to have their tumors surgically removed because of unrelated medical comorbidities were treated with SBRT during three noninvasive outpatient treatments.
Rosemont, Ill. – The meniscus is a rubber-like, crescent moon-shaped cartilage cushion that sits between the leg and thigh bone. Each knee has two menisci: one on the inside of the knee joint and one on the outside. In recent years, more children have been diagnosed with tears to this area (meniscal tears); however, according to a literature review published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), prospects for a full recovery are high.
RIVERSIDE, CA – Alternate bearing (also called biennial or uneven bearing) is the tendency of fruit trees to produce a heavy crop one year (called "on-crop") followed by a light crop or no crop the following "off-crop" year. On-crop trees produce a large number of small fruit of little commercial value, while off-crop trees produce a small number of large fruit—a high proportion of which are culled in packinghouses due to their unattractive, thick rinds. The phenomenon is widespread and can occur in an entire region, in individual trees, part of a tree, or even on one branch.
Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during intermediate dose radiation treatment for men with early stage prostate cancer increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive the same radiation alone, according to a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study, the largest randomized trial of its kind, presented November 2, 2009, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. The RTOG trial noted that this benefit appeared to be greatest for men currently defined as at medium-risk for disease failure.
For thousands of years an undesirable and persistent companion has been travelling with man wherever he goes. Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, has only one known natural host – mankind. And because of man's many travels, this bacillus has colonized the entire earth. Its history is therefore intimately tied to our own, and it is this migratory relationship that Stewart Cole, EPFL professor of Microbial Pathogenesis, and his team have analyzed in a study to be published in Nature Genetics.
A common type of chronic diarrhoea may be caused by a hormone deficiency, according to new research published in the November issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The authors of the paper, from Imperial College London, with collaborators from King's College London and the University of Edinburgh, say their results could help more doctors recognise this type of diarrhoeal illness, and may lead to the development of more effective tests and treatments to help improve the lives of many people suffering with chronic diarrhoea.