Curing Death by Curing Aging - September 2007 Archives

Altering the fingerprint of cancer (9/29/2007)

It has become clear over the past few decades that cancer is a genetic disease, with vast combinations of gene mutations, translocations, additions, and deletions contributing to the diverse cancers that afflict humans. Given this knowledge, a sea change is brewing in the search for new cancer treatments. ...> Full Article

Researchers say lack of sleep doubles risk of death, but so can too much sleep (9/29/2007)

Researchers have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. However they have also found that point comes when too much sleep can also more than double the risk of death. ...> Full Article

New Research Shows How H5N1 Virus Causes Disease (9/29/2007)

Avian Influenza H5N1 virus affects much more than respiratory system: disseminates to gastrointestinal tract, immune and central nervous systems, and can be transmitted mother to fetus through placenta ...> Full Article

Breath analysis offers potential for non-invasive blood sugar monitoring in diabetes (9/28/2007)

Diabetics found to have elevated methyl nitrate content in exhaled breath ...> Full Article

Researchers investigate new suspect in West Nile deaths of pelicans (9/28/2007)

Stable flies are the latest suspect that may be involved in the West Nile virus deaths of hundreds of pelican chicks at the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. West Nile virus killed 800 to 1,000 pelican chicks in 2003, averaged 400 in each of the next three summers and more than 600 this year. ...> Full Article

Prostate cancer survival affected by seasons (9/28/2007)

The season in which a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer has been shown to affect his survivability. Men diagnosed in the summer and autumn months have a better chance of survival than if they were diagnosed in the spring and winter. ...> Full Article

Study shows 'flesh-eating' disease among children rare but costly (9/27/2007)

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found that the prevalence of necrotizing fasciitis (NF), or more commonly known as "flesh-eating disease," is quite rare among children, despite many reports to the contrary. ...> Full Article

Researcher injects new hope for skin cancer patients (9/27/2007)

Scientists have hit upon a revolutionary way to deliver agents for the treatment of skin cancer. ...> Full Article

Diet rich in fatty acids could thwart diabetes onset (9/27/2007)

A study of nearly 1,800 children at risk for type 1 diabetes has found that increased consumption of dietary omega-3 fatty acids appears to reduce the risk of the body attacking its own insulin-producing cells, a precursor to this form of the disease. ...> Full Article

MicroRNA convicted of triggering metastasis (9/27/2007)

The jury is in: microRNAs can cause tumors to metastasize. These tiny molecules fine-tune protein production and play a powerful role in biological processes ranging from development to aging. Now scientists have proved that they can prompt otherwise sedentary cancer cells to move and invade other tissues. ...> Full Article

Got Stress? It May Impact Breast Cancer Recurrence (9/27/2007)

Women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who have also endured previous traumatic or stressful events see their cancer recur nearly twice as fast as other women, according to a report by a University of Rochester Medical Center scientist. ...> Full Article

MR Spectroscopy Identifies Breast Cancer, Reduces Biopsies (9/26/2007)

With proton MR spectroscopy (1H MRS), the need for biopsy of suspicious, non-mass enhancing breast lesions is reduced significantly. ...> Full Article

Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids associated with decreased risk of type 1 diabetes (9/26/2007)

Preliminary research suggests that in children at increased risk for type 1 diabetes, dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic islet autoimmunity, which is linked to the development of diabetes. ...> Full Article

Eat Less To Live Longer: Calorie Restriction Linked To Long Healthy Lives (9/26/2007)

For nearly 70 years scientists have known that caloric restriction prolongs life. In everything from yeast to primates, a significant decrease in calories can extend lifespan by as much as one-third. But getting under the hood of the molecular machinery that drives this longevity has remained elusive. ...> Full Article

Patients with coronary artery disease appear to have increased prevalence of colorectal tumors (9/26/2007)

Patients in Hong Kong who were newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease had nearly twice the prevalence of colorectal tumors and cancers, with this association stronger in persons who had smoked or have the metabolic syndrome. ...> Full Article

Gene Profiling Can Single Out the Worst Cases of Multiple Myeloma and Guide Therapy (9/26/2007)

Multiple myeloma patients vary widely in how they respond to treatment, but now researchers have identified a small subset of genes whose activity could predict high-risk cases and potentially guide therapy in the future. ...> Full Article

Stem Cells Show Promise For Treating Huntington's Disease (9/26/2007)

Paying close attention to how a canary learns a new song has helped scientists open a new avenue of research against Huntington's disease -- a fatal disorder for which there is currently no cure or even a treatment to slow the disease. ...> Full Article

Blood clot test may help prevent strokes (9/26/2007)

A common test used to detect blood clots in the leg may increase the chances of finding clots in the heart and avoiding strokes. ...> Full Article

Exercise proven helpful to diabetics (9/25/2007)

A diabetes specialist has found that aerobic or weight training improves blood sugar levels for people with diabetes, and that the improvements are twice as good with combined aerobic and weight training. ...> Full Article

Growth hormone could promote cancer, according to new research (9/25/2007)

Growth hormone and associated proteins could be responsible for promoting many types of cancer, including breast and prostate cancer. ...> Full Article

Eating competence may lower risk of heart disease (9/25/2007)

People who are confident, comfortable and flexible with their eating habits may be at a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease than people who are not. Researchers at Penn State suggest that a curriculum that helps people understand their eating habits could prove to be an important medical nutrition therapy. ...> Full Article

Genes identified which predict response to breast cancer treatment (9/25/2007)

Scientists have identified two genes that identify which breast cancer cells are resistant and which respond to a common chemotherapy treatment. ...> Full Article

Microscopic Pollution May Trigger Heart Attacks/Strokes by Spurring Blood Clots (9/24/2007)

Tiny particles that spew from the exhaust of diesel trucks, buses and coal-burning factories killing thousands of people. ...> Full Article

Ancient Mechanism For Coping With Stresses Also Gives Cancer A Boost (9/24/2007)

An ancient mechanism for coping with environmental stresses, including heat and toxic exposures, also helps cancerous tumors survive, reveals a new report in the Sept. 21, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press. ...> Full Article

Age adjustment may be delaying detection of prostate cancers in senior men (9/24/2007)

Age adjustment, a method used by physicians to evaluate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and cancer risk in men according to age, may be hindering the early detection of prostate cancer in older men. ...> Full Article

Blood Protein Detects Lung Cancer, Even at Earliest Stage (9/24/2007)

Biopharmaceutical researchers have found a protein in blood they say is linked to all stages of lung cancer but which rarely shows up in the blood of people without the disease. Testing for this protein might help physicians decide whether smokers or others at high risk for lung cancer should be referred for lung imaging. ...> Full Article

Immunizations Are Discontinued in Two HIV Vaccine Trials (9/24/2007)

HIV Vaccine trials canceled after participants taking the vaccines became infected with HIV at a higher rate than those participants taking a placebo. ...> Full Article

Researchers Studying Model to Learn Why Certain Cancers Become Resistant to Drugs (9/24/2007)

Resistance to chemotherapy treatments can be the worst news a cancer patient ever receives. A pair of researchers are working steadfastly to learn why some tumors eventually build a tolerance to the common chemotherapy drug cisplatin, in hopes of identifying the particular genes that can be manipulated to make treatment as effective as possible. ...> Full Article

Gene Chip Data Improved Therapy in Some Patients with Incurable Cancer (9/21/2007)

"Crude" personalized medicine holds promise even when it is still in its infancy as a technology ...> Full Article

Using Antiretrovirals as a Prevention Strategy Could Dramatically Slow The Spread of HIV Infection in Africa (9/21/2007)

Model predicts potential prevention of more than 3 million new HIV infections over 10 years ...> Full Article

Genetic Cause Discovered for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (9/21/2007)

Genetic cause of lupus, and other auto-immune diseases found, may lead to better treatments and eventually a cure. ...> Full Article

Flu virus trots globe during off season (9/21/2007)

The influenza A virus does not lie dormant during summer but migrates globally and mixes with other viral strains before returning to the Northern Hemisphere as a genetically different virus, according to biologists who say the finding settles a key debate on what the virus does during the summer off season when it is not infecting people. ...> Full Article

Heat shock proteins are co-opted for cancer (9/21/2007)

A Jekyll-Hyde mechanism that both protects healthy cells and enables cancer cells could be the basis for new cancer-fighting drugs. ...> Full Article

Scientists decipher mechanism behind antimicrobial 'hole punchers' (9/21/2007)

In the battle against bacteria, researchers have scored a direct hit. They have made a discovery that could shorten the road to new and more potent antibiotics. ...> Full Article

Radiation Oncologists to Use Real-Time System to Help Plant 'Seeds' Against Prostate Cancer (9/21/2007)

Radiation oncologists and urologists have begun using a real-time system to implant radiation-emitting seeds in prostate cancer patients. While the system is only being used for imaging and planning purposes so far, it ultimately will help with the actual placement of the seeds. ...> Full Article

New cell death pathway involved in sperm development (9/20/2007)

New research has uncovered a new pathway that regulates cell death proteins, yielding new knowledge about caspase function as well as insights into the causes of human infertility. ...> Full Article

Liver Cancer Marker Could Yield Blood Test for Early Detection (9/20/2007)

In the face of an emerging liver cancer crisis in Asia, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a test that could help millions. Due to widespread hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, nearly 10 percent of China's population is at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a liver cancer with low survival rates if not detected and treated early. Researchers report on a new blood screening technique that could make it possible to detect early-stage liver cancer and predict how well a patient will do following treatment. ...> Full Article

Test for Lung Cancer Looks for Discomforting Quiet among Protective Genes (9/20/2007)

When it is quiet - "almost too quiet" - in movies, it is a sign that something is about to go wrong for the good guys. This holds true for the genes that protect against lung cancer, as researchers at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, have learned. They identified a panel of 15 genes that could serve to predict cancer; if enough of their collective activity becomes quiet - almost too quiet -- it could mean they are being suppressed by other factors in the cell, a step that may lead to cancer. ...> Full Article

To Evade Chemotherapy, Some Cancer Cells Mimic Stem Cells (9/20/2007)

Anti-cancer treatments often effectively shrink the size of tumors, but some might have an opposite effect, actually expanding the small population of cancer stem cells believed to drive the disease, according to findings presented today in Atlanta, Georgia at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development. ...> Full Article

Researcher's Drug Strategy for Huntington's Disease (9/20/2007)

Drug prototype appears to relieve symptoms in animal models of Huntington's disease. ...> Full Article

Disease Mechanism Found for Hantavirus Infections (9/20/2007)

Researchers have discovered a mechanism by which deer mice might escape disease despite being infected with the virus. ...> Full Article

Impact of New Cancer Vaccine to be Evaluated in Rochester (9/20/2007)

Rochester has been chosen as one of four national sites to monitor the effectiveness of the new cervical cancer vaccine. The project, which is funded by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be jointly conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the New York State Department of Health. ...> Full Article

Communication in Cancer World is Key to Survival (9/19/2007)

New Report Says Need is Greater as Information Grows ...> Full Article

A New Technology for Cancer Screening Listens for the Signs of Cancer (9/19/2007)

Cancer-sensing devices built as cheaply and efficiently as wristwatches - using many of the same operating principles - could change the way clinicians detect, treat and monitor cancer in patients. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an acoustic sensor that can report the presence of small amounts of mesothelin, a molecule associated with a number of cancers including mesothelioma, as they attach to the sensor's surface. ...> Full Article

Cell death in sparrow brains may provide clues in age-related human diseases (9/19/2007)

A remarkable change takes place in the brains of tiny songbirds every year, and some day the mechanism controlling that change may help researchers develop treatments for age-related degenerative diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's and dementia. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover gene mutation thought to control energy levels (9/19/2007)

Medical researchers have discovered a mutation in a gene that is widely considered to be the major controller of energy levels in our bodies. The discovery has significant implications for people suffering from diabetes and for endurance athletes. ...> Full Article

Geneticist to seek obesity link in Alaska Natives (9/19/2007)

Geneticist to study how polyunsaturated fatty acids and physical activity may modify genetic risk factors thought to play a role in the development of obesity. ...> Full Article

Biopsy, not Screening, Detects Prostate Cancer (9/19/2007)

While PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests have become widely used to screen for prostate cancer, a biopsy is what actually determines the presence of prostate cancer. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether or not PSA screening reduces prostate cancer deaths. ...> Full Article

Preliminary research suggests frequent hemodialysis at night may improve some outcomes for patients with end-stage kidney disease (9/19/2007)

Patients who received hemodialysis at night six times a week for treatment of end-stage kidney disease had improvements on certain outcomes, including reduced need for blood pressure medications and improvement in selected quality of life measures, compared to patients who received conventional hemodialysis three times weekly ...> Full Article

T vs. B: Re-engineered Human T Cells Effectively Target and Kill Cancerous B Cells (9/19/2007)

Human white blood cells, engineered to recognize other malignant immune cells, could provide a novel therapy for patients with highly lethal B cell cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). By administering repeated doses of T cells designed to express an artificial receptor which recognizes human B cells, the researchers were able to eradicate cancer in 44 percent of mice bearing human ALL tumors. ...> Full Article

New antibiotic drug combo to speed up treatment of tuberculosis (9/19/2007)

A team of tuberculosis experts at Johns Hopkins and in Brazil have evidence that substituting the antibiotic moxifloxacin in the regimen of drugs used to treat the highly contagious form of lung disease could dramatically shorten the time needed to cure the illness from six months to four. ...> Full Article

If You Think Cancer Genes Are Simple, You Don't Know JAK (9/18/2007)

Gene linked to leukemia, lymphoma more powerful, subtle than once thought ...> Full Article

NIH Awards Einstein Researcher Multi-Million Dollar Grant To Extend Our Understanding of Exceptional Longevity (9/18/2007)

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has been awarded a grant of more than $9.25 million from the National Institutes of Health to further the medical school's study of centenarians and the biology of aging. ...> Full Article

Genes and disease? It's what you do with what you have (9/18/2007)

The importance of gene regulation for common human disease ...> Full Article

Team Reports Possible Key to Autoimmune Disease (9/18/2007)

Body's own DNA coupled with a peptide ignites immune response usually aimed at fighting infection ...> Full Article

Scientists reveal DNA-enzyme interaction with first ever real time footage (9/18/2007)

Scientists reveal DNA-enzyme interaction with first ever real time footage ...> Full Article

Gene Abnormality Tied to Getting Parkinson's Disease at a Younger Age (9/18/2007)

People with a certain gene mutation are more likely to get Parkinson's disease before the age of 50 compared to those without the gene abnormality, according to a study published in the September 18, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Sugar Helping Profs Map New Ground Against Deadly Bug (9/18/2007)

Sugar may help the medicine go down, but what about a medicine that targets sugar to "take down" disease-causing bacteria? ...> Full Article

Unraveling interconnected paths to disease (9/18/2007)

Under new NIH initiative, Broad Institute scientists partner with researchers nationwide to unveil genetic and environmental triggers of human disease ...> Full Article

Penn School of Medicine Receives $2.3 Million to Study Biological Indicators of Exposure to Cigarette Smoke (9/17/2007)

researchers propose to screen smokers, non-smokers and those regularly in contact with second-hand smoke for a variety of biochemical markers. The plan is to develop a panel of biochemicals, or biomarkers, that indicate if a person has been exposed to smoke to then distinguish between a group of non-smokers and disease-free tobacco smokers. ...> Full Article

Immune police recognize good and bad guys in the body (9/17/2007)

Immune system police are as good at recognizing bad guys, such as bacteria and viruses, as they are our own tissue, researchers say. ...> Full Article

Prostate cancer treatment trial reaches recruitment milestone (9/17/2007)

Australia and New Zealand's largest cancer trial has reached a significant milestone, meeting its recruitment target 16 months earlier than expected. ...> Full Article

Study suggests brain tumors need treatment with multiple targeted drugs (9/17/2007)

Researchers have shown that several, rather than just one, cell-growth switches are simultaneously overactive in many brain tumors and other solid tumors, explaining why treatment with just a single "targeted" switch-blocking drug often yields disappointing results. The laboratory finding argues for quickly moving to clinical trials that combine three or more such targeted drugs for such cancers to shut down all the malfunctioning growth switches. ...> Full Article

Probing a Chink in the Immunological Armor (9/17/2007)

Herpes simplex virus is a common pathogen - infecting about eight out of every 10 adults. Most people who are infected develop nothing more than a bothersome cold sore. But for some, infection with the virus can develop into herpes simplex encephalitis, which can lead to mental retardation, epilepsy and possibly death. ...> Full Article

Novel Program Underway to Increase Participation in Clinical Trials-a Critical Step in Development of Improved Medical Therapies (9/17/2007)

First Phase of IMPACT Study Will Focus on Cancer, In Collaboration with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ...> Full Article

Restoring Fertility in Cancer Patients (9/16/2007)

The Oregon National Primate Research Center and the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine have been named to a national team of institutions hoping to preserve or restore fertility in women battling cancer. The Oncofertility Consortium, funded for five years by the National Institutes of Health, features participants from five universities and comprises researchers, physicians, engineers, educators, social workers and medical ethicists. ...> Full Article

Lowering homocysteine levels does not improve outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease (9/16/2007)

Patients with end-stage kidney disease treated with high doses of folic acid and B vitamins to lower homocysteine levels did not have improvement in survival or reductions in the incidence of vascular events, according to a study in the September 12 issue of JAMA. ...> Full Article

Generic prostate drug helps find high-risk cancers early (9/16/2007)

Study resolves lingering question about possible downside of finasteride ...> Full Article

Overweight, obese children more likely to live in rural America (9/16/2007)

The nation's first report on obesity and physical inactivity among rural youth shows that children living in rural areas are more likely to be overweight or obese than their urban peers. ...> Full Article

U.S. Life Expectancy Hits New High of Nearly 78 Years (9/16/2007)

A child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years (77.9) - a new high - according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2005." ...> Full Article

Compounds Inhibit Tumor Cell Growth in the Cell Culture and in Zebrafish (9/15/2007)

Twenty-five years ago, the first component was discovered of what was later found to be part of one of the most important signaling pathways for development and disease, the Wnt signaling pathway. Now, researchers are using the insights they have gained into this cell communication to interfere with this pathway to develop new therapies against cancer. ...> Full Article

Dendritic cells stimulate production of immune-repressing T cells (9/15/2007)

Scientists stimulate production of regulatory T cells (also known as T regs) which can suppress some of the immune system's propensity to attack the body's own tissues, and possibly organs from transplant donors. ...> Full Article

Parkinson's Center Established With $5.5 Million Gift (9/15/2007)

A $5.5 million gift has established the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders at the Neuroscience Institute at University Hospital and the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine. ...> Full Article

New approach to fighting obesity and diabetes (9/15/2007)

World-first equipment will determine how to produce food which is better for us, but still tastes good. ...> Full Article

$11.5 million SPORE grant spurs lymphoma research at Baylor College of Medicine, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital (9/15/2007)

A five-year $11.5 million award from the National Cancer Institute allows physicians and scientists at Baylor College of Medicine to look for new ways to fight lymphoma and a form of chronic leukemia, in cooperation with The Methodist Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital and other affiliated institutions, including Ben Taub General Hospital and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. ...> Full Article

Landmark study to determine best approach to treating prostate cancer (9/14/2007)

The Canadian Cancer Society, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, is announcing the launch of the first international study that will help answer one of the thorniest questions in prostate cancer today - which patients benefit from aggressive treatment at the time of diagnosis. ...> Full Article

Health System Researcher Receives $3.6 Million Grant to Combat Bacterium's Deadly Effects (9/14/2007)

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a University of Virginia researcher a $3.6 million grant to combat a growing international health crisis. ...> Full Article

Burning extra calories with a 'futile protein cycle' (9/14/2007)

A new study led by a Penn State College of Medicine scientist points to a new method for burning off all those irresistible extra calories-by turning on an energy-draining, but otherwise futile, cycle of protein synthesis and breakdown. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop technology to detect cancer by scanning surface veins (9/14/2007)

A new technology for cancer detection that eliminates the need for drawing blood has been developed by Purdue University researchers. ...> Full Article

Fishing for Superbug and Seafood Safety (9/14/2007)

If you have been avoiding shellfish since that brutal attack of gastroenteritis after eating oysters on the halfshell, you may be assuming you are allergic to the tasty delicacies. More likely, you experienced an attack of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterial infection that is the leading cause of seafood gastroenteritis in the U.S. Alternatively, it may have been its cousin, Vibrio vulnificus, which causes severe septicemia, has a hospitalization rate of 91%, and is responsible for 95% of U.S. seafood deaths. ...> Full Article

Customized Virus Kills Brain Tumor Stem Cells that Drive Lethal Cancer (9/14/2007)

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ...> Full Article

Molecular probe 'paints' cancer cells in living animals (9/13/2007)

Researchers have developed a molecular probe that sets aglow tumor cells within living animals. Their goal is to use the probe to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases. ...> Full Article

New Class of RNA Molecules May Be Important in Human Cancer (9/13/2007)

Research here shows that an obscure form of RNA, part of the protein-making machinery in all cells, might play an important role in human cancer. ...> Full Article

Dozens of cancer-clogging drug molecules loaded onto gold nanosphere (9/13/2007)

Chemists have discovered a way to load dozens of molecules of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel onto tiny gold spheres. The result is a tiny ball, many times smaller than a living cell that literally bristles with the drug. ...> Full Article

Cancer Center Seeks To Develop Proton/Particle Treatment and Research Center (9/13/2007)

The University of California, San Diego is planning to establish a center for proton and particle therapy, the most powerful forms of radiation therapy available to treat cancer patients today. ...> Full Article

Shrinkage of Prostate Led to Overestimation of Cancer Risk in Trial (9/13/2007)

Reanalysis of data from the first long-term randomized trial of a chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer shows that the excess prevalence of high-grade prostate cancer in the drug-treated group may be attributable to shrinkage of the prostate at the time of biopsy. ...> Full Article

Men shed light on the mystery of human longevity (9/13/2007)

It turns out that older men chasing younger women contributes to human longevity and the survival of the species, according to new findings by researchers at Stanford and the University of California-Santa Barbara. ...> Full Article

Long-term use of Diabetes Drug Increases Heart Attack Risk by more than 40 percent (9/13/2007)

An analysis of four studies involving more than 14,000 patients found that long-term use of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia®) increased the risk of heart attack by 42 percent and doubled the risk of heart failure, according to a new report from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. There was no effect on death from cardiovascular causes. ...> Full Article

Taking the contraceptive pill may reduce the risk of developing cancer (9/13/2007)

Taking the contraceptive pill does not increase a woman's chances of developing cancer and may even reduce the risk for most women. ...> Full Article

Hormone Studied For Breast Cancer (9/12/2007)

Different Doses Of Hormone DHEA May Combat Certain Breast Cancers ...> Full Article

How 'superbugs' evade the immune system (9/12/2007)

MRSA and similar infections may soon be treatable, as scientists have discovered how the bacterium evades the immune system's first line of defence. ...> Full Article

New cell sample method can lead to better protection against cervical cancer (9/12/2007)

A new way to examine cell changes in the cervix may mean that fewer women will develop cervical cancer. This is shown in a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. ...> Full Article

How vitamin C stops the big 'C' (9/12/2007)

Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C - and potentially other antioxidants - can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors -- just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation. ...> Full Article

Using Evolution, Scientists Creates A Template For Many New Therapeutic Agents (9/12/2007)

By guiding an enzyme down a new evolutionary pathway, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has created a new form of an enzyme capable of producing a range of potential new therapeutic agents with anticancer and antibiotic properties. ...> Full Article

New Therapy Could Preserve Vessel Function After Heart Attack (9/12/2007)

Scientists have identified the process that causes blood vessels to constrict during and after a heart attack. They've also demonstrated that delivering a vital molecule that is depleted during this process directly to those blood vessels can reverse damage and help restore blood flow. ...> Full Article

Scientists, Physicians Present Latest Findings in Translating Research Discoveries into 'Personalized' Cancer Treatment and Prevention (9/12/2007)

Scientists and clinicians from around the world will gather in Atlanta, Georgia next week at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development. The conference is subtitled "Maximizing Opportunities for Personalized Treatment," which reflects the potential of molecular diagnostics to provide new strategies for tailoring therapies to fit the needs of each cancer patient's unique biology. ...> Full Article

Cancer Researchers Discover What Makes Lymphomas Tick (9/12/2007)

Researchers have discovered the molecular process by which the PAX5 protein, necessary for lymphocyte development, promotes the growth of common lymphomas, thereby unveiling a potential new target in the fight against cancer. ...> Full Article

Mutations in the insulin gene can cause neonatal diabetes (9/12/2007)

Mutations in the insulin gene can cause permanent neonatal diabetes, an unusual form of diabetes that affects very young children and results in lifelong dependence on insulin injections, report researchers from the University of Chicago and Peninsula University (Exeter, UK) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Signaling Protein for Multiple Myeloma (9/11/2007)

Researchers at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute are the first to discover a mechanism that plays a critical role in the multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival. Their research may result in identification of a new therapeutic target for treating multiple myeloma. ...> Full Article

Vitamin D Supplements Appear To Be Associated With Lower Risk Of Death (9/11/2007)

Individuals who take vitamin D supplements appear to have a lower risk of death from any cause over an average follow-up time of six-years, according to a meta-analysis of 18 previously published studies in the September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

New Clues to Breast Cancer Development in High-Risk Women (9/11/2007)

Lombardi researchers explain why oophorectomies help prevent breast cancer in women with BRCA1 mutations ...> Full Article

Researcher Pinpoints Possible Cause of Type 2 Diabetes (9/11/2007)

The findings of an University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center endocrinologist were published in the September issue of Metabolic Syndrome and Related Diseases, revealing a possible cause of type 2 diabetes and suggesting that heat shock proteins could be the key to understanding, treating and ultimately preventing the disease. ...> Full Article

Immunity Booster May Slow Metastatic Melanoma (9/11/2007)

Cases of metastatic melanoma have increased by 690 percent in the past 50 years, yet few life-extending treatments are available for people diagnosed with the disease. ...> Full Article

Alcohol Consumption Raises Cancer Risk (9/11/2007)

Keck School study shows that two or more drinks double the risk of endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. ...> Full Article

Stem cell research leads to key discovery for Fragile X Syndrome (9/11/2007)

An important finding has been made by McMaster researchers about Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a sex-linked genetic disorder that affects approximately one in 4,000 males and one in 6,000 females. ...> Full Article

Novel Virus Detection Identifies New Viruses in Study of Respiratory Infections (9/10/2007)

A new study led by UCSF scientists has found an unexpected number of viruses and viral subtypes in patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The technique used in the study may help identify new viruses associated with human diseases. The study is published in the September 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover how human body fights off African parasite (9/10/2007)

Discovery could lead to new methods of controlling similar parasites that cause endemic diseases. ...> Full Article

Systems Biology poised to revolutionise the understanding of cell function and disease (9/10/2007)

Systems Biology is transforming the way scientists think about biology and disease. This novel approach to research could prompt a shake up in medical science and it might ultimately allow clinicians to predict and treat complex diseases such as diabetes, heart failure, cancer, and metabolic syndrome for which there are currently no cures. ...> Full Article

$1 Million Grant To Fund Protein Therapeutics Research, Facilities (9/10/2007)

The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) has received a major investment that will allow it to enlarge its research program in protein therapeutics, the most rapidly expanding class of treatments for diabetes, cancer and other diseases. ...> Full Article

Children whose mothers are overweight are more likely to have higher levels of body fat themselves at age nine (9/10/2007)

Children whose mothers are overweight before pregnancy are statistically more likely to have a higher amount of body fat by the time they are nine years old. ...> Full Article

Bacteria Successful In Cancer Treatment (9/10/2007)

Bacteria that thrive in oxygen starved environments have been used successfully to target cancer tumours, delivering gene therapy based anti-cancer treatments, according to scientists. ...> Full Article

Study of Breast Cancer Patients Is First to Evaluate Yoga's Quality-of-Life Benefits Among Ethnically Diverse Population (9/9/2007)

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have demonstrated that yoga can benefit ethnic minority breast cancer survivors-primarily African-Americans and Hispanics-as well as women living in underserved communities. The study corroborates previous research among largely Caucasian populations, showing that yoga can maintain or improve quality of life in a variety of ways for women with breast cancer. The findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. ...> Full Article

'Sugar coating' clue to how parasitic worms dupe immune system (9/9/2007)

Sugars secreted by a parasitic worm could provide the key to how it infects the human body and how its eggs escape to spread the deadly disease schistosomiasis, according to new research. ...> Full Article

Seattle Children's Hospital Leads $23.7 Million NIH Grant to Study Gene Repair (9/9/2007)

Seattle Children's Hospital will receive the largest research grant in its 100-year history for a new five-year, eleven-part grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study gene repair. The $23.7 million grant will support the Northwest Genome Engineering Consortium, led by Andrew M. Scharenberg, MD, of Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute in partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Approximately $13.2 million will be directly awarded to Children's, with $5.3 million going to UWSOM and $5.2 million to the Hutchinson Center. ...> Full Article

West Nile virus season can take a bite out of the fun (9/9/2007)

Although many people think of mosquitoes as being the villain of summertime, the type of mosquito that spreads the potentially fatal West Nile virus is usually most active in Indiana from mid-August through October. ...> Full Article

New insight into the heartbeat (9/9/2007)

Scientists may develop a better understanding of cardiac function in health and disease by using a new way to look at key proteins that activate heart muscle contraction. ...> Full Article

Neural stem cell study reveals mechanism that may play role in cancer (9/8/2007)

In the dynamic world of the developing brain, neural stem cells give rise to neurons deep within the brain's fluid-filled ventricles. These newborn neurons then migrate along the stem cell fibers up to the neocortex, the seat of higher cognitive functions. Now, scientists have discovered a key mechanism of this migration - one that may also play an important role in other developmental processes and diseases, including cancer. ...> Full Article

Study identifies genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus (9/8/2007)

A genetic variation has been identified that increases the risk of two chronic, autoimmune inflammatory diseases: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). These research findings result from a long-time collaboration between the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and other organizations. ...> Full Article

Study Finds Heart Failure Is Rare Among Leukemia Patients on Imatinib (9/8/2007)

Congestive heart failure rarely occurs among leukemia patients who take imatinib, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found after an exhaustive review of the detailed medical histories of 1,276 patients who enrolled in clinical trials for the drug. ...> Full Article

New hope for children with rare cancer (9/8/2007)

Pioneering cancer charity AICR (Association for International Cancer Research) has awarded its biggest grant of the year to a brilliant young Polish scientist, who has been working in Cambridge for the last five years to help him discover more about a rare disease in children that can lead to a particularly aggressive form of leukaemia. ...> Full Article

New Breeds of Mice Shed Light on Human Cancers and Treatments (9/8/2007)

Scientists are not in the business of making better mousetraps, but they're serious about making better mice to understand cancer biology. ...> Full Article

Black women more likely to have aggressive breast cancer (9/8/2007)

A large analysis of racial differences in rates of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer finds that black women in the United States are more likely than white women to have breast tumors that are ER-negative, researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center report. ...> Full Article

Microarray Provides Three Genomic Guides to Breast Cancer Treatment Decisions - M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (9/8/2007)

Three genomic tests separately predict the likelihood that a patient's breast cancer will reoccur after surgery without additional treatment, and the cancer's vulnerability to chemotherapy or hormone therapy, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report at the first American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium Sept. 7-8 in San Francisco. ...> Full Article

Research details parasitic battles (9/7/2007)

Scientists at MIT and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have for the first time recorded the entire genomic expression of both a host bacterium and an infecting virus over the eight-hour course of infection. ...> Full Article

Environmental stress probed in cardiovascular disease, diabetes (9/7/2007)

How environmental stress contributes to cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes is under study at the Medical College of Georgia. ...> Full Article

Ovarian cancer: The not-so-silent killer (9/7/2007)

Pay attention to symptoms, get regular pelvic exam, U-M experts urge Advocates seek attention for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in Sept. ...> Full Article

Enzyme alerts cell's powerful army to repair DNA damage (9/7/2007)

Enzyme's important daily function has implications for understanding cancer and neurological diseases, say U-M researchers ...> Full Article

Possible Hepatitis C Vaccine (9/7/2007)

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infects up to 500,000 people in the UK alone, many of the infections going undiagnosed. It is the single biggest cause of people requiring a liver transplant in Britain. Now, in a collaborative effort with groups across Europe and the USA, scientists from The University of Nottingham have found monoclonal antibodies which may be a significant step towards a vaccine. ...> Full Article

African American Men And Prostate Cancer (9/6/2007)

African-American men face a higher risk of developing prostate cancer in their lifetime, but researchers do not fully understand why. ...> Full Article

Drugs reduce heart surgery risks (9/6/2007)

Within six months of heart disease surgery, up to 60 percent of patients suffer from their arteries reblocking. ...> Full Article

HIV Protease Inhibitors Show AntiCancer Potential (9/6/2007)

Several protease inhibitors that are used in combination with other drugs to treat Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection may also be effective against certain types of cancer, according to researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Nelfinavir (Viracept®), Ritonavir (Norvir®), and Saquinavir (Invirase®) inhibited growth of several types of cancer cells, with Nelfinavir being the most effective. These results appear in the September 1, 2007 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. ...> Full Article

The power of fruit juice (9/6/2007)

Some types of fruit juice are packed with health benefits, but stay away from juices loaded with sugar. ...> Full Article

Structural Studies Reveal New Clues to Prion Infectivity (9/6/2007)

Detailed structural studies have revealed new insights into why the same prion protein can have different properties and be either weakly or strongly infectious. The researchers said their observations in prions that infect yeast are likely to hold true for the sorts of prions that infect humans and animals. ...> Full Article

Research says Doctors' gender may hinder early diagnosis of heart disease in women (9/6/2007)

There is a serious disparity in the early detection of coronary heart disease (CHD) between men and women. Twice as many women as men aged 45-64 have undetected or "silent" myocardial infarctions, suggesting a general diagnosis problem. New research by Warwick Medical School shows that a doctor's gender may hinder early hinder early diagnosis of heart disease in women. ...> Full Article

'Skinny gene' does exist, researchers find (9/5/2007)

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a single gene might control whether or not individuals tend to pile on fat, a discovery that may point to new ways to fight obesity and diabetes. ...> Full Article

Avocados May Help Prevent Oral Cancer (9/5/2007)

Nutrients taken from avocados are able to thwart oral cancer cells, killing some and preventing pre-cancerous cells from developing into actual cancers, according to researchers at Ohio State University. ...> Full Article

Hungry to lose weight? Help is at hand (9/5/2007)

Imagine an electronic hand-held device that can track your appetite, record feelings of hunger, monitor food intake, and contribute to weight management research. ...> Full Article

Melanoma Drug Revs Immune Cells But Cancer Cells Ignore It (9/5/2007)

A new study shows that an important drug used in the treatment of malignant melanoma has little effect on the melanoma cells themselves. Instead, it activates immune-system cells to fight the disease. ...> Full Article

Common immune cell marker shown to be off target (9/5/2007)

A marker that scientists have depended on for over 15 years to pick out a group of immune cells in the skin has been misidentifying them, Rockefeller University scientists report. ...> Full Article

Immunology Researchers Halt Lethal Rabies Infection in Brain (9/5/2007)

While rabies, an ancient scourge that still kills 70,000 every year in developing countries worldwide can be combated with a series of vaccines today, it nearly is always fatal when it reaches the brain. ...> Full Article

Obesity And The Central Nervous System (9/4/2007)

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of information regarding the role of the central nervous system (CNS) in the development of obesity and the influence of peripheral, hormonal signals that regulate CNS function to regulate food intake and metabolism. A symposium held recently in Washington, DC, organized by The Journal of Physiology, focused on recent work in talks by leaders in the field. ...> Full Article

Researchers find genetic link between body clocks and blood pressure (9/4/2007)

A region of DNA involved in the body's inbuilt 24 hour cycle (the circadian rhythm) is also involved in controlling blood pressure, report scientists from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics (WTCHG) at the University of Oxford. ...> Full Article

Molecular Pathway May Predict Chemotherapy Effectiveness (9/4/2007)

A common molecular pathway could help physicians predict which lung cancer patients will benefit from chemotherapy drugs, according to new research from a multidisciplinary team at the University of Cincinnati (UC). ...> Full Article

Pancreatic Cancer Fights Off Immune Attack (9/4/2007)

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and the Heidelberg University Hospitals have discovered that pancreatic cancer attracts regulatory T cells, which suppress the activity of immune cells. In this way, the tumor might escape its destruction by the immune system. ...> Full Article

Melanoma: Gene Signature Spells Poor Outcome (9/3/2007)

Other than visually inspecting the disease, doctors have no genetic blueprint to classify melanomas, a lethal form of skin cancer. Tumors generally are ranked by how deeply the growth has invaded underlying skin tissue. The deeper it burrows into the skin, the more lethal the cancer, but some patients defy the odds and survive with thick tumors or die from thin ones. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Promising New Targets for Antibiotics (9/3/2007)

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have identified new sites on the bacterial cell's protein-making machinery where antibiotics can be delivered to treat infections. ...> Full Article

COPD Is Worldwide Threat, Expected to Worsen (9/3/2007)

Internationally renowned COPD expert at OHSU publishes most comprehensive worldwide study to date onthe ramifications of the debilitating lung disease ...> Full Article

Discovery Suggests Location of Genes for Breast Density, a Strong Risk Factor for Breast Cancer (9/2/2007)

Studying the DNA of 889 people, gene hunters at the Mayo Clinic and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Centers have identified a region on chromosome 5p that is significantly associated with dense breast tissue, a known risk factor for breast cancer. The findings, published in the September 1 issue of Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that genes which influence breast density could serve as a predictive marker for disease and provide a biological target for agents that may reduce breast cancer risk by reducing breast density. ...> Full Article

Novel HIV Vaccine Funded for Clinical Development (9/2/2007)

A promising new HIV vaccine created at The Wistar Institute has received funding for clinical development aimed at moving the vaccine into human clinical trials as soon as possible. ...> Full Article

In Matters Of Sex And Death, Men Are An Essential Part Of The Equation (9/2/2007)

Stanford scientists show in a forthcoming paper that traditional mating patterns make men the key to explaining away the "wall of death," an enduring puzzle in the study of human longevity. ...> Full Article

Human Papilloma Virus Vaccines May Decrease Chances Of Oral Cancer (9/2/2007)

The Centers for Disease Control report that nearly 25 million women are infected with some form of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Of those, more than three million are thought to have one of the four strains known to cause cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. ...> Full Article

Grape Extract Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Growth (9/1/2007)

Laboratory experiments show that an extract of the skin of muscadine grapes can inhibit growth of prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. Investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their research partners also show that muscadine grape skin extract (MSKE) does not contain significant amounts of resveratrol, another grape skin component that has been widely studied and shown to be of potential benefit in preventing prostate cancer growth. The results appear in the September 1, 2007, issue of Cancer Research. ...> Full Article

University of Florida to house pancreas research repository for the study of diabetes (9/1/2007)

The University of Florida will house a newly organized international research center for the study of the human pancreas that will bank organs from thousands of patients with or at risk for type 1 diabetes in an effort to learn more about the disease. ...> Full Article

Discovery May Pave the Way for a New Class of Diabetes Drugs (9/1/2007)

A multidisciplinary team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego has determined the structure of a protein found in cells that shows potential as a target for the development of new drugs to treat diabetes. ...> Full Article