GBP Health / Biotech News 06-17-2010:
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EurekAlert - Biology:
Public Release: 16-Jun-2010
Chaos
Understanding robustness in organisms -- a potential weapon against infectious diseases
"Robust" is an adjective appreciatively applied to certain vintage wines, but when describing viruses and pathogens, robustness is a property that may be much less desirable. It evokes drug resistant microbes and other superbugs that can wreak havoc as researchers struggle to deal with new pandemics. How can we undercut this robustness? A new study in the AIP journal Chaos examines the ability of organisms to survive in the face of various kinds of change.
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@aip.org
301-209-3091
American Institute of Physics
Public Release: 16-Jun-2010Nature
Defects in immune system enzyme may increase risk of autoimmune disorders
A multi-institutional research team has found that rare variants in the gene coding an enzyme that controls the activity of a key immune cell occur more frequently in individuals with autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. Their report identifies a pathway that could be a therapeutic target and may present a model for future investigations of the role of rare gene variants in common disorders.
National Institutes of Health, Alliance for Lupus Research
Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
Public Release: 14-Jun-2010Journal of Thoracic Oncology
TGen-VARI-SHC research helps predict success with cancer drugs
Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, the Van Andel Research Institute and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare have discovered a biomarker that could help in the treatment of patients with an aggressive type of lung cancer.American Cancer Society, a Sylvia Chase Pilot Grant and the IBIS Foundation of Arizona
Contact: Steve Yozwiak
syozwiak@tgen.org
602-343-8704
The Translational Genomics Research Institute
Source - Science Daily: Science Daily:
Please note : Due to the format restrictions of Science Daily articles, you must click on the URL (web address) below the article summary , rather than the article title.
June 16, 2010 — The new cancer medication sorafenib looks promising. Sorafenib is used for advanced liver and kidney cancer and also appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100615105243.htm
Association of Genetic Factors and Brain Imaging Findings in Alzheimer's Disease
June 16, 2010 — By investigating the association between genetic loci related to Alzheimer's disease and neuroimaging measures related to disease risk, researchers may have uncovered additional evidence that several ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614161436.htm
Many Clinicians May Be Screening for Cervical Cancer Too Frequently
June 16, 2010 — Clinical guidelines recommend screening low-risk women for cervical cancer every three years after age 30, but most primary care clinicians report that they would advise testing for the disease more ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614161353.htm
Tumor Target Suggests Personalized Treatment for Melanoma
June 16, 2010 — IKK-beta, a component of a pathway involved in melanoma development, may offer new leads for developing targeted melanoma therapies, researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100615191753.htm
Heart Attack: Could Giving Oxygen Be Doing More Harm Than Good?
June 16, 2010 — There is no evidence that the common practice of giving patients oxygen to inhale during a heart attack is beneficial, according to a new review by researchers. Until further research is carried out, ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100615191651.htm
Apple Juice Improves Behavior but Not Cognition in Alzheimer's Patients, Study Finds
June 16, 2010 — Apple juice can be a useful supplement for calming the declining moods that are part of the normal progression of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease, according to a new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614160239.htm
Experts Explore Emerging Evidence Linking Diabetes and Cancer
June 16, 2010 — A new consensus statement of experts assembled by the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society reviews emerging evidence that suggests cancer incidence is associated with ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100616090023.htm
June 15, 2010 — New research shows that a simple, inexpensive and noninvasive carotid artery ultrasound of the neck can be used as a preliminary diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease (CAD). This may be an ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614171909.htm
Taking Aim at Metastatic Lung Tumors
June 15, 2010 — A new study uses a sophisticated genomic analysis to unravel some of the complex cellular signals that drive the deadly invasive spread of lung cancer. The research identifies specific molecules ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614121552.htm
June 15, 2010 — Scientists believe they may have identified the true in vivo structure of the senile plaques that are characteristically found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100610104726.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: June 16, 2010
- 'Female Viagra' Pill Has Little Effect on Libido: FDA
- Men Less Likely To Seek Routine Health Care: Study
- Oil Spill Health Concerns Could Last Years: Experts
- McNeil Expands Odor-Related Recall of Medicines
- FDA Warns Against Too Much Vitamin D For Infants
- FDA Web Site Offers Safety Reports on New Drugs
Gene Therapy for HIV Inches Forward
Viable treatment is still a long way off, researchers say.
Clinical Trials Update: June 16, 2010
- Acne
- High Cholesterol
- Low Back Pain
Source - Yahoo Biotech News:
Curis shares fall on colon cancer study - AP - 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
Shares of drug developer Curis Inc. fell Wednesday after the company said a potential colon cancer treatment failed to meet its goal in a midstage study.
FDA: 'Female Viagra' falls short
AP - 13 minutes ago
Source - Google Health News:
Agencies move to tap promise of gene therapy
ModernHealthcare.com
The FDA's program will work to develop an effective and timely pathway for the review and approval of new gene-therapy drugs. FDA and NIH officials said the ...
GenVec explores sale, other options
Bizjournals.com
GenVec discontinued an advanced trial of a gene-therapy drug called TNFerade in March after studies showed the treatment wouldn't provide enough benefit to ...
The Path to Personalized Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine (subscription)
Just as the NIH served as an initial home for human gene therapy, the Hatfield Center can provide specialized diagnostic services for rare and neglected ...
Source - Medical News Today :
New Combination Effective Against Pancreatic Cancer
The new cancer medication sorafenib looks promising. Sorafenib is used for advanced liver and kidney cancer and also appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer . The team led by Professor Dr. Ingrid Herr, Head of the Department of Molecular Oncosurgery, a group of the Department of Surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital, (Managing Director: Professor Dr. Markus W. Büchler) in cooperation with the German Cancer Research Center, tested the new substance in mice and pancreatic cancer cells. It inhibits resistant tumor stem cells and is also especially effective in combination with sulforaphane, an organic compound found in broccoli. The results has been published online in the prestigious medical journal Cancer Research. About 12,900 people in Germany develop pancreatic cancer every year. The disease is frequently noticed too late and very few people survive the diagnosis longer than one year. In particular, early precursor cells of the tumor known as cancer stem cells are responsible for uncontrollable growth of the cancer, metastasization to other organs, and recurrence shortly after surgery. They are extremely resistant to conventional therapy and are the focus of new treatment strategies.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191875.php
The Associated Press/Arizona Republic : "It's an unthinkable notion for a generation raised on the message that early cancer detection saves lives, but specialists say more tumors actually are being found too early. That is raising uncomfortable questions about how aggressively to treat early growths -- in some cases, even how aggressively to test -- along with a push for more of the informed-choice programs. ... Today's cancer screenings can unearth tumors that scientists say never would have threatened the person's life. The problem is there aren't surefire ways to tell in advance which tumors won't be dangerous. ... Work is under way to better predict that, and even the staunchest supporters of screening call overdiagnosis a problem that needs tackling. ... Nowhere is the disconnect more obvious than with prostate cancer screening. Most men over 50 have had a PSA blood test to check for it even though major medical groups don't recommend routine PSAs, worried they may do more harm than good for the average man" (Neergaard, 6/15). Meanwhile, Reuters reports that a lack "of solid evidence doesn't seem to hamper doctors' use of new technology, as long as they can get reimbursed for it, researchers said on Monday. They found that after the U.S. Congress had mandated Medicare coverage of a digital tool to help detect breast cancer , health providers were quick to pick it up even though it hadn't showed clear-cut benefits for the women. The technology, known as computer-aided detection, costs more than $100,000 to install, according to the researchers, whose findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. ... Based on Medicare data, [Joshua J.] Fenton, of the University of California, Davis, and his colleagues found that in 2001, doctors used computer-aided detection in less than 5 percent of screening mammograms. Two years later, that number had swollen more than five times" (6/14).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191928.php
Cheap Injection Could Stop Thousands Of People Dying Of Severe Bleeding From Accidents, Injuries
Results from an international trial involving over 20,000 participants in 40 countries suggest that if recently injured patients with serious bleeding were to be given an injection of a cheap, widely available drug, it could save the lives of tens of thousands of people every year worldwide, including victims of traffic accidents, shootings, stabbings and land mine injuries. The results of the CRASH-2 study, a large, randomised trial involving over 20,000 adult patients in 274 hospitals in 40 countries, are published in the 14 June online issue of The Lancet, along with other information and an editorial commentary.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191852.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review :
Startup to Offer Patients a Genetic Profile of their Cancer
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25593/
Plastic Antibodies Fight Toxins
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25591/?a=f
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