Personalized Blood Tests for Cancer Use Whole Genome Sequencing
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have used data from the whole genome sequencing of cancer patients to develop individualized blood tests they believe can help physicians tailor patients' treatments. The genome-based blood tests, believed to be the first of their kind, may be used to monitor tumor levels after therapy and determine cancer recurrence. More »
Avosentan Reduces Urinary Protein Loss but May Cause Serious Side Effects, Says Study
The drug avosentan substantially reduces urinary protein loss in people with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, but the drug causes serious side effects, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that lower doses of avosentan may have a more favorable risk/benefit ratio for patients. More »
Rituxan Approved to Treat Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rituxan (rituximab) to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow cancer.
Rituxan, an anti-cancer drug, is intended for patients with CLL who are beginning chemotherapy for the first time and for those who have not responded to other cancer drugs for CLL. Rituxan is administered with two other chemotherapy drugs, fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. More »
Robotic Surgery Faster in Repairing Kidney Blockages
A comparison of two types of minimally invasive surgery to repair kidney blockages that prevent urine from draining normally to the bladder found that robot-assisted surgery was faster and resulted in less blood loss and shorter hospital stays. More »
Natural Compound Sceptrin Reduces Cancer Cell Motility
Scientists have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity. Metastasis is one of the deadliest aspects of cancer, so restricting aberrant cell movement is an important step towards advancing treatments. The research was was conducted by investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research) led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., and published online in ACS Chemical Biology, in collaboration with Phil S. More »
Elderly with Untreated Vision Problem More Likely to Develop Alzheimer's
Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.
The study used Medicare data and shows that those with poor vision who visited an ophthalmologist at least once for an examination were 64 percent less likely to develop dementia.
The study appears online ahead of print in the American Journal of Epidemiology and may draw a new picture of poor vision as predictor of dementia rather than as a symptom after the diagnosis. More »
Combination Hormone Therapy (CHT) Poses Heart Disease Risk for Postmenopausal Women
New analyses from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that combination hormone therapy increases the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers report a trend toward an increased risk of heart disease during the first two years of hormone therapy among women who began therapy within 10 years of menopause, and a more marked elevation of risk among women who began hormone therapy more than 10 years after menopause. Analyses indicate that overall a woman’s risk of heart disease more than doubles within the first two years of taking combination HT. More »
Knee and Hip Replacement Pain: A New Approach to Pain Management
Patients undergoing knee or hip replacements recover more quickly when treated with targeted pain-blocking medications that may eliminate the need for general anesthesia during surgery and intravenous narcotics drugs after surgery. More »
Parents of Asthmatic Children Often Wait too Long to Treat Symptoms
Parents of young children with asthma often recognize signs that their child is about to have an asthma attack but delay home treatment until the attack occurs, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.
Results of the study, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, show there are missed opportunities to intervene early and thus relieve a child’s symptoms, possibly reduce the extent of the attack and prevent visits to the emergency room. More »
Barriers to Screening May Increase Colorectal Cancer Deaths
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Despite evidence and guidelines supporting the value of screening for this disease, rates of screening for colorectal cancer are consistently lower than those for other types of cancer, particularly breast and cervical. Although the screening rates in the target population of adults over age 50, have increased from 20-30 percent in 1997 to nearly 55 percent in 2008 — the rates are still too low. More »
