Clipmarks | tabsey's 'medical' clips

Breast Cancer Cells Recycle To Escape Death By Hormonal Therapy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:51:34 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

ScienceDaily (Oct. 5, 2008) — Many breast cancer cells facing potentially lethal antiestrogen therapy recycle to survive, researchers say.

About 70 percent of breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone estrogen, which acts as a nutrient and stimulates their growth. Patients typically get an antiestrogen such as tamoxifen for five years to try to starve them to death, says Dr. Patricia V. Schoenlein, cancer researcher in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies.

"About 50 to 60 percent of these women really benefit from hormonal therapy," says Dr. Schoenlein. Why others don't has been asked for at least two decades.

One reason may be breast cancer cells switch into a survival mode that normal cells also use when faced with starvation, according to research published in the September issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

It's called macroautophagy – autophagy means "self eating"

– and within a week, breast cancer cells can reorganize component parts,

Tags: medicine

Solariums 'killing 43 people a year'

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:43:08 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Does the same thing happen in the US and UK. Becoming fashionable to die from these things, who can control fashion.

Clip Source: au.news.yahoo.com

New research suggests tanning beds might be responsible for killing more than 40 Australians a year.

A team at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) has used a British mathematical model to estimate the number of cases of melanoma skin cancer cases each year that are linked to the use of sun beds.

It found there were 281 cases a year, with 43 melanoma-related deaths believed to be attributed to tanning beds.

The researchers have used the findings to make a case for tough federal government regulations that either ban or restrict access to solariums.

Tags: death

Vitamin C may blunt cancer drugs, study finds

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:07:09 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Vitamin C supplements may undercut the effectiveness of cancer drugs, a US study suggests.

When used on human cancer cells treated with a form of vitamin C in lab dishes, chemotherapy drugs killed 30 per cent to 70 per cent fewer tumour cells than usual, the American scientists wrote in the journal Cancer Research.

Dr Mark Heaney, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, and colleagues also implanted human cancer cells into mice. They found that when mice got vitamin C supplements two hours before chemotherapy, the tumours grew more quickly.

They tested five common chemotherapy drugs including Gleevec, also known as imatinib.

"The vitamin C didn't neutralise the effects of the chemotherapy drugs, but it blunted their effects," Dr Heaney said.

The other drugs were doxorubicin, cisplatin, methotrexate and vincristine. They work in different ways to combat tumours.

Tags: medical

Woman unable to open eyes 3 days a week: report

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:14:42 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Baffling, to say the least.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

An Australian woman is blind three days out of every six because her eyes involuntarily shut and she cannot open them, a report has said.

The woman's mysterious medical condition has left doctors puzzled.

Natalie Adler, who experts believe may be the only person in the world with this condition, said she has had this medical predicament since she was 17.

"I woke one Sunday and my eyes were swollen. It was the day before an English exam," the 21-year-old told Melbourne's Herald Sun.

"My eyes started closing intermittently, really randomly, but within a few weeks they were closing for three days [at a time]."

Doctors from the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital said Ms Adler's condition was baffling.

"She's a one-off and we don't have a diagnosis," said Professor Justin O'Day of the hospital's neuro-ophthalmology department.

"It's unusual to see somebody with this degree of spasming and eyelid closure, especially at this age. There is no known cause."

Tags: medical

A Switch to Turn Off Autism?

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:04:59 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: I won't mind if this goes ahead in leaps and bounds.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Scientists say they have pinpointed a gene in the brain that can calm nerve cells that become too jumpy, potentially paving the way for new therapies to treat autism and other neurological disorders.

"It's exciting because it opens the field up," says Michael Greenberg, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. "Nobody has [found] a gene that controls the process in quite that way before."

THE BRAIN'S BRAKES: Scientists have fingered a gene that calms brain cells down when they get too excited.
© ISTOCKPHOTO/KIYOSHI TAKAHASE

The brain is continually trying to strike a balance between too much and too little nerve cell activity. Neurologists believe that when the balance tips, disorders such as autism and schizophrenia may occur. They are not sure why neurons (nerve cells) go berserk. But Greenberg says he and his colleagues located a gene in mice and rats that helps keep neural activity in check—and may one day be manipulated to prevent or reverse neurological problems.

Tags: medical

Patent system 'stifling science'

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:31:58 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Life-saving scientific research is being stifled by a "broken" patent system, according to a new report.

"Blocking patents" are delaying advances in cancer medicine and food crops, says the Canada-based Innovation Partnership, a non-profit consultancy.

Patent headaches have delayed the release of "golden" rice (right)

The full benefits of synthetic biology and nanotechnology will not be realised without urgent reforms to encourage sharing of information, they say.

Their findings will be reported next week to UK policymakers and NGOs.

The report is compiled by the Innovation Partnership's International Expert Group on Biotechnology, Innovation and Intellectual Property.

It cites examples of medical advances which have been delayed from reaching people in need - in both the developed and developing world.

These include HIV/Aids drugs, cancer screening tests, and rice engineered to contain vitamin A.

Tags: systems, can, be, more, efficient

Baby bottle chemical draws mixed messages from U.S.

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:32:16 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration this week reopens the debate over a chemical used in many plastic products -- including baby bottles -- amid mixed messages on its safety from the U.S. government.

An FDA panel of outside experts on Tuesday was set to review the agency's draft report issued last month saying that bisphenol A, or BPA, is safe. Critics argue the FDA has ignored strong evidence in animal studies that BPA is harmful.

Government toxicologists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health on September 3 reiterated their view that BPA presents "some concern" for harmful effects on development of the prostate and brain and for behavioral changes in fetuses, infants and children.

BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic, a clear shatter-resistant material in products ranging from baby and water bottles to sports safety equipment and medical devices.

It also is used to make durable epoxy resins used as the coating in most food and beverage cans and in dental

Tags: pollution, risk, for, babies

Majority of osteoporosis patients not receiving calcium and vitamin D with treatment

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:54:39 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Study highlights underlying reasons for why patients are missing their supplementation

Geneva, Switzerland – 15th September, 2008: New research published today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), Montréal, Canada, reveals that less than half (43%) of patients in Europe with osteoporosis are claiming to take both calcium and vitamin D supplementation with their osteoporosis treatment. Maximum benefit in managing osteoporosis can be achieved with combination therapy of an osteoporosis treatment (such as a bisphosphonate) with calcium and vitamin D supplementation, yet the majority of patients in this research claim they do not follow this approach.

"Patients with a low intake of calcium and vitamin D may not be receiving the full benefit of their osteoporosis treatment if they do not take enough supplementation", said Professor Steven Boonen

take both their calcium and vitamin D supplements, but also to ensure that they take them regularly".

Tags: medical

Tourette girl undergoes breakthrough op

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:09:14 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: On TV recently the progress since the op was shown. Wonderful for Bianca and her parents.

Clip Source: www.thedaily.com.au

A 16-year-old girl with the inherited disorder Tourette syndrome may soon be allowed to leave a psychiatric institution and go home, thanks to an Australian first operation.

Bianca Saez from Alexandra Headland on Queensland's Sunshine Coast had spent the last two years in a Brisbane institution because her family had been unable to cope with the symptoms of her condition.

These included aggressively hitting her mother, punching holes in walls, uncontrolled vocal outbursts, tearing her clothes and banging her head against a table.

Dr Peter Silburn, a neurologist at Brisbane's St Andrews War Memorial Hospital, on Monday told AAP Bianca actually tore the hair off the front of her head.

"Bianca had no control over her tics and was immediately remorseful over what she couldn't control, and for a young woman, that would be just terrible," Dr Silburn said.

Bianca's condition was not responding to drugs

an operation performed at St Andrew's a week ago turned her life around.

Tags: medical

Chlamydia screening for all youngsters: expert

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:41:55 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

A top international sexual health expert has warned the federal government to start screening all teenagers for chlamydia to try to curb the infection epidemic.

- All teenagers should be screened for chlamydia: expert
- About five per cent of Australians under 25 are infected
- National cases increased fourfold from 1995 to 2005

Rates of chlamydia are rising fast in Australia, with about five per cent of people under 25 now believed to have the disease, according to new statistics presented at the Australasian sexual health conference in Perth today.

"The disease burden is still enormous and increasing, and that is very much true for Australia too," Prof Paavonen said.

"It's a very disappointing situation to have new tools to improve the situation at our fingertips, like a simple, easy urine test and single-dose medication, but virtually nothing is being done anywhere to turn it around."

screening prevents the long term problems caused by chlamydia like pelvic infections, ectopic preg

Tags: medical

New cannabis-like drugs could block pain without affecting brain, says study

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:20:19 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Sounds promising

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

A new type of drug could alleviate pain in a similar way to cannabis without affecting the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Pain on Monday 15 September.

The research demonstrates for the first time that cannabinoid receptors called CB2, which can be activated by cannabis use, are present in human sensory nerves in the peripheral nervous system, but are not present in a normal human brain.

Drugs which activate the CB2 receptors are able to block pain by stopping pain signals being transmitted in human sensory nerves, according to the study, led by researchers from Imperial College London.

Previous studies have mainly focused on the other receptor activated by cannabis use, known as CB1, which was believed to be the primary receptor involved in pain relief. However, as CB1 receptors are found in the brain, taking drugs which activate these receptors can lead to side-effects, such as drowsiness, dependence and psychosis, and also recreational abuse.

Tags: medical

Near-Death Experiences: What Really Happens?

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:10:55 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Will the morphine effect the experience?

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Many reports of near-death experiences sound the same: a welcoming white light and a replay of memories. But now scientists aim to study what really happens to the brain and consciousness when someone is on the verge of dying.

In a new study called AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation), doctors will examine patients in hospitals in Europe and North America who reach a state called cardiac arrest.

"Contrary to popular perception, death is not a specific moment," said leader of the study Dr. Sam Parnia of the University of Southampton in the U.K. "It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning — a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death."

Science has long struggled to define death, and to determine when the precise moment of death occurs. Now though, most doctors consider death more of a process than an event.

Tags: death

NC State first university in nation to offer canine bone marrow transplants

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:52:17 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: And some would argue that their is a recession happening. Just shows who is effected.

Clip Source: www.sciencecodex.com

Dogs suffering from lymphoma will be able to receive the same type of medical treatment as their human counterparts, as North Carolina State University becomes the first university in the nation to offer canine bone marrow transplants in a clinical setting.

Dr. Steven Suter, assistant professor of oncology in NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, received three leukophoresis machines donated by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Leukophoresis machines are designed to harvest healthy stem cells from cancer patients. The machines are used in conjunction with drug therapy to harvest stem cells that have left the patient's bone marrow and entered the bloodstream. The harvested cancer-free cells are then reintroduced into the patient after total body radiation is used to kill residual cancer cells left in the body. This treatment is called peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

Tags: and, bone, marrow, for, dog, priceless

Brain Blasting Laser

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:26:39 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: In a world first, a man was strapped to a bed in Paris and had laser beams fired into his brain. He not only survived but, amazingly, wasn't James Bond.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

The revolutionary surgery was carried out at Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital to destroy a brain tumor that wasn't responding to conventional treatment. Drilling a hole in somebody's skull and piping laser destruction into it, on the other hand, definitely counts as "unconventional treatment" and destroyed the tumor.

A laser's ability to vaporise things is widely known - thanks to movies it was known long before it was actually true. But in medical applications the trick isn't blowing things up, but convincing the laser to stop burning things up in a precisely controlled way. In this case fiber optic cabling (like copper wire for light) was used to direct the laser to the correct location, and constant Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) allowed surgeons to monitor its progress on a screen - like a very expensive videogame. And you only get one life.

UT Southwestern specialist leads effort to craft first professional guidelines for regarding earwax

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:51:00 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: "oral jet irrigaters" has a certain ring to it.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

DALLAS – Aug. 29, 2008 – The age-old advice to routinely clean out earwax is discouraged under the first published guidelines from health care professionals about removing wax from the ear.

"Unfortunately, many people feel the need to manually remove earwax, called cerumen, which serves an important protective function for the ear," said the guidelines' lead author, Dr. Peter Roland, chairman of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Cotton swabs and some other home remedies can push cerumen further into the canal, potentially foiling the natural removal process and instead cause build-up, known as impaction."

The guidelines recommend professionals use wax-dissolving agents, irrigation or ear syringing, or manually remove it with a suction device or other specialty instrument under supervised care to avoid damaging the ear or further impaction. The guidelines warn against using cotton-tipped swabs, and the home use of oral jet irrigators.