Two novel treatments — a basic compound found in every cell in the body and an extract of green tea — may prevent brain damage caused from stroke, according to two studies in rats led by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
GlaxoSmithKline’s new drug Tykerb dramatically slows the spread of aggressive late-stage breast cancer. Data from a Phase III study reporting that Tykerb? (lapatinib) plus Xeloda? (capecitabine) is superior to capecitabine alone in women with HER2 (ErbB2) positive advanced breast cancer who had progressed following prior therapy, including Herceptin? (trastuzumab), was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
A unique Mayo Clinic collaboration has revived the healing wisdom of Pacific Island cultures by testing a therapeutic plant extract described in a 17th century Dutch herbal text for its anti-bacterial properties.
Medical teams — not individuals — are critical to the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections, as well as for the overall health, safety, and welfare of patients, according to an editorial by two Virginia Commonwealth University physicians published in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
At any given time within just a single brain cell of sea slug known as Aplysia, more than 10,000 genes are active, according to scientists writing in Cell. Researchers also analyzed 146 human genes implicated in 168 neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and genes controlling aging and stem-cell differentiation. They found 104 counterpart genes in Aplysia, suggesting it will be a valuable tool for developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
A 26-year-old Egyptian man died of bird flu on Wednesday, the third member of his extended family to die of the virus, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report highlighted.
In a report published online ahead of the Jan. 15 print edition, Dr. David Amberg (SUNY Upstate Medical University) and colleagues have developed a large-scale reverse genetic screen to identify complex haploinsufficient interactions in S. cerevisiae.
Hospitals will quickly slash the rate of common, costly and potentially lethal catheter-related bloodstream infections in their intensive care units (ICUs) by using cheap, low-tech, common-sense measures like hand washing, timely removal of unneeded catheters and use of sites other than the groin to place lines when possible, according to a report from safety experts at Johns Hopkins in the Dec. 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
One key to your high blood pressure might just be your inflammatory genes. It may sound odd but mounting evidence suggests that inflammation, a part of the immune response implicated in diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes, may also help translate stress into high blood pressure.
Peering deep within the cells of fruit flies, developmental biologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia may have discovered a new way that genes are turned on and off during development. If they’re right, and the same processes are at work in higher organisms, including mammals, the findings could eventually have implications for improving the understanding of a range of diseases, including childhood cancer.