A team of Vanderbilt and University of Dundee scientists envisions a future when computer simulations will be used to predict a tumor’s clinical progression and formulate individualized treatment plans. The group has developed a mathematical model for cancer invasion powerful enough for this purpose. The result was published as an entirely theoretical paper in the journal Cell and represents a “sea change” in how biology is done.
The first human trial of gene transfer therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED) indicates that gene therapy that lasts for months and eliminates the patient’s need for on-demand drugs (such as Viagra and Cialis), could become the future treatment of choice for this common problem, according to a paper in the most recent issue of Human Gene Therapy.
A reproductive medicine specialist at the University at Buffalo has shown that a new compound may improve the fertility of tobacco smokers who have low sperm count and low percentage sperm motility.
Eighty-six percent of the recent decline in U.S. teen pregnancy rates is the result of improved contraceptive use, while a small proportion of the decline (14%) can be attributed to teens waiting longer to start having sex, according to a report by John Santelli, MD, MPH, department chair and professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health and published in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
According to a University of Pittsburgh-led study published in the December issue of Gastroenterology, medium-sized polyps found in the colon with flexible sigmoidoscopy and subsequently evaluated by full colonoscopy are associated with a significant number of advanced adenomas (high-risk polyps) and cancers.
Connect one pendulum to another with a spring, and in time the motions of the two swinging levers will become coordinated.
Brain cells derived from human embryonic stem cells improved the condition of rats with Parkinson’s-like symptoms dramatically, but the treatment caused a significant problem — the appearance of brain tumors — that scientists are now working to solve. The study is featured on the cover of the November issue of Nature Medicine.
African-American men with prostate cancer were more likely to report a family history of prostate cancer and breast cancer among siblings than men who did not have prostate cancer, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Guanfacine, a medication commonly prescribed to alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, is no more effective than a placebo, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Researchers in the OHSU Digestive Health Center are developing a system through which clinicians hope to more easily identify people at increased risk for the disease. Early identification allows physicians to identify malignancies sooner and begin aggressive treatment quicker. Only patients at high risk for pancreatic cancer will be monitored.