Scientists at Duke University combine the best aspects of x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which is the single-gamma-ray counterpart of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, to obtain both anatomical and functional information using a single comfortable gantry.
Bringing together the high-quality 3D images of MRI with the intense tumor-killing x-rays of a linear accelerator, scientists at the Alberta Cancer Board are building a prototype that could for the first time enable powerful x-ray beams to become a viable treatment option for liver, stomach and pancreatic cancers, which currently must be treated with surgery, drugs, or internal radioactive seeds in most cases.
Using innovative physics, researchers have proposed a system that may one day bring proton therapy, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment method currently available only at a handful of centers, to radiation treatment centers and cancer patients everywhere.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) welcomed the recent decision by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) on the use of BYETTA(R) (exenatide) in Scotland.
Scientists at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from Romania, have discovered a gene variant that significantly increases the risk of developing gallstones (Hepatology No. 46, July 11, 2007, DOI 10.1002/hep.21847). It is estimated that one in ten Europeans has this variant in their hereditary disposition. For those affected, the likelihood of developing a gallstone in the course of their life is two to three times higher.
A startling discovery on the development of human embryonic stem cells by scientists at McMaster University will change how future research in the area is done.
A chemically-modified version of a mitochondrial toxin long used to control species of invasive fish in lakes has been found to selectively inhibit two “survival proteins? in cancer cells.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report a significant new advance in the search for an effective treatment for human liver cancer in the July issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its associated vision loss may be connected to the quality of carbohydrates an individual consumes. In a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Allen Taylor, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University, and colleagues confirmed earlier findings linking dietary glycemic index with the risk of developing AMD.
New evidence published on bmj.com confirms that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should not be prescribed to older women who are many years past menopause to help prevent chronic conditions such as heart disease.