Wolfgang Fink’s research into artificial retinas helps restore some sight in blind patients with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
University of Arizona College of Engineering professor Wolfgang Fink has been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Plagued with a defective heart valve that caused fluid accumulation in his lungs, Leo was in need of serious medical help. (more…)
Patients with metastatic melanoma taking the recently approved drug vemurafenib (marketed as Zelboraf) responded well to the twice-daily pill, but some of them developed a different, secondary skin cancer.
Now, researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, working with investigators from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Roche and Plexxikon, have elucidated the mechanism by which the drug excels at fighting melanoma but also allows for the development of skin squamous-cell carcinomas. (more…)
In 2005, news first broke that researchers in Scotland found unexpectedly low rates of cancer among diabetics taking metformin, a drug commonly prescribed to patients with Type II diabetes. Many follow-up studies reported similar findings, some suggesting as much as a 50-per-cent reduction in risk. How could this anti-diabetic drug reduce the risk of developing cancer and what were the mechanisms involved?
In a paper published today in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal reported an unexpected finding: they learned that exposure to metformin reduces the cellular mutation rate and the accumulation of DNA damage. It is well known that such mutations are directly involved in carcinogenesis, but lowering cancer risk by inhibiting the mutation rate has never been shown to be feasible. (more…)
The University of Exeter and parenting website Netmums are developing a new online therapy programme for postnatal depression.
This innovative approach to treatment has been created in response to the stigma that still surrounds postnatal depression, preventing many women from seeking help.
The research is supported by the PenCLAHRC, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Peninsula Collaboration for Leadership and Applied Health Research and Care.
The research team hopes its programme will pave the way for future online treatments for depression. They are conducting this confidential study of the treatment for free and will assess its effectiveness against regular treatment. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Imagine if doctors could spot Parkinson’s disease at its inception and treat the protein that triggers it before the disease can sicken the patient. (more…)
PhD candidate explores their interconnection
Like any 28 year old, Arif Jetha, a fourth-year PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is worrying about his future. Once he completes his PhD, should he remain at home with his parents and pursue post-doctoral work or move on to full-time employment and begin establishing his career? (more…)
For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight. (more…)
