Researchers at Yale University have developed a novel nanoparticle with promising applications in gene therapy, a type of medical treatment that addresses the root causes of diseases now typically treated for symptoms.
The advance could lead to new therapies for many forms of cancer, including brain tumors, as well as for cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s Disease. (more…)
A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team, including a University of Exeter scientist.
The findings are published in the journal Science and show how a toxin produced by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei kills cells by preventing protein synthesis.
The study, led by the University of Sheffield, paves the way for the development of novel therapies to combat the bacterium which infects millions of people across South East Asia and Northern Australia.
Using intense X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, the research team solved the structure of a protein from Burkholderia, the function of which was initially unknown. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A study links low vitamin D in young girls with early menstruation, which is a risk factor for a host of health problems for teen girls as well as women later in life.
Researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health measured the blood vitamin D levels in 242 girls ages 5-12 from Bogota, Colombia, and followed them for 30 months. Girls low on vitamin D were twice as likely to start menstruation during the study than those with sufficient vitamin D, said epidemiologist Eduardo Villamor, associate professor in the U-M SPH. (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Few treatments exist for patients with advanced primary liver cancer, but University of Florida researchers have found a new way to broaden the range of options and potentially improve health outcomes by combining two treatments.
In the first study of its kind, the researchers combined sorafenib, the only Food and Drug Administration-approved pill for treating advanced liver cancer, with another routinely used therapy known as transarterial chemoembolization, which works by cutting off the blood supply to tumors. No unexpected toxic effects were seen, and the combo appears to have the potential to improve survival for certain groups of patients. (more…)
*Analysis questions U.S. Task Force recommendations for every-other-year screening starting at age 50*
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A new study questions the controversial U.S. Preventative Service Task Force recommendations for breast cancer screening, with data that shows starting at a younger age and screening more frequently will result in more lives saved.
The study analyzed the same data looked at by the task force, which issued its guidelines on mammography screening in November 2009. The study authors compared the task force’s recommendations for screening every other year in women 50-74 to American Cancer Society guidelines of screening every year in women 40-84. (more…)
*Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind drink’s prophylactic effect*
Coffee, that morning elixir, may give us an early jump-start to the day, but numerous studies have shown that it also may be protective against type 2 diabetes. Yet no one has really understood why.
Now, researchers at UCLA have discovered a possible molecular mechanism behind coffee’s protective effect. A protein called sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the biological activity of the body’s sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, which have long been thought to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. And coffee consumption, it turns out, increases plasma levels of SHBG. (more…)
A study by Newcastle University in Britain, indicates that green tea may protect the brain from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. The research, published in the journal Phytomedicine, also suggests that the ancient Chinese remedy that has been popularized throughout the world may also have an important role in protecting the body against cancer.
In the study, scientists investigated whether the beneficial properties of green tea, which had already been proven in newly prepared and undigested tea, were still active once the tea was digested. (more…)
Aspirin - to fight cancer. Image credit: Volker Mintzlaff
Or does it? Fresh research from Oxford University seems to reveal that a low dose of aspirin taken over a substantial period of time produces promising results, indicating that the death rates of many types of cancer reduce greatly. In fact, the evidence presented is staggering and if true, would be a medical breakthrough of exponential proportions.
Let us be optimistic, for cancer is a disease which has cut across most families around the globe. Few of us have not lost a grandparent, parent, uncle or aunt to this disease, in some cases even brothers, or worse still, nephews or nieces…or worse still, sons or daughters, grandsons and daughters. Now it seems there is good news which does not involve chemo-therapy or radio-therapy, which create many success stories but also many victims. (more…)
