Body

Removing 2mm around breast cancer tumors prevents residual disease in 98 percent of patients

Removing an extra two millimetres around an area of invasive breast cancer is sufficient to minimise any residual disease in 98 per cent of patients, according to research published in the November issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Surgeons from the Department of Breast Surgery at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, UK, studied 303 women who had undergone breast conserving surgery at the hospital between 2002 and 2008.

Genomic Systems announces 'moratorium on studying and treating terminal cancer has ended'

PALO ALTO, CA – (OCTOBER 15, 2010) – Terminal metastatic cancer – the presently untreatable cause of the great majority of all cancer deaths – has now been effectively treated in three common fatal cancers in mice, according to announced Genomic Systems, citing research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

News and insights in gastroenterology presented at the ACG's 75th Annual Meeting

Bethesda, Maryland (October 14, 2010) – Many of the world's preeminent gastroenterologists will gather for the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific Meeting at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas starting Monday October 18, 2010, to review the latest scientific advances in gastrointestinal research, treatment of digestive diseases and clinical practice management.

Statin use associated with statistically significant reduction in colorectal cancer

San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2010 – A systematic review of the medical literature supports the hypothesis that statins, cholesterol‐lowering drugs used to prevent cardiac problems, are associated with reduced risk of colon and rectal cancers. A comprehensive analysis by investigators at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, included 22 scientific studies with more than 2.5 million combined participants.

New undertsanding of gut hormones and gut function sheds light on obesity

Research on obesity examining the role of hormones and the autonomic functions of the digestive system was presented at the 75th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American CoIlege of Gastroenterology.

Acid reflux, functional dyspepsia have significant impact on disordered sleep

San Antonio, Texas (October 18, 2010) – The impact of upper GI conditions, like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional dyspepsia, on sleep—and treatments aimed at providing relief to heartburn/acid reflux patients who suffer from disordered sleep—were explored in three new studies related to sleep dysfunction presented today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Encouraging findings suggest new avenues for treating liver disease in overweight Americans

San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2010 – Estimates of the prevalence of liver disease suggest that one‐third of the United States population has non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is now the most common cause for elevated liver function tests in the United States, a trend related to the obesity epidemic in this country. Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the progressive form of NAFLD, can lead to cirrhosis and all its complications.

Diagnostic techniques help IBD patients avoid ionizing radiation exposure

San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2010 – At the American College of Gastroenterology’s (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific meeting in San Antonio, Texas, several studies of the effectiveness of non‐X‐ray techniques to evaluate Crohn’s disease revealed that diagnostic strategies such as capsule endoscopy (CE) and magnetic resonance enteroscopy (MRE) are useful in managing patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and avoiding ionizing radiation.

IBD Patients Exposed to Significant Ionizing Radiation

Allergy drug found to clear condition but not symptoms of throat disease

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A group of Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/about/) researchers conducted the first controlled trial of swallowed fluticasone nasal spray (also known as Flonase) on people with the allergic esophageal condition called eosinophilic esophagitis (http://www.mayoclinic.org/eosinophilic-esophagitis/).

A new order for CPR, spelled C-A-B

The American Heart Association is re-arranging the ABCs of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in its 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Recommending that chest compressions be the first step for lay and professional rescuers to revive victims of sudden cardiac arrest, the association said the A-B-Cs (Airway-Breathing-Compressions) of CPR should now be changed to C-A-B (Compressions-Airway-Breathing).

Study documents wrong-site, wrong-patient procedure errors

Data from one liability insurance database in Colorado indicate that wrong-site and wrong-patient surgical and procedure errors continued to occur despite nationwide steps to help prevent them, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Genetic test to predict early menopause

The first research from the Breakthrough Generations Study could lead to a test to predict a woman's reproductive lifespan.

The findings, published today in Human Molecular Genetics, could have considerable impact on women in the UK and other western countries, where many start having children at a later age. Early menopause affects one in 20 UK women.

Key difference in how TB bacteria degrade doomed proteins

UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University have discovered a key difference in the way human cells and Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB, deliver unwanted proteins — marked with a "kiss of death" sequence — to their respective cellular recycling factories.

Climate change may alter natural climate cycles of Pacific

While it's still hotly debated among scientists whether climate change causes a shift from the traditional form of El Nino to one known as El Nino Modoki, online in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists now say that El Nino Modoki affects long-term changes in currents in the North Pacific Ocean.

Dry macular degeneration treatment?

CHICAGO—At the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) – Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting today, researchers report progress on two top eye disease challenges: treating advanced "dry" age-related macular degeneration, and preventing blindness in people with diabetes. The Joint Meeting is in session October 16 through 19 at McCormick Place, Chicago. The AAO-MEACO meeting is the world's largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference.

Proven Arthritis Drug Shows Promise versus Dry AMD: