Body

Children whose mothers report being abused by their partners appear more likely to be obese at age 5, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A rare but fatal disease of blood vessels in the lung may be caused in part by aberrant silencing of genes rather than genetic mutation, new research reports.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, a syndrome characterized by gradual blockage of blood vessels in the lungs, has been linked to genetic causes in a small percentage of patients. But University of Chicago researchers have now found that a form of epigenetics – the modification of gene expression – causes the disease in an animal model and could contribute to the disease in humans.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study of biological invasions in Europe found they were linked not so much to changes in climate or land cover, but to two dominant factors – more money and more people.

Wealth and population density, along with an increase in international trade and commerce, were the forces most strongly associated with invasive species that can disrupt ecosystems and cause severe ecological or agricultural damage, scientists said.

LA JOLLA, CA – June 7, 2010 –Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered a new way to target and destroy a type of cancerous cell. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat lymphomas, leukemias, and related cancers.

The study, which appears in the June 10, 2010 edition of the journal Blood, showed in animal models the new technique was successful in drastically reducing B cell lymphoma, a cancer of immune molecules called B cells.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A drug designed to target cancerous plasma cells appears promising in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

A multi-center study looked at the drug elotuzumab, an antibody which is designed to target CS1, a protein on the surface of malignant plasma cells. The antibody has the potential to attach to malignant plasma cells and eliminates them by an immune mechanism. The early stage trial combined elotuzumab with bortezomib, or Velcade, one of the novel chemotherapies approved to treat multiple myeloma, a cancer that arises in the plasma cells.

SALT LAKE CITY—Molecular imaging may improve the success rate of a new therapy for patients with advanced heart disease, according to a study unveiled at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting. Researchers used a hybrid form of molecular imaging to review patients who have undergone cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), which regulates electrical impulses within different chambers of the heart that are not properly synchronized. Molecular imaging improved physicians' ability to identify risk factors that could impact the effectiveness of therapy.

SALT LAKE CITY—A study revealed at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting urges physicians using molecular imaging for the diagnosis of heart disease to use computer data analysis rather than visual interpretation alone. The study shows that when combined, these techniques can improve early detection and diagnosis, especially in conditions that can be more difficult to catch early on, such as diseased arteries.

SALT LAKE CITY—Research presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting is challenging the typical paradigm used to determine whether heart patients will benefit from invasive procedures like stent-placement or open-heart surgery. Current medical practice favors treating patients with coronary atherosclerosis (or hardening of the artery walls due to plaque build-up) with such procedures if a coronary artery is shown to be blocked by 70 percent or more in order to reduce symptoms and potentially prevent heart attack.

SALT LAKE CITY—Molecular imaging has uncovered what may be to blame for acid reflux disease, a painful and potentially dangerous illness that affects a sizeable percentage of the population. A study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting provides further evidence that the disease of the digestive system is brought on by a lack of tone, or motility, in the esophageal muscles that clear and keep stomach acids and other gastric contents from backing up into the esophagus.

SALT LAKE CITY—A study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting shows that using multiple imaging agents with a hybrid imaging technique can be a valuable tool for accurately diagnosing and determining treatment for a variety of diabetes-associated foot diseases. A common complication from Type 2 diabetes is the decreased ability to heal from even the most minor infections. Due to reduced blood circulation and nerve damage associated with the disease, infections of the feet are a major concern.

SALT LAKE CITY—Molecular imaging of the heart just got better, according to a study revealed at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting. Combining a potential new imaging agent with a molecular imaging technique that reduces blur caused by the motion of the heart and lungs could lead to unprecedented image quality when conducting myocardial perfusion imaging, a procedure used to evaluate blood flow to the heart.

SALT LAKE CITY—Molecular imaging has a powerful new weapon in the fight against prostate cancer. Research introduced at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting demonstrates how a novel peptide-targeted imaging agent could help clinicians detect a biological process that signals cancer in prostate cells. Information gathered about this process may even differentiate prostate tumor types and the progression of disease.

SALT LAKE CITY—According to research revealed at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, a multi-tracer molecular imaging technique using positron emission tomography (PET) provides detailed information about the physiological processes of cancerous tumors—and could one day help radiation oncologists treat head and neck cancers with precision external-beam radiation therapy and improve the outcomes of therapy.

SALT LAKE CITY—According to a study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, molecular imaging can evaluate and optimize non-Hodgkin's lymphoma therapy with Zevalin, a front-line radioimmunotherapy drug that uses a dose of radioactive material and mimics the body's own immune response to target and kill cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy tissues.

SALT LAKE CITY—Research introduced at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting is expanding molecular imaging's role in determining the best course of treatment for recurring breast cancer patients, while offering a means of evaluating certain therapies for potentially positive impact on their chance of survival.