Body

CHICAGO --- Men who have just had their cancerous prostate gland removed have one pressing question for their doctors: Am I cured? But conventional tests haven't been sensitive enough to provide a concrete answer. Current tests that measure the level of protein called PSA (prostate-specific antigen), which signals the presence of cancer, often detect no PSA, only to have cancer return in up to 40 percent of the cases.

DALLAS – June 4, 2010 – A national study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center neonatologist provides new insight into how much oxygen preterm infants should receive as well as the optimal way to deliver it to them.

BALTIMORE (June 2, 2010) – One of the best post-exercise recovery drinks could already be in your refrigerator, according to new research presented at the American College of Sports Medicine conference this week. In a series of four studies, researchers found that chocolate milk offered a recovery advantage to help repair and rebuild muscles, compared to specially designed carbohydrate sports drinks.

Scientists are reporting new evidence that capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body. Their study, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

After years of research and anticipation, insulin pills that could make it easier for millions of patients worldwide to manage diabetes are finally moving ahead in clinical trials and a step-closer to the medicine cabinet. That's among the topics highlighted in a two-part cover story on drug manufacturing in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News.

DETROIT – In the largest study to date of a rare and deadly form of bladder cancer, researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit found radiation therapy may not improve a patient's chances for survival.

While overall survival for adenocarcinoma of the bladder was poor, the study revealed several factors that may improve a patient's prognosis, including being diagnosed at age 60 or younger, and having cystectomy, a procedure that either removes all or a portion of the bladder.

DALLAS – June 4, 2010 – A minimally invasive technique used to destroy kidney tumors with an electrically controlled heating probe showed similar effectiveness as surgical removal of tumors in curbing cancer recurrence rates for up to five years after treatment.

In an article available online in the journal Cancer, Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu, professor of urology and radiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, reported the outcomes of more than 200 patients who were treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

A recent study conducted by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and cooperators shows the potato germplasm Neo-Tuberosum, used by potato breeders to develop new cultivars, has origins that can be traced to Chile, not to the Andes as previously believed.

WASHINGTON, DC — While some Latino immigrants to the United States may be accepted as "white" by the wider society, a new American Sociological Review (ASR) study finds that many of them face discrimination based on skin color.

In fact, the research showed that relatively darker-skinned Latinos earned less than their lighter-skinned counterparts.

The results suggest that the rapid influx of Latino immigrants will shift the boundaries of race in the United States, but will not end skin-color-based discrimination.

CHICAGO (June 2, 2010) – Minority organ donations have more than doubled since the institution of grassroots awareness and education programs, according to a new retrospective study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. In 2010, the percentage of minority donors is expected to reach 35 percent, up from approximately 15 percent in 1990.

Are new medical residents a threat to patients? According to Dr. David Phillips and Gwendolyn Barker from the University of California, San Diego in the US, fatal medication errors peak in July in teaching hospitals in particular, which coincides with the yearly influx of new medical residents who are given increased responsibility for patient care. Their findings[1] are published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine[2], published by Springer.

The same mutated gene that makes humans more susceptible to the potentially fatal West Nile virus is also responsible for the virus affecting horses, according to scientists at the University of Adelaide, Australia.