Body

Survey finds widespread dissatisfaction with current health care payment system

New York, N.Y., November 3, 2008—Leaders in health care and health care policy feel strongly that the way we pay for health care in the U.S. must be fundamentally reformed. The latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey reports that more than two-thirds (69%) of respondents expressed strong dissatisfaction with the current system, which is generally based on "fee-for-service" payment, saying the current system is not effective in encouraging high quality and efficient care.

New journal shows half-broken gene is enough to cause cancer

Tumour suppressor genes do not necessarily require both alleles to be knocked out before disease phenotypes are expressed. Research published in BioMed Central's new open access journal PathoGenetics reveals that only one allele of SMAD4 has to be damaged to put a person at risk of pancreatic and colorectal cancer.

New research finds markers for esophageal cancer before it develops

PROVIDENCE, RI – Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus. These markers may help identify patients who are likely to progress to esophageal cancer. This first of its kind study is published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Mouse model highlights histone methylation as distinguishing feature for leukemia subtypes

Research using a new mouse model has led to the identification of a potential therapeutic target for a type of leukemia commonly associated with an unfavorable prognosis. The study, published by Cell Press in the November issue of the journal Cancer Cell, also validates examination of histone modification as a strategy for distinguishing cancer subtypes.

Tackling a hard-to-treat childhood cancer by targeting epigenetic changes

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer – but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on. The study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is the cover article in the November 4 issue of Cancer Cell.

HPV virus helps cervical and head and neck cancers resist treatment and grow and spread

The human papillomavirus (HPV) allows infected cervical and head and neck cancer cells to maintain internal molecular conditions that make the cancers resistant to therapy and more likely to grow and spread, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center found.

Sibling study could lead to better treatments for inherited form of colon cancer

SALT LAKE CITY—Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) believe they may be one step closer to understanding how certain forms of colon cancer develop.

In a study using siblings who have been diagnosed with colon cancer, scientists discovered similarities on a region of a particular chromosome, referred to as 7q31. Researchers believe that piece of genetic material may be causing a subset of colon cancers that run in families.

A green future for scrap iron

Take a close look at that cheap piece of scrap iron before you toss it in the trash.

Wei-xian Zhang has a good use for it. Someday soon, much of the world might also.

Zhang, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently concluded a five-year research project in which he and his colleagues at Tongji University in Shanghai used two million pounds of iron to detoxify pollutants in industrial wastewater.

Adult crime linked to childhood anxiety

Being nervous, socially isolated, anxious or neurotic during childhood protects young men from becoming criminal offenders until they enter adulthood, but the protective effect seems to wear off after the age of 21. These are the findings of Dr. Georgia Zara, from the University of Turin in Italy, and Dr. David Farrington, from the University of Cambridge in the UK, who explored whether or not certain childhood factors delay the onset of criminal behavior until adulthood. Their research has just been published online in Springer's Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Cone-beam CT: Just as useful as MDCT before and after percutaneous vertebroplasty

Cone-beam CT which is believed to deliver less radiation than MDCT is just as useful when evaluating patients before and after percutaneous vertebroplasty according to a study performed at the Department of Clinical Radiology, Kyushu University, Fukoka, Japan. Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive cement augmentation technique to relieve pain in the back that is non-responsive to conservative treatment.

Parasites that live inside cells use loophole to thwart immune system

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body's key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide. The researchers found that the microbes block nitric oxide production by subverting the biochemical machinery used by immune cells called macrophages to produce the chemical.

Smaller mosquitoes are more likey to be infected with viruses causing human diseases

An entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the new UI Institute for Natural Resource Sustainability, says smaller mosquitoes are more likely to be infected with viruses that cause diseases in humans. These findings can be found in the November issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

MDCT: Non-invasive alternative to bronchoscopy in patients with airway stent complications

Multidetector CT (MDCT) scans are highly accurate in detecting airway stent complications according to a recent study performed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

MDCT correctly identified 29 (97%) of 30 complications in 21 patients, including all cases of intraluminal narrowing, migration, invasion by neoplasm and tracheal perforation; MDCT also identified three of four cases of stent fracture," according to Vandana Dialani, MD, lead author of the study.

Hip resurfacing is not for everyone

CHICAGO—Hip resurfacing is often seen as a modern alternative to the more conventional total hip replacement, but new data from a study led by Rush University Medical Center suggest that a patient's age and gender are key to the operation's success.

Smokers see decline in ability to smell, rise in laryngitis, and upper airway issues

Alexandria, VA - As Americans prepare for a day without cigarettes and tobacco products as part of the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout (R) (November 21), new research gives them more reasons to extend that break to a lifetime, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF).