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A summit of more than 60 high-level policymakers, leaders and health experts have adopted a global plan aimed at tackling the growing cancer crisis in developing countries.

The plan, contained in the World Cancer Declaration, recommends a set of 11 cancer-busting targets for 2020 and outlines priority steps that need to be taken in order to meet them. It was presented Sunday at the close of the World Cancer Congress in Geneva and offered as a global template for governments and other groups to tailor as they devise their own plans to guide local efforts.

A research team at the Ludwig Institute and Uppsala University has discovered an entirely new signal path for a growth factor that is of crucial importance for the survival and growth of cancer cells. This discovery, published in today’s issue of Nature Cell Biology, opens up an entirely new landscape for research on breast and prostate cancer, among other types.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues who are studying a prostate cancer gene called HNF1B have found a second independent site within the HNF1B gene on chromosome 17 (17q12) – increasing the number of genetic variants that may contribute to risk of developing the disease.

PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 2, 2008) -- A new study conducted at a large university finds more than 25 percent of those surveyed reported symptoms of tanning dependence, including symptoms similar to alcohol and drug-addicted individuals. Suggestively, the study also found those with a tanning dependence tend to be more likely to be thin and smoke cigarettes than others. The study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center is published in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior.

This obstruction may lead to a rise of pressure in the pulmonary circulation and possibly to life-threatening heart failure. PE is a difficult diagnosis that may be missed because of non-specific complaints. On the other hand, early diagnosis is fundamental since immediate treatment is highly effective. Depending on how critical the patient's condition is on admission, initial therapy is primarily aimed either at life-saving restoration of blood flow through the occluded pulmonary arteries or at prevention of potentially deadly recurrences (new episodes) of PE.

Existing practice surrounding many cardiovascular medications, including anti-hypertensive and lipid-lowering agents, is based on the evaluation of response to therapy. In cases where ideal therapeutic targets (which have been identified through several previous studies) are not met in the single individual, there is evidence to support the need to intensify standard treatment so as to achieve better control of the cardiovascular risk factor under treatment (e.g. blood pressure or cholesterol levels) as this translates into a better outcome.

REGENT is a multicenter, randomized trial for comparison of intracoronary infusion of bone marrow-derived unselected mononuclear cells (MNC) and selected CD34+CXCR4+ cells in 200 patients with acute myocardial infarction and reduced LVEF ≤ 40%.

Primary end-point was change of LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and volumes measured by MRI before and 6 months after the procedure.

A twelve month study of treatment with darapladib concluded that, Lp-PLA2 inhibition with darapladib prevented necrotic core expansion, a key determinant of plaque vulnerability. These findings suggest that Lp-PLA2 inhibition may represent a novel therapeutic approach. In contrast, despite adherence to a high level of standard of care treatment, necrotic core continued to expand among patients receiving a placebo.

Professor Dan Atar, the Coordinating Investigator of the F.I.R.E. (FX06 In ischemia and REperfusion) trial, a Phase II clinical study of FX06, will present the results of the trial at 12-noon on September 2nd in the Hot Line III Session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany.

Munich, Germany, Tuesday 2 September 2008 :

While the results of the study did not show a statistically significant difference in ischemic events among any of the four doses of apixaban evaluated, trends emerged that support further study, according to researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Munich, Germany, Tuesday 2 September 2008:

The guidelines are developed through a rigorous process involving a task force of 15 experts in the field and a review committee of 21 international authorities.

The 2008 ESC guidelines cover for the first time both acute and chronic heart failure. Indeed, the guidelines have built upon the realisation that patients with acute heart failure often develop chronic problems and likewise, those with chronic heart failure, often suffer from acute illness.

Munich, Germany, Tuesday 2 September 2008:

Compared to the 2003 guidelines, important new recommendations have been formulated regarding:

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes.

Affecting eight percent of America's population, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, strokes and heart disease. Thanks to Tel Aviv University researchers, a new cure –– based on advances in cell therapy –– may be within reach.

Prof. Shimon Efrat from TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, whose research group is among world leaders in beta cell expansion, has developed a way to cultivate cells derived from insulin-producing beta cells from human tissue in the laboratory. It may be possible to implant these new healthy cells into patients with type 1 diabetes.

The need for long term studies to establish the best means of treating Diabetes, was underlined by Prof John Cleland from the University of Hull at the ESC Congress in Munich. Prof Cleland listed the latest treatment available for patients and voiced his concern about the side-effects and efficacy of available anti-diabetic drugs.

Treating Patients with Diabetes Mellitus