Body

DURHAM, N.C. – A newly discovered chemical pathway that helps protect heart tissue can be stimulated by two of 20 common beta-blockers, drugs that are prescribed to millions of patients who have experienced heart failure.

Researchers from Duke University Medical Center tested 20 beta blockers and found that two of them -- alprenolol and carvedilol -- could stimulate a pathway recently found to protect heart tissue.

Asthma researchers have found that a gene variant known to raise the risk of childhood asthma in European children plays a similar role in white American children, but not in African American children.

New research has highlighted stark disparities in access to the latest cancer drugs across European Union nations, according to data presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

While countries like France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland have tended to introduce the new drugs quickly, researchers say, others such as the UK and more recent EU entrants bring them in more slowly.

The low timbre and enticing vibrations of a deep voice have long been considered a key element of male attractiveness. Now it seems that it's not just human females that appreciate a husky vocalisation.

MADISON, WI, AUGUST 25, 2008– Selenium has been referred to as an "essential toxin" due to the fact that it shows only a marginal line between the nutritious requirement and toxic effects upon exposure. The steep dose response curve due to bioaccumulation effects have lead to the characterization of selenium as a "time bomb" that can be fused by exceeding a narrow threshold concentration in ecosystems through anthropogenic activities.

Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The condition, which affects more than seven million people in the United States alone, occurs when valves in a person's veins can no longer ensure a one-way flow of blood back to the heart.

A new study suggests that bacteria-infecting viruses – called phages – can make collective decisions about whether to kill host cells immediately after infection or enter a latent state to remain within the host cell.

Combining the new drug trabectedin with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin provides clinical benefit to women with relapsed ovarian cancer, according to new results presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

The combination, which importantly does not include a platinum drug, challenges the current standard of treatment for women whose cancer recurs at least 6 months after first-line treatment, said Associate Prof. Bradley J. Monk from the University of California Irvine Medical Center.

Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., today issued a Call to Action to reduce the number of cases of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in the United States.

Galson urged all Americans to learn about and prevent these treatable conditions.

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism affect an estimated 350,000 to 600,000 Americans each year, and the numbers are expected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Together, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism contribute to at least 100,000 deaths each year.

Spanish researchers led by Dr. Emilio Alba have been studying the effects of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in a group of 155 women who had already been treated with chemotherapy.

At the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm, they present long-term follow-up data showing that 81% of patients prescribed the drug were alive after one year, compared to 66% of those who did not receive the treatment.

The aim of the therapy was to delay progression of disease while inflicting as few side-effects as possible, said Dr. Alba.

Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) are developing and commercializing a promising novel therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that may offer patients a faster and more precise treatment than existing clinical alternatives, with fewer side effects.

The new treatment—magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided transurethral ultrasound—uses heat from focused ultrasound to treat cancer in the prostate gland precisely while sparing the delicate noncancerous tissues around the prostate essential for healthy urinary, bowel and sexual function.

The targeted therapy gefitinib should be considered a first-line therapy for non-smoking Asian patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung, one of the most common types of lung cancer, suggests a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

Asia has a high proportion of lung cancer patients who are non-smokers, a significant proportion of whom develop a form of cancer known as adenocarcinoma.

[PRESS RELEASE, 15 September 2008] The time span in which treatment should be given for acute ischaemic stroke – i.e. stroke caused by a clot or other obstruction to the blood supply – can be lengthened. This according to a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, the results of which can bring about more effective and safer treatments for stroke sufferers.

For patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia, adding intravenous iron to treatment with the drug darbepoetin alfa results in a faster and more potent improvement in response with lower doses of the drug, according to data presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

An investigational drug that combats ovarian cancer by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels has shown promise in a phase II trial, according to a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

Prof. Michael Friedlander from Australia presented the results of an international collaborative trial which administered the drug to 35 patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal carcinoma. At the ESMO Congress, he presented final results of the trial on behalf of his co-investigators.