Body

Inflammation might be an important factor in the progression from reflux to esophageal cancer, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

"Our research shows that damage to the esophageal lining that can be seen with endoscopy is important in the progression from normal cells to cancer, and Barrett's esophagus is likely to be an intermediate step," said Rune Erichsen, MD, of Aarhus University Hospital and lead author of this study.

In a study published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, Professor Kwan, who is also head of the clinical epilepsy program at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and an international authority in antiepileptic drug development, believes a pattern emerges in the early stages.

"Our research shows a pattern based on how a person responds to initial treatment and specifically, to their first two courses of drug treatment," said Dr Kwan.

The superbugs have met their match.

Conceived at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), it comes in the form of a coating which has a magnetic-like feature that attracts bacteria and kills them without the need for antibiotics.

The killer coating, which has shown to destroy 99 per cent of the bacteria and fungi that it comes in contact with, is now being used by two companies: a contact lens manufacturer and a company specialising in animal care products.

With high UV levels continuing in Queensland this autumn, young people are at risk of suffering the worst skin damage they will receive during their lifetime, research from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has found.

Researcher Professor Michael Kimlin from QUT's AusSun Research Lab said the study found UV exposure during a person's first 18 years of life was the most critical for cancer-causing skin damage and skin aging.

In order to interact with the environment, bacteria secrete a whole arsenal of proteins. Researchers have now found how one of the transportation systems used for this purpose – the type VI secretion system – works for the single-celled organism Agrobacterium tumefaciens. They have identified the relevant transport proteins and their energy suppliers. With colleagues at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, RUB biologist Prof. Dr. Franz Narberhaus describes the findings in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Understanding linguistic diversity among London's schoolchildren is key for the city's future as a 'global player', research shows. A study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) mapped the distribution of languages spoken by London state school pupils. By combining language spoken with ethnicity, researchers have shed new light on patterns of educational inequality.

PORTLAND, Ore. - The number of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cases in the United States are exploding. According to a 2011 statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in 10 American children is diagnosed with the disorder. To better understand the cause of ADHD and to identify methods to prevent and treat it, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center have developed a new form of specially bred mouse that mimics the condition.

Barcelona, Spain: New findings from a large Danish database of cancer patients suggest that, even though the human papilloma virus (HPV) can trigger throat cancer, patients who are HPV-positive and are light smokers, or don't smoke at all, have a good response to treatment using radiotherapy alone, without the addition of chemotherapy with its consequent toxic side-effects.

Barcelona, Spain: Delivering radiotherapy directly to cancer of the cervix using 3-D imaging techniques is effective at controlling the return and spread of the disease and, in most cases, avoids the need for hysterectomies, according to research presented at the World Congress of Brachytherapy [1 & 2] today (Thursday).

Cincinnati, OH, May 10, 2012 – In 2009, children with public insurance were three times more likely and children with no insurance were eleven time more likely not to have a primary care physician, compared with children with private insurance. Without a primary care physician, the Emergency Department (ED) often becomes the primary point of contact for treatments and diagnoses. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics reports that children with private, public, and no insurance may receive differing levels of treatment in EDs.

African Americans have more severe complications from systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, than Caucasians. Findings published today in, Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that compared with Caucasians, African-American patients were more likely to have antibodies that increased frequency and severity of pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased survival.

WASHINGTON – A new analysis finds that compared to Caucasians, African-Americans with systemic scleroderma have more antibodies in the blood that are linked to severe complications and an increased likelihood of death. They say this finding, published today in Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggests physicians can use these disease markers to screen and treat scleroderma patients proactively.

Dams are believed to be one of the biggest threats to freshwater organisms worldwide: They disrupt normal patterns of water and sediment flow, impede migration, and alter the character of spawning and feeding grounds. A shortage of data has until now prevented a thorough global assessment of the threat dams pose to fish species, but a study described in the June issue of BioScience attempts just that.

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers believe they may have found a way to avoid damaging salivary glands during radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer – a discovery that could improve the quality of life of 500,000 patients a year worldwide with the disease.