Body

3M Health Care today announced the publication of a new independent study "Effects of Preoperative Skin Preparation on Postoperative Wound Infection Rates: A Prospective Study of 3 Skin Preparation Protocols," that compared the effects of three different skin preparation solutions on surgical-site infections. The study found that Iodophor-based skin preparation solutions, such as 3M™ DuraPrep™ Surgical Solution (Iodine Povacrylex [0.7% available Iodine] and Isopropyl Alcohol, 74% w/w) Patient Preoperative Skin Prep, may be superior to chlorhexidine in preventing surgical-site infections.

PHILADELPHIA – (October 5, 2009) – Researchers at The Wistar Institute have identified a key gene (KLF17) involved in the spread of breast cancer throughout the body. They also demonstrated that expression of KLF17 together with another gene (Id1) known to regulate breast cancer metastasis accurately predicts whether the disease will spread to the lymph nodes. Previously, the function of KLF17 had been unknown.

San Diego, CA – A four year study of the regional impact of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) indicates that African-Americans living in southern states account for the highest proportion of CRS outpatient treatment, according to new research presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, in San Diego, CA.

New research integrates sophisticated interdisciplinary approaches to solve a molecular mystery that may lead to alternative therapeutic strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study, published by Cell Press in the October issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a previously unrecognized AML target that responds well to pharmacological inhibition and may be an excellent candidate for use in future clinical trials.

A recent study maps the pathway that leads from infection with Hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) to chronic hepatitis and liver cancer and proposes a new therapeutic strategy for treating liver diseases with chronic inflammation. The research, published by Cell Press in the October issue of the journal Cancer Cell, describes a signaling pathway that can be beneficial during liver regeneration, but can lead to chronic hepatitis and severe liver damage when chronically activated.

A new study http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj082068.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca suggests that air pollution may trigger appendicitis in adults.

BOSTON—Multiple myeloma cancer cells thwart many of the drugs used against them by causing nearby cells to turn traitor – to switch from defending the body against disease to shielding the myeloma cells from harm – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in the October issue of Cancer Cell.

Seven new glow-in-the-dark mushroom species have been discovered, increasing the number of known luminescent fungi species from 64 to 71. Reported today in the journal Mycologia, the new finds include two new species named after movements in Mozart's Requiem. The discoveries also shed light on the evolution of luminescence, adding to the number of known lineages in the fungi 'family tree' where luminescence has been reported.

Montreal, October 5, 2009 – Expectant mothers who eschew asthma treatment during pregnancy heighten the risk transmitting the condition to their offspring, according to one of the largest studies of its kind published in the European Respiratory Journal. A research team from the Université de Montréal, the Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center found that 32.6 percent of children born to mothers who neglected to treat their asthma during pregnancy developed the respiratory illness themselves.

Functional food is the food industry's fastest-growing product group, its leading products including dairy products which contain probiotics, that is, bacteria promoting health. Valio's Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®) is the most frequently studied and used probiotic. Under the supervision of researchers at the Institute of Biotechnology, and the Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences at the University of Helsinki, an international research team determined the genome sequences of LGG and a bacterium closely related to it.

It is estimated that more than 7,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year in the UK and approximately 3,500 cases result in death. These cancers include tumours of the mouth, lips, throat and voice-box, and some have been linked to the sexually transmitted infection, HPV-16. Scientists at Liverpool analyzed the DNA of more than 90 cancerous tissue samples to look for genes that indicated infection.

Scientists from the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota show in a research report published online in the FASEB Journal that gene therapy may be used to improve an ailing heart's ability to contract properly. In addition to showing gene therapy's potential for reversing the course of heart failure, it also offers a tantalizing glimpse of a day when "closed heart surgery" via gene therapy is as commonly prescribed as today's cocktail of drugs.

SAN DIEGO – A Henry Ford Hospital study has identified 231 new genes associated with head and neck cancer, one of the most deadly cancers responsible for 2.1 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States.

Previously, only 33 genes were reported associated with head and neck cancer.

San Diego, CA - Organ transplant recipients benefit significantly when they are monitored and receive prompt diagnosis and treatment for otitis media, a common inner ear infection.

In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego, researchers reviewed the medical records of 3,278 patients who received solid organ transplantation between February 1995 and December 2007 at a medical center in Seoul, South Korea.

San Diego, CA - A new study suggests that a growing segment of patients are turning to complementary and alternative medical therapies to help treat the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego, researchers sought to explore the pattern of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients with a prior diagnosis of CRS at a rhinology outpatient clinic in Aberdeen, Scotland.