Papaya extract thwarts growth of cancer cells in lab tests
(University of Florida) Papaya extract seems to have a toxic effect on cancer cells in culture, suggesting a potential treatment. Scientists documented for the first time that papaya leaf extract boosts the production of key signaling molecules called Th1-type cytokines. This regulation of the immune system, in addition to papaya's direct anti-tumor effect on various cancers, suggests possible therapeutic strategies that use the immune system to fight cancers....
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Sonic hedgehog gene found in an unexpected place during limb development
(University of Florida) Sonic hedgehog is at work in mice limb buds in what is known as the ectoderm, the cell layer that gives rise to skin, researchers discovered. Finding Sonic hedgehog here is akin to discovering that yeast has crept from the batter to the frosting, where it has the surprising effect of limiting how much the cake rises. In this case, instead of causing appendages to grow in mice, Sonic hedgehog prevents digits from developing....
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New study questions benefits of elective removal of ovaries during hysterectomy
(Elsevier Health Sciences) Removal of the ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy) while performing a hysterectomy is common practice to prevent the subsequent development of ovarian cancer. This prophylactic procedure is performed in 55 percent of all US women having a hysterectomy, or approximately 300,000 times each year. An article in the March/April issue of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology suggests that this procedure may do more harm than good....
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2010 recipient of Minority Scholar Award will conduct clinical research on leukemia
(American Society of Hematology) Alison Walker, MD, has been selected to receive the ASH-AMFDP Award, and will begin her research in acute myeloid leukemia in July of this year....
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After a fight with a partner, brain activity predicts emotional resiliency
(Harvard University) Neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex can predict whether an individual will still be upset on the day after a conflict with his or her partner, according to new research from a psychologist at Harvard University. The findings point to the brain region's role in emotion regulation, and suggest that greater activity in this area might lead to improvement in day-to-day mood....
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Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome not more likely to develop polyps, colon cancer
(University of Michigan Health System) Patients with irritable bowel syndrome are at no greater risk of having polyps, colon cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases than healthy people undergoing colonoscopies....
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Positive prevention toolkit aims to assist global training of HIV/AIDS caregivers
(University of California - San Francisco) The toolkit, developed by the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, includes proven prevention interventions for HIV-positive individuals. Toolkit materials are developing country focused and can be adapted for use in African settings. Available on the web, on CD-ROM and in English and Portuguese, the toolkit is being implemented in Mozambique on a national level....
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Critical recommendations unveiled: Deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
(American Society of Hematology) Three critical recommendations from a national workshop have been released to address deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, a growing public health problem estimated to affect nearly 1 million Americans each year....
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Study finds cancer mortality has declined since initiation of 'war on cancer'
(American Cancer Society) A new American Cancer Society study finds progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The study appears in the open access journal PLoS ONE, and finds a downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 results mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers....
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Grandfathered drug for high potassium has no proven benefit
(American Society of Nephrology) For more than half a century, products containing ion exchange resins have been used in patients with dangerously high levels of potassium. However, there is no convincing evidence that these products are actually effective, according to an article appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). "We suspect that if ion exchange resins were introduced today, they would not be approved," comments Richard H. Sterns, MD (Rochester General Hospital, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, N.Y.)....
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Male batterers consistently overestimate rates of violence toward partners
(University of Washington) Men who engaged in domestic violence consistently overestimated how common such behavior is by two or three times, and the more they overestimated it the more they engaged in abusing their partner in the previous 90 days....
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Care improving, cost saving Indiana Network for Patient Care expands
(Indiana University School of Medicine) The Indiana Network for Patient Care, one of the highest volume health information exchanges in the US is expanding beyond central Indiana. Created and operated by the Regenstrief Institute, INPC daily handles approximately 2.5 million secure transactions of clinically relevant data such as laboratory test results, medication and treatment histories, and other clinically important information in a standardized, electronic format....
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Study: Federal funds support health depts., but leadership is key
(Purdue University) The surge of funds for bioterrorism preparedness over the past decade does not appear to be improving local public health resources in general, according to research from Purdue University.However, the funding increase to health departments does spur epidemiologic activity that is key in detecting infectious disease risks, such as a surge in communicable disease like influenza or tuberculosis, at the local level....
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K-State professor finds link between low oxygen levels in body and cancer-aiding protein
(Kansas State University) Dolores Takemoto, a K-State professor of biochemistry who was researching protein kinase C gamma in the lens of the human eye, found her work taking a fascinating turn when she discovered a correlation between the protein Coonexin46 and hypoxia -- a deficiency of oxygen which kills normal tissue cells. Takemoto believes the findings will lead to serious advancements in treating retinoblastoma, a cancer that forms in the tissue of the retina....
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Chemical competition: Research identifies new mechanism regulating embryonic development
(Princeton University) A Princeton University-led research team has discovered that protein competition over an important enzyme provides a mechanism to integrate different signals that direct early embryonic development. The work suggests that these signals are combined long before they interact with the organism's DNA, as was previously believed, and also may inform new therapeutic strategies to fight cancer....
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ARS study provides a better understanding of how mosquitoes find a host
(United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics) The potentially deadly yellow-fever-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito detects the specific chemical structure of a compound called octenol as one way to find a mammalian host for a blood meal....
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Study finds that low-income women living in small cities have higher chance of obesity
(Kansas State University) A recent Kansas State University study found that the availability of supermarkets -- rather than the lack of them -- increased the risk of obesity for low-income women living in small cities. This suggests that policies to increase healthful eating behaviors might need to be tailored based on geographic location. The findings showed that limited availability of grocery stores did not contribute to an increased risk of obesity in metropolitan or rural areas....
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Researcher presents risk-free treatment for low female sexual desire
(University of Missouri-Columbia) Researchers are currently testing a new drug, flibanserin, which was developed as an antidepressant and affects neurotransmitters in the brain, to treat women with low sexual desire. However, experts are concerned about the side effects of this possible treatment. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found evidence that a low-cost, risk-free psychological treatment is effective and may be a better alternative to drugs that have adverse side effects....
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Intentional variation increases result validity in mouse testing
(Purdue University) For decades, the traditional practice in animal testing has been standardization, but a study involving Purdue University has shown that adding as few as two controlled environmental variables to preclinical mice tests can greatly reduce costly false positives, the number of animals needed for testing and the cost of pharmaceutical trials....
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Springer enters into partnership with the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine
(Springer) Beginning in 2010 Springer is adding Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging to its journals publishing program. The journal will be published quarterly on behalf of the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine, which has been the publisher of the journal since 1967....
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