A combination of existing prostate cancer drugs with new drugs at lower doses can be an effective treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer. During the study, researchers Professor Wayne Tilley and Dr Lisa Butler of the University's Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories treated the prostate cancer cells with a combination of drugs including bicalutamide (an anti-androgen that opposes the action of androgen on the tumour), and the inhibitors 17AAG and vorinostat.

via newkerala.com

Is 40 really the new 30? Everyone is getting older but in many ways people today act younger than their parents did at the same age. Scientists have defined a new age concept and believe it could explain why populations are aging, but at the same time seem to be getting younger.Read the rest of this entry »

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If springtime's splendor leaves you sniffling, "good" bacteria may one day provide relief. New research suggests probiotics can alter the body's immune response to grass pollen — a common cause of seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. The landmark study published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy suggests that in the future, "good" bacteria, or probiotics, may potentially offer a treatment option to the estimated 35.9 million people in the U.S. who have seasonal hay fever.

via medicinenet.com

U.S. researchers have uncovered new information about how metastatic prostate cancer becomes resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy, which suppresses circulating testosterone, the hormone that promotes prostate cancer growth. Androgen therapy, which involves the use of surgical castration or medical castration with testosterone-blocking drugs, does extend survival time for patients, but it isn't a cure. Eventually, the cancer becomes resistant to androgen deprivation and continues to grow.

via medicinenet.com

Celebrities from both the entertainment industry and Major League Baseball gathered Wednesday in Los Angeles to launch a nationwide initiative that will fund the brightest researchers to complete both basic and advanced cancer research. Dennis Quaid, Melissa Etheridge, David and Rosanna Arquette, Christina Ricci, Elizabeth Berkley, Jimmy Smits, Goran Visnjic and other stars mingled in the lobby of the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

via medicinenet.com

More than 77,000 New Yorkers have contracted Lyme disease since it became reportable 22 years ago, and the state Health Department wants to keep that number from rising.
The DOH commissioner, Dr. Richard F. Daines, kicked off Lyme Disease Awareness Month Wednesday with a “Tick Tour” at the DOH’s laboratory at Hudson Valley Community College, where ticks are tested for Lyme disease and other pathogens.

via dailygazette.com

Scientists have been able to block the pain and numb feeling that lingers long in the gums after a visit to the dentist - thanks to chilli peppers. Harvard researchers combined an inactive derivative of a local anaesthetic called QX314 with capsaicin - the pain-producing agent in chilli peppers - to produce the blocking effect.Read the rest of this entry »

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The Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Health, and Women Development Ms. Sherry Rehman who is leading delegation to the World Health Assembly at Geneva met her counterparts of India, Afghanistan and Iran on the sidelines of the Assembly.Read the rest of this entry »

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Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have reported the successful development of an innovative laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer. The treatment, which has now been used in more than 25 patients, effectively restores patients' voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality. "We had previously adapted lasers that target blood vessels to treat precancerous vocal-cord dysplasia and a variety of benign vascular lesions.

via newkerala.com

A coalition of health care groups sued the state Monday to prevent pay cuts to doctors, dentists, pharmacists and others who treat the poor, elderly and disabled. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of California health care providers seeks an injunction to halt 10 percent cuts to Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal reimbursements scheduled to take effect July 1.

via mercurynews.com

Researchers have linked the drug - widely prescribed in the UK to stop bone-thinning in older women - to a condition known as atrial fibrillation. This is not necessarily serious, but can in some cases lead to a stroke. But the Archives of Internal Medicine study concluded for most women the drug's benefits outweighed the risks. It is not the first research to examine a link between Merck's Fosamax - whose generic name is alendronate - and atrial fibrillation, but its suggestion that the drug may increase the risk by 86% is higher than previous findings - although it is a smaller study.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Local North West Leicestershire MP David Taylor has backed a House of Commons motion supporting the campaign by Terry Pratchett and the Alzheimer’s Research Trust to urgently increase Government funding of Alzheimer’s disease research. The Early Day Motion (EDM) praises Terry Pratchett’s $1million donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust (ART), and shows concern that research funding is so much lower than for other diseases, like cancer. The EDM has cross-party support. David Taylor, the Labour MP for North West Leicestershire, said.

via inloughborough.com

Australian researchers have unmasked a molecule behind heart diseases - one the biggest killers in the developed world. The research hinges on a particular molecule, known as a transcription factor, which switches genes on and off. "This is about the oldest known transcription factor, Sp1, which was thought to play a quiet, reclusive role in our blood vessels. (But) our research has found that Sp1 undergoes a sudden chemical reaction that can lead to a heart attack," said the study's co-author Levon Khachigian of the Centre for Vascular Research.

via newkerala.com

Researchers have mapped the genetic switches that will help open up ways to unlock the secrets of cancer and other diseases. These genetic switches are methylation points, numbering over two million in plant genome, whose exact location has been mapped for the first time by researchers of the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Salk Institute in California. Researchers focused on unlocking their secret code called epigenetics. Until recently scientists did not have a clear picture how many methylation points a biological system had or the tools to find them all.

via newkerala.com

The researchers have devised a way of growing human eggs in a laboratory. It could lead to immature eggs being stored and subsequently developed, fertilised and implanted into the womb. As well as preserving the fertility of females undergoing chemotherapy, the technique could increase the number of eggs available for stem cell research. Young women who are diagnosed with cancer can be left infertile by chemotherapy. Currently, doctors remove a piece of their ovaries and implant it later in life, but this runs a risk of reintroducing the cancer-causing cells into the patient.

via news.bbc.co.uk