Researchers have isolated and characterized the progenitor cells that eventually give rise to malignant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors – the most common form of liver cancer. The researchers found ways to identify and isolate the HCC progenitor cells (HcPC) long before actual tumors were apparent.

Principal investigator Michael Karin, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues report that HcPC take form within dysplastic or abnormal lesions often found in damaged or cirrhotic livers. The liver damage can be due to viral infections like hepatitis or from chronic alcohol abuse. 

Nothing says weight loss like botulism.

Obesity is a growing problem across the globe. Being overweight can lead to severe diseases and conditions, like diabetes and heart problems. The World Health Organization estimates that obesity is responsible for 2 to 8 percent of health care costs and 10 to 13 percent of deaths in various parts of Europe. 

A new paper suggests that lifestyle advice for people with diabetes should be no different from that for the general public - but diabetes may benefit more from that same advice. 

In the study, the researchers investigated whether the associations between lifestyle factors and mortality risk differ between individuals with and without diabetes.

Polymers are found in countless commercial, medical, and industrial products and the porous kind are known as foam polymers.

Foam polymers are useful because they combine light weight with rigid mechanical properties and a group has developed a process to grow highly customizable coatings of foam-like polymers.  Foam polymers are used in a variety of ways, including the delivery of drugs in the body, as a framework for body tissues and implants, and as layers in laser targets for fusion research.

'Natural' health products are all the rage among the segment of the population that doesn't trust science or medicine. But applying the ethical standards of the medical community to people operating outside the medical community can be a big mistake - the majority of herbal products on the market contain ingredients not listed on the label, with most companies substituting cheaper alternatives and using fillers, according to new research.

One product labeled as St. John's wort contained Senna alexandrina, a plant with laxative properties. It's not intended for prolonged use, as it can cause chronic diarrhea and liver damage and negatively interacts with immune cells in the colon.

U.S. medical schools have made significant progress to strengthen their management of clinical conflicts of interest but a new study concludes most schools still lag behind national standards.

The Institute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) study, which compared changes in schools' policies in a dozen areas from 2008 to 2011, reveals that institutions are racing from the bottom to the middle, not to the top. In 2011, nearly two-thirds of medical schools still lacked policies to limit ties to industry in at least one area explored, including gifts, meals, drug samples, and payments for travel, consulting, and speaking.