Gefitinib, also known as Iressa, the once-promising targeted therapy for the treatment of
non-small cell lung cancer, has proven as effective as chemotherapy as a second-line therapy for the disease with far fewer side effects, according to an international Phase III clinical trial, led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
However, in contrast to earlier Iressa findings, the study showed that there was no additional survival benefit for patients who expressed an elevated level of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation.
A team of researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) has found that
lactic acid is an important energy source for tumor cells. In further experiments, they discovered a new way to destroy the most hard-to-kill, dangerous tumor cells by preventing them from delivering lactic acid.
BASEL, Switzerland, November 20 /PRNewswire/ --
- Authors Conclude Such Savings may Allow Healthcare Resources to be Reallocated to Other Aspects of Patient Management
Switching dialysis patients to once-monthly Mircera(R) from older, more frequently dosed erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) could reduce time spent by nurses administering anaemia drugs in dialysis clinics by approximately 80%. This is valuable time that could be used by staff to focus on other important aspects of patient care. These and other key findings from a study investigating the practicalities of ESA use have just been published in Blood Purification(1). (http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=BackIssuesJGPro... )
LONDON, November 20 /PRNewswire/ -- New research commissioned by dental payment plan provider, Denplan, has revealed that we prioritise the health of our pets above our own healthcare.
The survey shows that while only 11 per cent of UK pet owners would stop paying for their pet insurance if the credit crunch affected their wallet, more than double that number (23 per cent) would stop paying for their own private healthcare.
The survey also revealed that 19 per cent of people would stop their private dental plan payments, should they start to feel the pinch. And 58 per cent would cancel their gym membership.
A study published by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, strongly suggests that regular attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by approximately 20 percent. The findings, published in Psychology and Health, were based on data drawn from participants who spanned numerous religious denominations.
Determining chronological age is easy - count forward from birth. Establishing physiological age, especially in humans, is purely subjective because it's based on how someone looks or functions. Research in nematode worms could lead to the development of human biomarkers for aging, allowing us to track how we're withstanding the tests of time.
Scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research say they have identified for the first time these biomarkers of aging which are highly predictive of both chronological and physiological age. Biomarkers are biochemical features that can be used to measure the progress of disease or the effects of treatment.
A virus that causes cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and may have crossed the species barrier around 200 years ago, according to an article published in the December issue of the Journal of General Virology. Scientists hope their findings will help us understand how potentially deadly viruses emerge in humans.
"Human metapneumovirus may be the second most common cause of lower respiratory infection in young children. Studies have shown that by the age of five, virtually all children have been exposed to the virus and re-infections appear to be common," said Professor Dr Fouchier. "We have identified sites on some virus proteins that we can monitor to help identify future dominant strains of the virus."
People who have lost the ability to interpret emotion after a severe brain injury can regain this vital social skill by being re-educated to read body language, facial expressions and voice tone in others, according to a new study.
The research, published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, reveals that appropriate training can result in significant gains in "emotional perception", which is crucial for successful social communication.
The study involved 18 participants recruited from an outpatient service at the Liverpool Hospital Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit, in Sydney, Australia. All had experienced a severe traumatic brain injury at least six months earlier and had significantly impaired ability to interpret emotions in others.
The health threat to city dwellers posed by Southern California wildfires like those of November 2008 may have been underestimated by officials, according to a new paper analyzing particulate matter (PM) from wildfires in Southern California. Detailed particulate analysis of the smoke produced by previous California wild fires indicates that the composition posed more serious potential threats to health than is generally realized..
Lithium-ion batteries don't get a lot of respect these days, what with everyone talking about magical future batteries that are cheaper and won't make you Prius owners cause acid rain. They're everywhere still and they provide portable devices that require a lot of energy, such as mobile telephones, digital cameras, and notebook computers, with power. However, their capacity, and thus the running time of the devices, remain somewhat limited - a notebook computer usually runs only about two hours.
