Mega-MRI
Pushing the power of scanners creates new world for imaging, but whilst high-field magnets bring new capabilities they also pose new challenges for clinicians. John Brosky reports
MRI - Aiming to crack the human brain code
The Netherlands - In a very crowded train station, why can you immediately recognise the face of a friend? Professor Rainer Goebel wants to find out. Thanks to €10 million in funding from the country’s Limburg Province, the Brains Unlimited project at Maastricht University will install three high-field magnetic resonance imaging scanners that will allow Prof. Goebel to search for an…
Article • PSA
A two-step biomarker approach for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males in developed countries and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. One reason for the increase in diagnosis is the widespread uptake of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, capable of detecting slow growing cancers that might otherwise go undetected.
Article • Medical research
Pharmacogenetics - Researchers focus on customised medication for patient groups
In the first month of 2011, the Centre for Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics at the Paracelsus Private Medical University in Salzburg, Austria, officially opened its doors. Why have pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics so increasingly important in medical research? We asked the head of the new research centre, Professor Markus Paulmichl.
The International Liver Congress 2011
Over 8,000 international clinicians and scientists travelled to Berlin in March to attend the International Liver Congress 2011, hosted by The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), to hear the latest research, perspectives and treatments in hepatology.
Antibiotic resistance spreads rapidly between bacteria
The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Cardiovascular disease can be detected earlier during sleep
A specially customised pulse oximeter attached to the finger can be used to detect changes in heart and vessel function while you sleep, and this simple technique can even identify patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Clear perspectives for medical technology
The German Medical Technology Association BVMed advocates for clear perspectives for medical technology innovations. "There is a need for a common strategic positioning of industry, science, and politics on research, development, and innovation in medical technology in Germany , states BVMed chairman Dr. Meinrad Lugan in the newly published Annual Report 2010/11.
Ultrasound exam tests chemotherapy effectiveness
A multi-centre French study is demonstrating that a four-minute ultrasound scan using a contrast agent can be performed after the first month of treatment and provide quantitative proof of whether a tumour is responding to the therapy.
Towards customised treatment of breast cancer
Breast cancer can develop very differently in different women. Researchers in Norway are improving breast cancer diagnostics and treatment by identifying the various tumour types. The objective is to find out as much as possible about the various tumour types so that each patient can receive precisely the right treatment at the right time.
Anything but standard
Although paediatric laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry is a well and long established scientific field, it is still a challenging one with its own special problems, as Dr Massimiliano Cantinotti, Paediatric Cardiologist Consultant at Fondazione G Monasterio, National Research Institute, Massa, Italy, well knows.
Integration to combat diabetes
To face the national and worldwide increase in diabetes mellitus cases, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research initiated the foundation of the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), aiming to improve basic research, prevention, diagnostic and therapy of diabetes. Inaugurated in Berlin a few months ago, the centre has five strategic partners.
Oxford’s new centre for science entrepreneurs
UK – A partly refurbished building in central Oxford is opening to provide space for science entrepreneurs. Science Oxford, a charity that supports education and business in the city, ultimately aims to demolish the building to create a science-focused public building to showcase new technological innovation from the Oxford area.
The future of the pharmaceutical industry
The closure of Pfizer’s Sandwich Lab is part of a long-term decline in drug development, a trend that has been affecting all major UK pharmaceutical multinationals. Big pharmaceutical companies have been downsizing, outsourcing and merging in an attempts to find an innovation strategy that will keep their pipelines filled with new, potentially profitable products.
European cancer mortality predictions for the year 2011
There will be nearly 1.3 million deaths from cancer in Europe in 2011 according to predictions from a study published in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology. The estimates, which have been reached after researchers used for the first time in Europe a new mathematical model for predicting cancer mortality, show a fall in overall cancer death rates for both men and women when compared to 2007.
Cryonics: an ambulance through time or the coldest grave ever?
Who has not dreamed at least once to live in future times? Who would not want that one’s today incurable diseases may be cured in the future by medical progress? Long-time cryopreservation immediately after death is the betting ticket to that future.
Plasma therapy: an alternative to antibiotics?
Cold plasma jets could be a safe, effective alternative to antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant infections, says a study published this week in the January issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The team of Russian and German researchers showed that a ten-minute treatment with low-temperature plasma was not only able to kill drug-resistant bacteria causing wound infections in rats but…
Improving biochemical substances research
Chemical substances can bring miracles: they kill bacteria, prevent viral multiplication or stop cancer cell growth. Thus they offer a huge reservoir of potential drugs. However, seeking substances and their biological effects is a mammoth task and cannot be undertaken alone. The Preparatory Phase Project EU-OPENSCREEN (European Infrastructure of Open Screening Platforms for Chemical Biology) was…
Experts identify urgent actions to combat cancer
Yes, cancer research is making rapid progress, but -- how can the transfer of cancer research into successful treatments be accelerated? In Berlin this October, that vexing question was up for discussion during the European Forum on Oncology. Also on the agenda: How best practice approaches to cancer therapy can be adopted throughout the European Union.
The 1st European Forum on Oncology
Across Europe an estimated 3.2 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths occur annually. By intensified cooperation in research, diagnosis and treatment, enormous advantages can be achieved. To progress the integration of knowledge and skills in this field, the first European Forum on Oncology was held this October in Berlin.
Liver Cancer in Cirrhotic Patients Effectively Treated with Radiofrequency Ablation
Researchers from Italy determined that radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a safe and effective therapy for managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients. The high repeatability of RFA is advantageous in controlling recurrences of cancerous tumors in the liver. Results of this 10-year retrospective study are available in the January 2011 issue of Hepatology, a journal published by…
Is Santa Claus toxic?
The exact location of Santa’s Workshop has long been kept secret, but one thing every child knows is that he lives somewhere up by the North Pole. It’s a place that has seen great changes in recent years with melting sea ice and warmer summer temperatures attributed to global warming.But climate change isn’t the only bad news facing the world’s favorite jolly old elf: research from the…
Brittle bones and heart disease go hand in hand
Norwegian studies indicate that people with osteoporosis have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and vice versa. Now researchers believe they have found a biological system that may influence both disease processes.
New EU project CORONET
Interfaces between the brain and electrical circuits in technical devices or computers open new perspectives for basic research and medical application, e.g., for therapeutic brain stimulation and neuroprosthetics. The new EU project CORONET will develop the technological and theoretical foundations for such future “bio-hybrid” interfaces between biological and artificial nervous tissues.
Superantigens could be behind several illnesses
Superantigens, the toxins produced by staphylococcus bacteria, are more complex than previously believed, reveals a team of researchers from the University of Gothenburg in an article published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Their discovery shows that the body’s immune system can cause more illnesses than realised.
