News • Medication
Arthritis drug could be used to treat blood cancer
Scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered that a common drug given to arthritis sufferers could also help to treat patients with blood cancers.
News • AACC News
Rapid Ebola test could help end lingering outbreak
Research presented at the 2015 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo will expand on the studies that led to a fingerprick Ebola test becoming the first and only rapid diagnostic for this disease to receive approval from the World Health Organization (WHO). This test could prove vital to breaking Ebola’s grip on West Africa by identifying suspected Ebola cases within minutes, and enabling…
News • Genetic Disorder
How to predict development of autism or psychosis
Doctors and researchers have long known that children who are missing about 60 genes on a certain chromosome are at a significantly elevated risk for developing either a disorder on the autism spectrum or psychosis — that is, any mental disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations, including schizophrenia. But there has been no way to predict which child with the abnormality might be…
The light of fireflies for medical diagnostics
The lab of Kai Johnsson at EPFL, led by Alberto Schena and Rudolf Griss, were able to add a small chemical tag on the enzyme luciferase, which produces the light of fireflies. The tag detects a target protein, and the luciferase gives out a light signal that can be seen with a naked eye.
Transgender youth have typical hormone levels
Johanna Olson, MD, and her colleagues at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, provide care for the largest number of transyouth in the U.S. and have enrolled 101 patients in a study to determine the safety and efficacy of treatment that helps patients bring their bodies into closer alignment with their gender of identity.
Stopping malaria in its tracks
A new drug acts as a roadblock for malaria, curing mice of established infection, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Treatment was not associated with obvious side effects, suggesting that the drug may also be safe and effective in humans.
Printing implants with the laser
Whether for individual micro-implants or for micro-implants with medicine depots – additive processes are ideally suited for manufacturing such components. In the project “REMEDIS”, scientists at the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) have established a highly automated laser melting process to produce or coat implants made of platinum, nickel-titanium (NiTi) or stainless steel.
Article • Science
Alternative routes to immortality
Every time a cell divides, the ends of chromosomes – the threads of DNA residing in the nucleus – shorten a bit. Once the chromosome ends, called telomeres, become too short, cells normally stop dividing. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered how cancer cells make use of specific DNA repair enzymes to extend the telomeres. In this way, they escape the…
News • Study
Heroin use surges in the US
Use of heroin in the United States has surged dramatically in the past decade, a new study finds. The news follows earlier reports that fatal overdoses from heroin have quadrupled since 2002, suggesting that the country is facing a new epidemic of opiate dependence.
News • Developing Nations
Researchers turn bubble wrap into tiny test tubes
Inexpensive packing material pops up as an alternative to high-cost glass lab equipment for simple diagnostic tests, a potential boon in developing nations.
Article • Therapy
Molecular imaging mines deeper
The view across the Atlantic – it fills Professor Fabian Kiessling, Chair of Experimental Molecular Imaging at the RWTH Aachen (Rhine-Westphalia Institute of Technology Aachen), with optimism. The USA offers more opportunities for molecular imaging. Only recently, new tracers for Alzheimer’s were accepted as reimbursable in some centres, whilst the development of new diagnostics in Europe…
News • Preclinical Alzheimer's disease
Omega-3 supplements and antioxidants may help
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that clinical trials of omega-3 and antioxidant supplementation should be undertaken for people with Alzheimer's disease with mild clinical impairment.
Novel DNA repair mechanism brings new horizons
A group of researchers, lead by Vasily M. Studitsky, professor at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, discovered a new mechanism of DNA repair, which opens up new perspectives for the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. The article describing their discovery is published in AAAS' first open access online-only journal Science Advances.
News • ADAM17
Fight against cancer: Researchers map important enzyme
Danish researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered what controls the enzyme that aids the growth of cancer tumours. These findings could be of great value to cancer treatments and has just been published in the renowned journal, Nature Communications.
Fructose produces less rewarding sensations in brain
Fructose not only results in a lower level of satiety, it also stimulates the reward system in the brain to a lesser degree than glucose. This may cause excessive consumption accompanied by effects that are a risk to health, report researchers from the University of Basel in a study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Various diseases have been attributed to industrial fructose in…
News • Gene defects
Cancer brake failure leads to brain cancer
Tumor suppressor genes protect against cancer. Until now, scientists have had to perform complex experiments to detect whether or not a mutation or loss of this gene type does, in fact, cause cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now used a new gene technology method called CRISPR/Cas9 technology for this detection.
Article • Gentle intervention
Endoscopy jumps the boundaries
‘Health insurers should keep a tighter rein on the quality of endoscopic interventions because, mostly, they represent a gentler alternative to surgery,’ asserts international expert Horst Neuhaus, during an EH interview. Report: Daniela Zimmermann/Juliane Dannert
News • Figthing cancer
Triple treatment keeps cancer from coming back
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, responsible for some 1.59 million deaths a year. That figure is due, in part, to the fact that the cancer often returns after what, at first, seems to be successful treatment. And the recurring cancer is often resistant to the chemotherapy and other drugs that originally drove it into remission. According to new research by the Weizmann…
News • Technology
Diabetes: Smart insulin patch could replace painful injections
Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created a “smart insulin patch” that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.
News • Molecular Genetics
How a Bacterial Cell Recognizes its Own DNA
It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that bacteria have an immune system – in their case to fight off invasive viruses called phages. And like any immune system – from single-celled to human – the first challenge of the bacterial immune system is to detect the difference between “foreign” and “self.” This is far from simple, as viruses, bacteria and all other living things…
Article • UTI pathogen
Boosting the Body’s Natural Ability to Fight Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, and widespread antibiotic resistance has led to urgent calls for new ways to combat them. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences report that an experimental drug that stabilizes a protein called HIF-1alpha protects human bladder cells and mice against a major UTI…
News • Neurology
Balanced behavior with IRBIT
Hyperactivity and social abnormalities are defining characteristics of ADHD and autism, two developmental disorders that parents and scientists around the world are struggling to understand. At the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan, researchers have identified the protein IRBIT as a key player in preventing these behaviors from developing.
Article • Infection control
From alcohol to cancer detection
Clinical trials are under way at two NHS hospitals in England to assess breathalyser technology to detect lung cancer. Phase I clinical trials of a diagnostic breathalyser developed by Cambridge-based Owlstone Ltd have shown accurate identification of 12 lung cancer biomarkers in breath specimens. A Phase II trial is now targeting development of a small, handheld device that can be used in GP…
Article • Diabetes I
Diabetology news
The focus of the 2015 Diabetes Congress held in Berlin this May was ‘Personalised diabetes treatment: innovative – individual – sustained’. EH reports on points aired during the supporting press briefing. Report: Bettina Döbereiner
Article • Funding black holes
Curbing the use of agency nurses
New figures for the UK’s key National Health Service (NHS) Trusts have revealed their total deficit of more than €1.1 billion for the year 2014-15. This rise on the previous year’s deficit of €160m comes against a backdrop of health authorities being required to find ‘efficiency savings’ of almost €1.4bn over the last five years. The NHS was also a major issue in the recent UK…
