Cancer has a smell and breathprint
Israel - Researchers are using breath-test technology to detect volatile organic compounds to tell whether a patient has stomach cancer.
Therapy
Bladder cancer update
In developed countries, bladder cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in men and the ninth in women, and it greatly challenges patient management and cost containment. However, it is under-represented in public awareness and in cancer research.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
There is little evidence on respiratory support with extracorporeal systems – enough of an argument for most of those doubting the procedure not to use it, or even make it available.
Medical tourists are the best advocates for effective health solutions
Current trends in the medical tourism industry indicate that the needs of international patients are challenging health service providers to come up with advanced solutions for quality healthcare outcomes.
Jordan struggles to serve refugee population
A high unemployment rate coupled with an influx of refugees from Iraq and Syria has compounded challenges faced by the Jordanian government to provide healthcare for all, states a new report by healthcare experts GlobalData.
New cancer research targets
‘We aim to develop an understanding of which novel research activities could bring benefits for patients,’ explained Professor Christof von Kalle, Director of the Department of Translational Oncology, NCT (German National Centre for Tumour Diseases) and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), speaking on translational activities during the New Cancer Targets gathering in Heidelberg this…
The curious tale of abandoned plans and dismantled hopes
A prototype for proton and ion therapy has been used clinically in Heidelberg since 2009. Built jointly by Siemens and GSI (Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt.
Europe’s pressing need for transcultural competence
Patients with a migration background can create underestimated difficulties in healthcare systems in Western countries.
Sensors facilitate rehabilitation at home
European doctors and scientists are working on the StrokeBack project, a medical system aimed at supporting stroke patients in their rehabilitation. Modern technology helps affected patients to practise their mobility at home.
First patient-centered proton treatment room
IBA Group, a leader in advanced cancer diagnosis and therapy technologies, and Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced their first-ever installation of a state-of-the-art, patient-centered proton therapy treatment room in the United States.
1920s drug shifts into today’s alcohol addiction arena
EH Paris correspondent Annick Chapoy, reports on a French study that confirms the relevance of a drug with a long history in the management of other diseases
Oral vaccination against pancreatic tumours
The world’s first gene cancer therapy study of an innovative oral vaccine is underway at the Surgical Clinic of Heidelberg University Hospital.
Post-operative care
The list of post-operative complications is long. Most common are fever, chest infection, pneumonia, wound infection, bleeding or deep vein thrombosis. As these post-surgical complications can range from minor, self-limiting problems to major life-threatening events, their definition and severity staging can be challenging.
The UK’s National Proton Beam Therapy Service
PBT uses a high-energy beam of particles to destroy cancer cells by more accurately targeting the affected areas and is particularly suitable for complex childhood cancers. It also increases success rates and reduces side effects, such as deafness, loss of IQ and secondary cancers.
MedAustron is becoming a reality in Wiener Neustadt
Currently there is a truly enormous hole in the ground in the city of Wiener Neustadt, Austria, but by summer 2012 MedAustron, one of the most modern centres for ion therapy and research in Europe, is to be built here.
New studies show which anti-HIV drug combinations work better than others
Using a mathematical formula that carefully measures the degree to which HIV infection of immune system cells is stalled by antiretroviral therapy, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have calculated precisely how well dozens of such anti-HIV drugs work, alone or in any of 857 likely combinations, in suppressing the virus.
‘Epilepsy In Our Time’
‘Epilepsy In Our Time’, a video diary, explores life with epilepsy from the perspective of those living with the condition on European Epilepsy Day 2012. The disease is the most common serious brain disorder worldwide, affecting 6 million people in Europe.
Lights, music, action…
The patient is soothed and ready for proton therapy
Seeking the best pluripotent stem cell
Susanne Werner reports on the views and revelations of international researchers gathered to deliberate the future potential of reprogrammed human adult stem cells and personalised medical treatments
Doom and gloom but yes, there’s hope and even health-promoting laughter…
Health-promoting laughter… As our year ends amid depressing global economic uncertainty, budget and staff cutbacks, threats to healthcare workers’ pensions and much else, some events shine brightly through, writes EH Editor Brenda Marsh. ‘These confirm that vision, courage and laughter can indeed cure many ills’
ERC Advanced Grant for Professor Detlef Schuppan
The European Research Council (ERC) has earmarked about €2.5 mio. to fund the research being conducted by gastroenterologist and biochemist Professor Dr. Dr. Detlef Schuppan at Mainz University Medical Center. Professor Schuppan is a specialist in liver diseases ranging from fibrosis to cirrhosis (the terminal stage of fibrosis) to hepatic cancer.
Multimodal visible embolisation particles
Embolisation – the blocking of vessels - is a key procedure in Interventional Radiology. It plays a steadily growing role in the treatment of various tumour lesions, with hepatic cellular carcinoma and uterine fibroids the main focus.
The ‘sepsis team’
‘We are all aware of the importance of early diagnosis and rapid appropriate treatment of patients with severe sepsis. Yet, many patients still do not receive satisfactory early management and the application of recent guidelines for sepsis management is still inadequate,’ writes Jean-Louis Vincent MD PhD, from the Intensive Care Department, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles,…
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy
From guidelines to daily clinical practice: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy is increasingly important in heart failure treatment. The therapy is complex, the demands to medical technology high. Holger Zorn reports
