The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society And Memgen Announce New Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Clinical Trial

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and Memgen, LLC jointly announce the beginning of a new clinical trial of ISF35, a cancer vaccine, at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). LLS is collaborating on this trial in the hopes that it will speed the development and approval of a novel approach aimed at treating patients with fludarabine refractory and/or 17p deleted chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Doctors at UCSD have already begun treating the first patient with ISF35. They plan to enroll up to twelve patients. These patients will receive a vaccine expressing an immune-boosting molecule, ISF35 (Immune Stimulatory Factor 35), followed by three courses of rituximab plus the chemotherap... More »


The International Myeloma Foundation Says Patient Experience -- Longer Survival And Improved Quality Of Life -- Supports Encouraging Data Being Presented At The Annual Hematology Meeting

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. & WURZBURG, Germany -- The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF)--supporting research and providing education, advocacy and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers and physicians--today said five long-term survivors will match real-life stories to the progress being reported by researchers at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Multiple myeloma is a cancer of cells in the bone marrow that affects blood cell production. It cannot be cured, however new therapies used in combination and in sequence are improving quality of life and for many patients, making remissions possible that can be measured in years, not weeks or months. The meeting will be held Decemb... More »


Genes Associated With Fat Metabolism Could Increase Kidney Cancer Risk

A team of international scientists has identified three genes associated with the body's processing of fats that may increase susceptibility to kidney cancer. The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. The researchers found that variations within three genes associated with lipid peroxidation the process of breaking down fats and lipids when exposed to oxygen could increase a person's risk of kidney cancer. Scientists have suspected lipid peroxidation as a unifying mechanism through which risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and smoking could damage kidney tissue and lead to kidney cancer. "Obesity, hypertensi... More »


CT Colonography Offers One-Stop Screening For Cancer And Osteoporosis

CHICAGO, Dec 02, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- New research reveals that computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, has the potential to screen for two diseases at once--colorectal cancer and osteoporosis, both of which commonly affect adults over age 50. Results of the study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "With CT colonography, in addition to screening for colorectal cancer, we were able to identify patients with osteoporosis," said lead author Rizwan Aslam, M.B.Ch.B., assistant clinical professor of radiology at the University of California San Francisco. CT colonography, an imaging study performed to detect pre-canc... More »


Obese kids who snore more sleepy in the daytime

Obese children who have difficulty breathing while they sleep have excessive daytime sleepiness compared with slimmer children who are also chronic snorers, new research in the journal Pediatrics shows. The symptoms in heavy children are ?strikingly reminiscent of excessive daytime sleepiness patterns in adults with obstructive sleep apnea,? Drs. David Gozal and Leila Kheirandish-Gozal of the University of Louisville in Kentucky write. The findings suggest, they add, that obstructive sleep apnea looks different in obese children than it does in normal weight kids, which may have implications both for how the condition is treated and how it ultimately affects organ function. The researchers previously observed that among children with sleep problems, daytime tiredness seemed to be the main symptom in obese kids, while sleepiness tended to manifest itself as inattention and hyperactivity for normal-weight children. More »


Study Examines Impact of Managed Care on Stroke Prevention Surgery

Policymakers and economists often promote managed-care plans based on the assumption that they prevent the overuse of unnecessary surgical procedures or help steer patients to high-quality providers, compared to traditional fee-for-service insurance plans. A recent study by a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center, however, found that in the case of one common surgical procedure, the checks and balances assumed with managed care did not improve the quality or outcome of care. The study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality, examined differences in care for Medicare patients who received a carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and were enrolled in either managed-care or fee-for-service plans. In managed-care, an insurance company often acts as an intermediary between a person seeking care and the physician. A fee-for-service plan allows a person to make all health care decisions independently. CEA is a surgical procedure to remove blockages in the neck arteries that can lead to strokes. National guidelines exist that establish the circumstances under which CEAs are likely to produce benefits for patients, and the procedure is nearly always performed electively. More »


Family members of critically ill patients want to discuss loved ones? uncertain prognoses

Critically ill patients frequently have uncertain prognoses, but their families overwhelmingly wish that physicians would address prognostic uncertainty candidly, according to a new study out of the University of San Francisco Medical Center. ?Our interviews revealed that caregivers appear to believe that some uncertainty is unavoidable, and just the nature of life,? said lead author Douglas White, M.D., M.A.S., assistant professor in UCSF?s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the UCSF Program in Medical Ethics. ?The vast majority of families of critically ill patients want physicians to openly discuss the prognosis, even when physicians can?t be certain that their estimates are correct.? But past research showing that physicians are reluctant to discuss uncertain prognoses reveals a schism between families? wishes and physicians? comfort. More »


Facial expressions of emotion are innate, not learned, says new stud

Facial expressions of emotion are hardwired into our genes, according to a study published today in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The research suggests that facial expressions of emotion are innate rather than a product of cultural learning. The study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that sighted and blind individuals use the same facial expressions, producing the same facial muscle movements in response to specific emotional stimuli. The study also provides new insight into how humans manage emotional displays according to social context, suggesting that the ability to regulate emotional expressions is not learned through observation. San Francisco State University Psychology Professor David Matsumoto compared the facial expressions of sighted and blind judo athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. More than 4,800 photographs were captured and analyzed, including images of athletes from 23 countries. More »






Fast food plus nearby schools - fat kids

Fast food + nearby schools = fat kids

Youth who study just a short walk from a fast-food outlet eat fewer fruit and vegetables, drink more soda and are more likely to be obese than students at other schools, according to research published on Tuesday. The study, which involved more than 500,000 adolescents at middle schools and high schools in California, lends new fuel to a growing backlash against the fast-food industry as studies suggest they contribute to the rising obesity epidemic in the United States. ?We?ve basically discovered that kids who are going to a school that is near a fast-food restaurant have a higher chance of being overweight and obese than kids who are at a school that is not near a fast-food restaurant,? said Brennan Davis of Azusa Pacific University in California, whose study appears in the American Journal of Public Health. More »


Treating Gum Disease Linked to Lower Medical Costs for Patients with Diabetes

A new report suggests that treating gum disease in patients who have diabetes with procedures such as cleanings and periodontal scaling is linked to 10 to 12 percent lower medical costs per month. The findings are encouraging but the study was not designed to firmly establish cause and effect, said George Taylor, University of Michigan associate professor of dentistry, who also has an appointment in epidemiology in the U-M School of Public Health. Taylor led the research project to investigate whether routine, non-surgical treatment for gum disease is linked to lower medical care costs for people with diabetes. In periodontal disease, the body reacts to the bacteria causing the gum infection by producing proteins or chemicals called inflammatory mediators. Ulcers and open sores in the gums become passageways for these proteins and for the bacteria themselves to enter the body?s blood circulation. These inflammatory mediators, as well as some parts of the bacteria, prevent the body from effectively removing glucose, or sugar, from the blood.  More »







Obese siblings of diabetic children at risk

Compared with other overweight children, overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a significantly higher prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance, a risk factor for diabetes, according to researchers at the Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia. ?These siblings,? lead investigator Dr. Sheela N. Magge told Reuters Health, ?have a unique combination of genetic and environmental risk factors. We found that the obese sibling group had four-times higher odds of having abnormal glucose tolerance?pre-diabetes and diabetes?compared to the control group.? Magge and colleagues studied 62 obese children, aged 8 to 17 years, who had at least 1 sibling aged 12 years or older. Twenty children had a sibling with diabetes; 42 acted as controls, according to the study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics. More »


Using math to understand hepatitis C

Using math to understand hep. C: Patterns paint picture of who will respond to treatment Genetic patterns are like the tea leaves in the bottom of a cup for predicting which patients are likely to respond to medical therapy for life-threatening viruses such as hepatitis C, Saint Louis University researchers have discovered. Their findings are published in the Dec. 22 early online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. ?We identified mathematical patterns, which are called ?covariance networks,? to analyze the sequence of proteins in the genes or ?genetic patterns? of hepatitis C virus in two groups of patients ? those who responded to and those who resisted traditional therapy,? said John Tavis, Ph.D., professor of molecular and microbiology at Saint Louis University and a lead author of the paper. ?What we found will allow a doctor to predict whether or not a medication will work in a patient.? More »


Tobacco firm used extensive strategy to undermine secondhand smoke policy in China

British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world?s largest transnational tobacco companies (TTCs), carried out an extensive, multi-pronged strategy to undermine the health policy agenda on secondhand smoke (SHS) in China, finds a new study published in PLoS Medicine. In 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Health estimated that 540 million Chinese were exposed to SHS, resulting in over 100,000 deaths annually. The only effective way to reduce tobacco smoke exposure indoors is to implement 100% smoke-free environments (alternatives such as ventilation, filtration, and the provision of segregated areas for smokers and nonsmokers are insufficient). Smoke-free policies are proven to decrease overall cigarette consumption, to encourage smokers to quit, and to protect the health of nonsmokers. Monique Muggli (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA) and colleagues analyzed internal corporate documents produced by BAT, the predominant TTC in China, in response to litigation against major cigarette manufacturers. The documents are stored in depositories in Minnesota, USA and Guildford, UK. Among these documents, they found evidence that BAT had attempted to divert attention away from SHS issues toward liver disease prevention by funding the Beijing Liver Foundation (BLF) from its inception in 1997 until at least 2002 (the most recent year that BAT?s corporate records are available for public review). More »


Tobacco company scientist gained access to WHO collaborating center

A new study of previously confidential tobacco industry documents shows that a Philip Morris scientist established close connections with a WHO Collaborating Centre in Thailand called the Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI). The study is published in this week?s PLoS Medicine. The CRI is an internationally renowned teaching institution for a variety of scientific disciplines, including environmental toxicology (the study of how chemicals in the environment, such as tobacco smoke, can affect human health). The institute is designated a WHO Collaborating Centre, carrying out activities in support of the WHO?s public health programs. Ross MacKenzie (School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Australia) and Jeff Collin (Centre for International Public Health Policy, University of Edinburgh, Scotland) analyzed tobacco company documents that were made publicly available online following litigation in the United States. Philip Morris documents revealed that ostensibly independent overseas scientists, now identified as industry consultants, were able to gain access to the Thai scientific community. Most significantly, a Philip Morris scientist called Roger Walk established close connections with the CRI.  More »


Simple Model Predicts Those at Risk for Chronic Kidney Disease

Traditionally, doctors have had no clear way to predict which of their patients might be headed down the road to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Now, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created a simple eight-point risk factor checklist to do just that. As reported in a special double issue (Dec. 8 and 22) of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the model accurately stratifies middle-aged and older patients at high risk for newly diagnosed CKD, which involves a gradual, even fatal loss of kidney function over time. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 26 million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk. More »