Category: Health Problems

A large register-based study conducted in Sweden has found that statins are associated with a markedly reduced risk of all-cause mortality, liver transplantation, liver cancer, and variceal bleeding in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The study, which reviewed the records of almost 3,000 patients diagnosed with PSC between 2005 and 2016, also reported a

Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by ultrasound is likely to be cost effective in patients with hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis after they have achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) to direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), according to the results of a Canadian study presented today. The study also found that screening is very unlikely to be

Melanoma, a relatively rare but deadly skin cancer, has been shown to switch differentiation states—that is, to regress to an earlier stage of development—which can lead it to become resistant to treatment. Now, UCLA researchers have found that melanomas can be divided into four distinct subtypes according to their stages of differentiation. Cell subtypes that

For many people, one of the unspoken rules for being cool is maintaining an emotionally inexpressive attitude. This message is reinforced through advertisements where fashion models rarely smile and by quotes from celebrities. In an article in the Huffington Post, Kanye West said he doesn’t smile in photographs because “it just wouldn’t look as cool.”

Immunotherapies are treatments that stimulate a patient’s immune cells to attack tumors. They can be very effective in melanoma—a common and aggressive form of skin tumor—but nonetheless fail in the majority of patients. To address this, researchers are trying to identify the factors that enable successful immunotherapy, as well as those that may limit it.

Because testicular cancer has a 95 percent cure rate, it is easier for men to move on and forget about it. But new research in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that it’s prudent for patients to stay in touch with their medical team as they age and to be aware of treatment toxicities. The

Two common iron compounds increase the formation of a known biomarker for cancer, according to a new study of cancer cells from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. The two compounds, ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, are often used in dietary supplements and as a food additive respectively, in worldwide markets including the U.S. and the

The emergence of antibiotic resistance among dangerous pathogens is increasingly problematic worldwide. Many strains of infectious bacteria have become multidrug-resistant, and cannot be treated with common antibiotic therapies. While the antibiotic colistin can often be used to treat infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria, colistin resistance is also on the rise and represents an emerging global health

Further evidence that immunotherapy provides long-term survival benefit for patients with lung cancer was presented today at ELCC 2018 (European Lung Cancer Congress) in Geneva, Switzerland. Researchers presented the three-year survival results of the randomised phase 2 POPLAR trial in second line, which is the longest follow-up reported to date with anti-programmed death ligand 1

(HealthDay)—The overall rate of heart disease in the United States has declined 38 percent since 1990, a new report shows. Not every state has benefited equally, however. Between 2010 and 2016, 12 states actually saw their heart disease rates begin to creep up again, the data showed. And although the United States as a whole

Researchers from Mount Sinai and Sema4, a health information company and Mount Sinai venture, have discovered that giving metastatic bladder cancer patients simultaneous chemotherapy and immunotherapy is safe and that patients whose tumors have certain genetic mutations may respond particularly well to this combination approach, according to the results of a clinical trial published in

A multi-institutional research team has identified what may be a novel mechanism underlying acquired resistance to CDK 4/6 inhibitor treatment for breast cancer. In their report published in the Annals of Oncology, the team—led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Institute Gustave Roussy in Paris, and Texas Oncology-Baylor Sammons Cancer Center/U.S. Oncology in Dallas—reports

For the first time, scientists have deconstructed the brain circuits that orchestrate parenting behavior in mice. The team, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Catherine Dulac, has discovered that more than 20 different parts of the brain are integrated into this circuitry. Distinct sets of cells within a parenting-control hub trigger the motivational, behavioral,

The class of drugs currently prescribed to treat male erectile dysfunction has been flagged for its potential to be included in new trials for anti-cancer drugs, in a new clinical study published today in the open access journal, ecancermedicalscience. The paper is the latest publication from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international

New research on bowel cancer has shown that every tumour is different, and that every cell within the tumour is also genetically unique. In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK and Hubrecht Institute (KNAW) in Utrecht, The Netherlands, used the latest single cell and organoid technologies to understand

A Purdue University-affiliated startup has devised a way to map arteries in the roof of a person’s mouth to help avoid complications and improve outcomes in oral surgery. Starfish Engineering LLC has developed a method using light to image arteries and lesions through the tissue in the roof of the mouth. Surgeons working in the

A new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that high-quality cervical cancer screening can be done effectively using a completely automated approach. The researchers involved in the study indicate that automated technology could increase cervical screening coverage in underserved regions. Cervical cancer is caused by persistent

(HealthDay)—For older adults, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4Is) are not associated with increased risk of acute pancreatitis, according to a study published online April 4 in Diabetes Care. Jin-Liern Hong, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues examined the risks of acute pancreatitis among U.S. Medicare beneficiaries, aged 66+ years,

(HealthDay)—Parents, you may be able to stop feeling guilty about letting your toddlers play video games—as long as you’re playing with them. That’s the suggestion of a small study on the effects of touchscreen technology on kids’ development. The research dovetails with growing concern that toddlers might be harmed as technology takes center stage in

The results of an international clinical trial for a new system of diagnosing heart transplant rejection and injury will be presented publicly for the first time at the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) annual meeting, which will take place on April 11 and 12 in Nice, France. Led by Dr. Phil Halloran