PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

University of York scientists discover why some tumors are resistant to radiotherapy

2015-07-24
(Press-News.org) Scientists at the University of York believe they have identified how some tiny regulatory molecules in cells can make prostate cancers resistant to radiotherapy. It is hoped that this new development could pave the way for more effective treatments - allowing a lower dose of radiotherapy to be used while prolonging the lives of thousands of men. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of male cancer in the UK and kills more than 11,000 men every year. In the latest studies, published in European Urology and the British Journal of Cancer, scientists in The YCR Cancer Research Unit in the Department of Biology at York have shown a direct link between these tiny molecules - known as micro-RNAs - and resistance to radiotherapy. Every cell has hundreds of micro-RNAs, whose function is to control the expression of genes. Once regarded as "junk" by scientists, they are now considered vital for the organisation of the various tissues in the body, instructing genes when and where to be active. The York team have now shown that they are the switch which enables cells to react very rapidly to changes in their environment, such as that provided by cancer treatments. Previous research has revealed that all prostate cancers contain at least four different cell types, including the cancer stem cells which resist most current treatments. By looking at the micro-RNAs present in each of the cell types individually, the researchers found that some micro-RNAs acted in a positive manner, switching off genes which could make the stem cells susceptible to radiotherapy, whilst other micro-RNAs were not expressed in the resistant stem cells, permitting the expression of resistance genes. By manipulating the levels of these critical micro-RNAs in the clinic, scientists say it should be possible to kill greater numbers of cancer stem cells than ever before, reducing the 30% of prostate cancer patients whose tumours recur after radiotherapy. Professor Norman Maitland, of The YCR Cancer Research Unit, said prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 42,000 men every year in the UK. Of those men about a third will get radiotherapy, and of those, about a third will fail on radiotherapy. "Doctors don't know which patients are going to relapse - and the reason they relapse is probably because the radiotherapy is not focussed on the stem cell, it is focused on the whole tumour. "We think that by exploiting this new knowledge we can make radiotherapy more effective. What is the impact? We believe it could extend the lifetime of these men. It could also allow a lower dose of radiotherapy to be used and that's really what we are testing at the moment. "Now we have a handle on why stem cells cause men to relapse after radiotherapy, this will be the bridge to transforming that into a treatment and making radiotherapy better." The research used tissues from prostate cancer patients, generously donated for this purpose via a Hull-York Medical School cooperation with Mr Matt Simms at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull.

INFORMATION:

The analysis was carried out by Dr Jayant Rane, as part of an EU-funded international consortium (PRONEST), in collaboration with Professor Tapio Visakorpi (University of Tampere, Finland), and Finnish bioinformaticians Antti Ylipaa and Professor Matti Nykter.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Patient satisfaction is good indicator of success after spinal surgery

2015-07-24
July 24, 2015 - Patient satisfaction ratings after surgery for spinal degenerative disease--especially in terms of reduced pain and disability--are a good indicator of the procedure's effectiveness, reports a study in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. "Patient satisfaction with outcome may accurately represent the effectiveness of surgical spine care in terms of one-year improvement in pain and disability," according to the new research by Dr. Clinton J. Devin of Vanderbilt ...

Young scientist discovers magnetic material unnecessary to create spin current

Young scientist discovers magnetic material unnecessary to create spin current
2015-07-24
It doesn't happen often that a young scientist makes a significant and unexpected discovery, but postdoctoral researcher Stephen Wu of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory just did exactly that. What he found--that you don't need a magnetic material to create spin current from insulators--has important implications for the field of spintronics and the development of high-speed, low-power electronics that use electron spin rather than charge to carry information. Wu's work upends prevailing ideas of how to generate a current of spins. "This is a ...

'Watch' helps surgeons minimize potential risks of all-inside meniscal repair

2015-07-24
Needham, MA.-JBJS Case Connector, an online case report journal published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, has issued a "Watch" regarding potential risks with anchor-based all-inside meniscal repairs. While all-inside techniques have many advantages, including shorter surgical time and reduced risk of damage to neurovascular tissues, potential drawbacks include risks of local soft-tissue irritation and implant migration or breakage. In particular, the "Watch" offers important tips for successfully using FAST-FIX meniscal-repair devices produced by Smith & Nephew. ...

Diagnosis of psychiatric disorders not as important as outcomes

2015-07-24
Nailing the diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder may not be important in prescribing effective treatment, according to Mark Zimmerman, M.D., a clinical researcher at Rhode Island Hospital. His opinion editorial was published online today in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. "During the past 35 years, we have witnessed a revolution in the treatment of psychiatric disorders," said Zimmerman, director of outpatient psychiatry and the partial hospital program at Rhode Island Hospital and director of the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services ...

Stadium lighting affects bat behavior and may threaten biodiversity

2015-07-24
A new Animal Conservation study shows that sports stadium lighting can alter patterns of bat species activity and feeding, which may in turn have cascading effects on other organisms and the ecosystem as a whole. Using a novel field experiment, Dr. M. Corrie Schoeman demonstrates that urban exploiter bats are more likely to hunt insects attracted to bright light pollution sources such as stadiums than urban avoider bats. (Exploiter organisms can take advantage of food or resources supplied by humans, while avoider organisms have either a history of conflict with humans ...

Study identifies risks related to falling in patients with COPD

2015-07-24
In a recent year-long study, 40% of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experienced falls, with more than 75% of these falling multiple times. Factors linked with an increased risk of falling included smoking, having other illnesses, taking multiple medications, having a fear of falling, and falling in the past. "The findings could be useful for developing preventative strategies," said Dr. Cristino Oliveira, lead author of the Respirology study. INFORMATION: ...

Attention-control video game curbs combat vets' PTSD symptoms

2015-07-24
A computerized attention-control training program significantly reduced combat veterans' preoccupation with - or avoidance of -- threat and attendant PTSD symptoms. By contrast, another type of computerized training, called attention bias modification - which has proven helpful in treating anxiety disorders - did not reduce PTSD symptoms. NIMH and Israeli researchers conducted parallel trials in which the two treatments were tested in US and Israeli combat veterans. Daniel Pine, M.D., of the NIMH Emotion and Development Branch, Yair Bar-Haim, Ph.D., School of Psychological ...

Pesticides found in most pollen collected from foraging bees in Massachusetts

2015-07-24
Boston, MA -- More than 70% of pollen and honey samples collected from foraging bees in Massachusetts contain at least one neonicotinoid, a class of pesticide that has been implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which adult bees abandon their hives during winter, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study will be published online July 23, 2015 in the Journal of Environmental Chemistry. "Data from this study clearly demonstrated the ubiquity of neonicotinoids in pollen and honey samples that bees are exposed to during ...

'Successful aging' linked to harmful drinking among over 50s

2015-07-24
The over 50s who are 'successful agers'--healthy, active, sociable, and well off--are more at risk of harmful drinking than their less successful peers, concludes research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Harmful drinking is a "middle class phenomenon" which may be a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people, warn the researchers, who call for explicit guidelines on alcohol consumption for this group. They base their findings on more than 9000 responses to the two most recent waves (2008-9 and 2010-11) of the English Longitudinal ...

The Lancet: New studies show that 2 classes of inexpensive generic drugs can reduce breast cancer deaths

2015-07-24
Two new studies, both published in The Lancet, suggest that two different classes of drugs, aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and bisphosphonates, can each improve survival prospects for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. Moreover, the researchers suggest that the two types of drug can be used together, increasing the benefits while also decreasing some side-effects. Most women are post-menopausal when they develop breast cancer, and breast cancer is usually found early, when surgery can remove all detectable disease, but might leave dangerous undetected micrometastases ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI model offers accurate and explainable insights to support autism assessment

Process for dealing with sexual misconduct by doctors requires major reform

Severe pregnancy sickness raises risk of mental health conditions by over 50%

Early humans may have walked from Türkiye to mainland Europe, new groundbreaking research suggests

New study shows biochar’s electrical properties can influence rice field methane emissions

Guangdong faces largest chikungunya outbreak on record

Tirzepatide improves blood sugar control in children aged 10-17 years with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on existing therapies (SURPASS-PEDS trial)

An old drug, in a low dose, shown to be safe and effective in preventing progression of type 1 diabetes in children and young people (MELD-ATG trial)

Study reports potential effects of verapamil in slowing progression of type 1 diabetes

Fresh hope for type 1 diabetes as daily pill that slows onset confirms promise at 2-year follow-up

New estimates predict over 4 million missing people who would be alive in 2025 if not for inadequate type 1 diabetes care

So what should we call this – a grue jay?

Chicago Quantum Exchange-led coalition advances to final round in NSF Engine competition

Study identifies candidates for therapeutic targets in pediatric germ cell tumors

Media alert: The global burden of CVD

Study illuminates contributing factors to blood vessel leakage

What nations around the world can learn from Ukraine

Mixing tree species does not always make forests more drought-resilient

Public confidence in U.S. health agencies slides, fueled by declines among Democrats

“Quantum squeezing” a nanoscale particle for the first time

El Niño spurs extreme daily rain events despite drier monsoons in India

Two studies explore the genomic diversity of deadly mosquito vectors

Zebra finches categorize their vocal calls by meaning

Analysis challenges conventional wisdom about partisan support for US science funding

New model can accurately predict a forest’s future

‘Like talking on the telephone’: Quantum computing engineers get atoms chatting long distance

Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered

Overcoming the barriers of hydrogen storage with a low-temperature hydrogen battery

Tuberculosis vulnerability of people with HIV: a viral protein implicated

Partnership with Kenya's Turkana community helps scientists discover genes involved in adaptation to desert living

[Press-News.org] University of York scientists discover why some tumors are resistant to radiotherapy