CHICAGO – Adding the drug cetuximab to a regimen of drugs used for the treatment of patients following surgery for stage III colon cancer did not result in improved disease-free survival, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA. Patients who have surgery for removal of stage III colon cancer have a 50 percent chance of cure. Multiple trials have established the benefit of chemotherapy after surgery in reducing the recurrence risk. "Specifically, [the drugs] leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX or slightly different method, FLOX) provides significant ...

CHICAGO – In an analysis of a cohort that included nearly one million patients who had visited an ophthalmologist, patients who were taking oral fluoroquinolones had a higher risk of developing a retinal detachment, a serious eye condition, compared with nonusers, although the absolute risk was small, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA. "Fluoroquinolones are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics. Their broad-spectrum antibacterial coverage and high-tissue distribution provide potency for a wide variety of community-acquired infections," ...

CHICAGO --The feasibility of selecting treatment based on individual molecular characteristics was demonstrated in a first-of-its kind pancreatic cancer clinical trial reported today by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare. The findings were announced during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012, March 31-April 4, in Chicago. "The most important finding is that this approach is feasible and we are encouraged by preliminary evidence that this approach may ...

Johns Hopkins investigators are testing a way to use drugs that target a cholesterol pathway to enhance the cancer-killing potential of standard chemotherapy drugs. Their tests, in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, may yield new and more effective combinations of current and possibly new anti-cancer drugs. Besides their deadly consequences, pancreatic cancer and heart disease share a connection with genetic pathways that control cholesterol and a cell signaling system known as the Hedgehog pathway. (The name refers to the shape of its mutated protein in fruit flies, ...

In a research article published April 3 in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology, Prof. Sylvia Cremer and colleagues at the Institute of Science and Technology, Austria show how micro-infections promote social vaccination in ant societies. Like crowded megacities, ant colonies face a high risk of disease outbreaks. These are kept in check by the ants' social immune system—a set of collective hygienic behaviours and adaptive changes in interaction frequencies that acts in conjunction with the physiological, innate immune system of colony members. Prof. Cremer and ...

Top executives at Anago Cleaning Systems hosted its 2012 annual conference for their Master Franchisees in an effort to celebrate major growth and successes in 2011, and prepare for aggressive expansion and improvement throughout each territory and the nation. New and existing Master Franchisees alike attended the two-day show that was held on March 5-6, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. The convention kicked off with opening remarks from Anago Cleaning Systems Founder, David Povlitz. Mr. Povlitz reiterated that the vision, mission, and values of the company he founded in ...

An international team of scientists has created an innovative tool for teaching the fundamentals of epidemiology—the science of how infectious diseases move through a population. The team teaches a workshop annually in South Africa that helps epidemiologists improve the mathematical models they use to study outbreaks of diseases like cholera, AIDS and malaria. Led by Steve Bellan from the University of California at Berkeley, the team created a new game as a teaching aid for the workshop. The exercise, which has proven extremely effective in demonstrating concepts in ...

Genetic mutations in cancer cells can lead to resistance to treatment, thereby potentially resulting in relapse. However, a new article, published April 3 in the magazine section of the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology, suggests that the converse may also happen. Steven Frank from the University of California, Irvine, and Marsha Rosner from the University of Chicago, propose that it may often be the case that a few cells become resistant before any genetic change, and then later acquire the genes to stabilize that resistance. Why does it matter whether resistance ...

CAL Business Solutions, a Connecticut based Microsoft Dynamics GP partner, today announced that it will host the first ever New England SalesPad user group workshop. Companies using Microsoft Dynamics GP with SalesPad, an add on product for the distribution industry, will have the opportunity to come together to see new features, share ideas, network with their peers and provide input on future product developments. The user group will be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cromwell, Connecticut from 8:00-11:30am on Monday May 7th. Topics on the agenda include advanced ...

New evidence points to a hormone that leaves muscles gobbling up sugar as if they can't get enough. That factor, which can be coaxed out of fat stem cells, could lead to a new treatment to lower blood sugar and improve metabolism, according to a report in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. This new fat-derived hormone would appear to be a useful alternative or add-on to insulin; it can do essentially the same job, sending glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle. "It's like you've opened the door and now the glucose can come in," said ...

Philadelphia, PA, April 3, 2012 – A new report published online today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics systematically reviews and updates the evidence underlying the recommendation in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 to consume a diet low in energy density (ED). The report addresses the growing body of evidence linking ED, or the number of calories in a given amount of food, and body weight in adults as well as children and adolescents. The systematic review concluded that there is strong and consistent evidence in adults showing that consuming ...

The drug known as rapamycin is widely used by cancer and transplant patients, and there are hints that it might even help us put off old age and live longer. But, it also comes with a downside: rapamycin leads to diabetes in as many as 15 percent of the people who take it. Now, researchers reporting in the April Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have figured out why that is. The drug turns the insulin signal off in muscle, to prevent muscle cells from taking blood sugar in. "This is a drug that is pretty well known for its benefits," said Pere Puigserver ...

CHICAGO, IL – Researchers and doctors at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that blood can help determine the best treatment plan for patients with ovarian cancer. More specifically, a genetic marker embedded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), called microRNA, indicates if a patient with ovarian cancer has a benign or cancerous tumor, and that she will benefit from chemotherapy after surgery on the tumor. This data will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting to be held ...

MONTREAL, April 3, 2012 – Researchers at the University of Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells like those in our bodies are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours. Humans have known about the usefulness of opioids, which are often harvested from poppy plants, for centuries, but we have very little insight into how they lose their effectiveness in the hours, days and weeks following the first dose. "Our study revealed cellular and molecular mechanisms within our bodies that enables us to develop resistance to this medication, ...

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a new process that controls the ability of arteries to regulate blood pressure. Arteries are able to control blood pressure by relaxing and constricting. In healthy people, the ability of arteries to relax or constrict is kept in balance. However, this balance shifts in people who are at risk of developing high blood pressure or atherosclerosis. There is more constriction within the arteries so blood cannot flow freely increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Researchers in Southampton, led by Dr ...

April in Israel is a month with many special events including: festivals, concerts, performances, street fairs and walking tours which are tremendously varied so that there is something for every one of all ages and tastes. April's warm temperatures mean that more outdoor events can take place, and combined with the Passover holiday for which kids are away from school, it means that April is a great time to be in Israel. Additionally, as the local holiday coincides with the Easter holiday, many Christian tourists choose to visit Israel in April, as the majority of them ...

Research: The risk of cancer in the first seven years after metal-on-metal hip replacement compared with other bearings and the general population: a linkage study between the National Joint Registry of England and Wales and Hospital Episode Statistics Patients who have had metal-on-metal hip replacements are no more likely to develop cancer in the first seven years after surgery than the general population, although a longer-term study is required, a study published on bmj.com today claims. A recent BMJ and BBC Newsnight investigation looked into the potentially high ...

Neonatal services in England have seen a considerable improvement since the introduction of new guidelines in 2003, a study published on bmj.com claims. The new guidelines were set out to help increase the proportion of premature babies born in a specialist care unit and reduce the amount of acute (within 24 hours of birth) postnatal transfers from one hospital to another. The specialised delivery and management of premature babies is associated with improved outcomes while acute postnatal transfer is associated with adverse outcomes. Researchers from the Imperial ...

CHICAGO— Hepatitis B-infected patients with significantly longer telomeres—the caps on the end of chromosomes that protect our genetic data— were found to have an increased risk of getting liver cancer compared to those with shorter ones, according to findings presented by researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012. The relative telomere length in hepatitis B-infected cases with liver cancer was about 50 percent longer than the telomere length of the cancer-free hepatitis B-infected controls. A ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The dietary supplement gamma-linoleic acid can inhibit the growth of a subset of pancreatic cancer cells and selectively promote cancer cell death in mice, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The supplement, a fatty acid also known as GLA, worked particularly well when combined with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, the researchers say. The findings were presented today by Mayo Clinic pathologist Ruth Lupu, Ph.D., at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012. "One of the most devastating facts about pancreatic cancer is the ...

Sonic Games 365, a big player in the free gaming universe is now offering even more Adobe Flash games that incorporate beloved Sega characters such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and more. Sonic Games 365 has these added four brand new titles to its line-up: Sonic Spin Break, Sonic's Crazy Coin Collect, Sonic Rolling Ball, and Super Mario Save Sonic. These four games are all about promoting the true meaning of Sonic Games 365, which has been from day one to always have the largest selection of games featuring, feature everybody's favorite blue hedgehog, and never charge ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A study presented today by Mayo Clinic researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012 in Chicago identified two genes that are optimal targets to be analyzed in a new noninvasive test for colorectal cancer developed by Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with Exact Sciences Corporation. The test uses a small sample of a patient's stool to check for specific DNA changes, known as gene methylation, that occur as cancer develops. The test can quickly detect both early stage cancer and precancerous polyps. "This study ...

OTTAWA, Canada -- Dr. Roger Zemek, Director of Emergency Research at the CHEO Research Institute and ED physician, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, has overseen the creation and implementation of a Medical Directive that now empowers nurses to administer an oral steroid treatment, which has reduced wait time and improved patient care. This research is published today in Pediatrics. Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children requiring a visit to Emergency. Every year, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) ...

CHICAGO --- A new drug developed by Northwestern Medicine scientists prevented human prostate cancer cells from spreading to other tissues without any toxic effects to normal cells or tissues. The drug turns off the "go" switch in the cancer cells and immobilizes them. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in North American males. Death is mainly caused by metastasis, prostate cancer cells moving out of prostate tissue and spreading to other organs. "This is an extremely promising new therapeutic that locks down aggressive prostate cancer cells ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—April 3, 2012—Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have enhanced our understanding of how a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease keeps young brains healthy, but can damage them later in life—suggesting new research avenues for treating this devastating disease. In the Journal of Neuroscience, available online today, researchers in the laboratory of Yadong Huang, MD, PhD, have uncovered the distinct roles that the apoE protein plays in young vs. aging brains. These findings, which could inform the future of Alzheimer's drug development, come at a time ...