Medpills news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A protein found only in the intestines may help lead the way to a vaccine that can treat colon cancers and perhaps other tumors too, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Mice immunized with the protein and then infected with colon tumors had fewer tumors spread to the lung and liver than usual, they reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Many cancer vaccines are in the works but researchers are struggling to find the right targets, called antigens, that are found only on tumors and not in healthy tissue.

Adam Snook and Dr.

(Read the full post about ‘Study suggests colon cancer vaccine possible (Reuters)’…)

TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay news) — French radiologists report they've simplified a method of scanning the brain for signs of Alzheimer's disease, potentially making it easier to diagnose the mind-robbing condition.

It's too early for doctors to start routinely using the approach, but early tests are encouraging, said study author Olivier Colliot, a researcher from the Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging Laboratory at the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris.

Currently, the procedure required to diagnose the disease is "time-consuming and requires specific expertise," explained Colliot.

(Read the full post about ‘Brain Scans Detect Alzheimer’s Disease Quickly (HealthDay)’…)

MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay news) — A powerful weapon against cancer might also boost stroke patients' survival, new research suggests.

Gleevec, long hailed as a "wonder drug" against cancers such as chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), will be tested to see if it can boost the effectiveness and limit the side effects of the clot-dissolving drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), an international team of researchers say.

One of the ways that Gleevec stops the growth of cancer cells is to block receptors of platelet-derived growth factor-CC (PDGF-CC), explained Daniel Lawrence, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Michigan and a member of the research team.

Studies performed at his lab, as well as at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, have both shown that blocking those receptors improves the activity of tPA.

Doctors typically give tPA in the hours after an ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot blocks a brain artery.

(Read the full post about ‘Cancer Drug Gleevec Could Fight Stroke (HealthDay)’…)

MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay news) — U.S. researchers boosted the level of early-stage ovarian cancer detection by 20 percent end use of a blood test to detect a tumor marker as well as a woman's report of new-onset symptoms.

Using either ground of admission alone only uncovered about 60 percent of early-stage ovarian cancers in a high-risk group of women, while the two techniques in union found 80 percent of early-stage tumors, according to finding published Monday in the online version of the journal Cancer.

"They appear to act complementary, and appear to be able to identify women who would not be identified by a madcap sample alone, and conversely would not be identified by symptoms alone," before-mentioned the study's lead author, M.

(Read the full post about ‘Symptoms Plus Blood Test Boost Ovarian Cancer Detection (HealthDay)’…)

TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay news) — The Alzheimer's drug memantine (brand name Namenda) may help reduce a form of brain injury that affects many people premature babies, according to a Children's Hospital Boston study. (Read the full post about ‘Alzheimer’s Drug May Reduce Preemie Brain Injury (HealthDay)’…)

FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay news) — Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with methotrexate have an increased incidence of melanoma and other cancers, an Australian study says.

Methotrexate (MTX) is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) commonly prescribed to RA patients. A link between the drug and cancer has been suggested, and there are even concerns that the drug itself may be carcinogenic, but research examining this concern has proven inconclusive.

This new study included 459 RA patients (309 woman (try women’s health), 150 men) who started treatment with MTX prior to June 1986.

(Read the full post about ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Boosts Melanoma Incidence (HealthDay)’…)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A highly effective leukemia pill may reduce complications and boost the effectiveness of a treatment for the most common type of stroke, an international team of researchers said without interruption Sunday. (Read the full post about ‘Leukemia pill may improve stroke treatment: study (Reuters)’…)

MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay news) — Low socioeconomic status increases a cancer patient's risk of dissolution, say U.S. researchers who analyzed data on almost 14,000 breast, prostate and colorectal patients in seven states. (Read the full post about ‘Poorer Patients Have Poorer Survival After Cancer Diagnosis (HealthDay)’…)

WASHINGTON - Researchers be the subject of uncovered a new clue to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

The brains of people with the memory-robbing form of loss of intellect are cluttered with a plaque made up of beta-amyloid, a sticky protein. But there long has been a question whether this is a cause of the disease or a side effect. Also involved are tangles of a protein called tau; some scientists suspect this is the cause.

Now, researchers have caused Alzheimer’s symptoms in rats by the agency of injecting them with one particular form of beta-amyloid.

(Read the full post about ‘New clue to Alzheimer’s found (AP)’…)

FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay news) — Summer officially starts Saturday and, with it, Major League Baseball is gearing up to warn players and their fans of the dangers of skin cancer.

Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) are kicking off their 10th annual Play Sun Smart campaign on that day, which has been designated Play Sun Smart skin cancer awareness day.

(Read the full post about ‘Pro Baseball Helps Keep Skin Cancer From Scoring (HealthDay)’…)