A vaccine-like cure for cancer has successfully treated 97 percent of mice in a study. Human clinical trials are set to start later this year, embarking on an ‘exciting’ phase in cancer history. ( Adalberto Roque | Getty Images ) A vaccine-like cure for cancer successfully removes 97 percent of tumors in mice, although its translation to...
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Early age-related macular degeneration linked to high HDL
(HealthDay)—There is a higher risk for early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in individuals with high plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, according to a study published online March 29 in JAMA Ophthalmology. Valentine Saunier, M.D., from the Université de Bordeaux in France, and colleagues describe the incidence and associated risk factors of AMD among 659 residents of...
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CRISPR paper that sent stocks tumbling is retracted
A scientific paper that purported to lay bare serious flaws in the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR and briefly tanked shares of genome-editing companies has been retracted by its publisher. The paper, published last year in Nature Methods, claimed that CRISPR wreaked havoc on the genome, causing hundreds of unintended mutations in mice — and that the...
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Aggressive Meningioma Linked to Transcription Factor Activity
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – A new integrated ‘omics analysis suggests that the transcription factor FOXM1 can act as a meningioma driver, prompting proliferation, progression, and relatively poor outcomes in individuals with the disease, a primary central nervous system tumor that forms in meninges tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. As they reported online today in Cell Reports,...
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Pediatric cancer drug shows 93 percent response rate
Briana Ayala, left, with her oncologist, Dr. Ted Laetsch. Dr. Laetsch had Briana’s tumor tested for a TRK fusion and then successfully treated her with larotrectinib. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center A first-of-its-kind drug targeting a fused gene found in many types of cancer was effective in 93 percent of pediatric patients tested, researchers at...
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Researchers describe the dynamics of P. falciparum infections in adults without fever
Health care workers visit households in Southern Mozambique to identify men infected with the malaria parasite but presenting no symptoms. Credit: Beatriz Galatas Asymptomatic malaria occurs when parasites are present in an individual’s blood, but do not cause fever or other symptoms. These “afebrile” infections can be detected either by classical diagnostic tests (if there...
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Islet transplantation improves quality of life in T1DM
(HealthDay)—There are significant improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following islet transplantation in patients with type 1 diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycemia, according to a study published online March 21 in Diabetes Care. Eric D. Foster, Ph.D., from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues evaluated HRQOL, functional health status, and health utility...
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New facial expression app to monitor mood in stroke patients
A new medical app that helps brain-damaged stroke patients communicate how they are feeling has been developed and tested by researchers at the University of Nottingham. There are around 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK and many of them have life-changing disabilities that can lead to severe depression or anxiety. It is important to monitor...
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Preventing tumors from shedding their identifying proteins allows immune system to attack
A team of researchers with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the U.S. has found that introducing an antibody into a cancerous mouse model prevented the escape of ligands from a tumor surface allowing natural killer cells to attack. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their technique...
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Non-invasive test can detect Urothelial cancer
(HealthDay)—UroSEEK, which uses DNA recovered from cells shed into urine, can detect urothelial cancer, according to a study published online March 20 in eLife. Simeon U. Springer, from the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics in Baltimore, and colleagues developed a test to detect urothelial neoplasms that incorporates massive parallel sequencing assays for mutations in...