Improved methods validate the use of blood samples for studying patients’ cancer genomes Improved methods validate the use of blood samples for studying patients’ cancer genomes. Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Koch Institute at MIT, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed an accurate, scalable approach for monitoring cancer...
Category: <span>Diagnostic</span>
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Two simple tests can ID fibromyalgia in pain patients
(HealthDay)—Two simple tests can indicate a probable diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM) in patients with chronic pain, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. Kim D. Jones, Ph.D., from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and colleagues studied 352 patients scheduled for routine examination in two primary care practices....
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An Eye Scan for Alzheimer’s Disease?
Researchers aim for a routine screen to detect the neurodegenerative disease—decades before symptoms appear. Neurodegenerative diseases are tough nuts to crack, not just because of the inherent difficulties of sorting through what has gone awry, and why, but also due to a dearth of biomarkers that could help spot the diseases and track their progression....
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Brain Patterns May Predict People At Risk Of Suicide
People who are thinking about killing themselves appear to have distinctive brain activity that can now be measured by a computer. In these people, words like “death” and “trouble” produce a distinctive “neural signature” not found in others, scientists report in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. More than 44,000 people commit suicide in the U.S. each year. “There...
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Research pinpoints powerful biomarker of multiple sclerosis
Demyelination by MS. The CD68 colored tissue shows several macrophages in the area of the lesion. Original scale 1:100. A breakthrough study led by the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital has revealed unique molecules in the blood of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that could become definitive...
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Focused ultrasound shows promise for treating Parkinson’s tremor
Jeff Elias, MD, of the University of Virginia Health System, pioneered the use of focused ultrasound for essential tremor, the most common movement disorder, and is now testing it for Parkinson’s tremor. An initial test to determine if a scalpel-free form of brain surgery can reduce tremor caused by Parkinson’s disease has produced encouraging...
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Elastography and color doppler improve breast ultrasound
(HealthDay)—The combination of elastography and color Doppler ultrasonography (US) with B-mode US in women with dense breasts can increase the positive predictive value of screening and reduce the number of false-positives, according to a study published in the November issue of Radiology. Su Hyun Lee, M.D., from Seoul National University Hospital in Korea, and colleagues investigated...
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Is there a conflict of interest behind your cancer diagnosis?
YALE ROSEN/CREATIVE COMMONS My mother was astonished when I told her about the national Open Payments database that was launched by the Affordable Care Act. “You mean I can see all the money drug companies have given to a doctor? Even my doctor?” We plugged her doctor’s name into the database and up it popped, associated with...
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Blood test can effectively rule out breast cancer, regardless of breast density
A new study published in PLOS ONE demonstrates that Videssa Breast, a multi-protein biomarker blood test for breast cancer, is unaffected by breast density and can reliably rule out breast cancer in women with both dense and non-dense breast tissue. Nearly half of all women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue. “Women who have dense breasts...
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Symmetrical Eyes Indicate Dyslexia
People who read normally tend to have one dominant eye while people with dyslexia do not, research shows. asymmetrical retinas and also transmit visual information to the brain asymmetrically, according to a report out today (October 18) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The eyes of people with dyslexia, on the other hand, appear to...