Several new biomarkers have been recently described in Heart Failure (HF) syndrome either in stable chronic patients as in the settings of acute decompensation. Biomarkers are used to diagnose disease risk, to predict outcome and to tailor treatment to individuals. Speaking at a press conference at Heart Failure 2009 in Nice, France, Prof Piotr Ponikowski, spokesperson for the European Society of Cardiology, presented these new findings, namely: Continue Reading »
Although heart failure is a chronic condition, acute exacerbations are frequent and occur with serious complications; patients with heart failure and their families can help improve prognosis in acute events if they are taught to recognise the tell-tale signs of worsening condition and seek immediate medical help. “Any delayed recognition of these signs is associated with an increased rate of hospitalisation and complications, including mortality,” says Professor Ferenc Follath from the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland. Continue Reading »
The individualised management programme of France’s “Réseau Respecti-coeur” makes quality of life the first objective for heart failure patients, and one of the network’s dieticians, Mme Hélène Guibert, explained that the heart-healthy eating recommended in the programme need not be a source of frustration or misery – even for a Frenchman. “For many old people,” she told Heart Failure Congress 2009, “meals are important occasions, and it’s our aim to bring together at these times health and pleasure.” Continue Reading »
A new, international study found that the combination of two drugs delays disease progression for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results from the Phase III “ATLAS” trial were presented today by Dr. Vincent Miller of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Continue Reading »
A new blood test used in combination with a conventional prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening sharply increases the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis, and could eliminate tens of thousands of unneeded, painful, and costly prostate biopsies annually, according to a study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
At the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla., William K. Oh, M.D., and Robert W. Ross, M.D., will report that the six-gene molecular diagnostic test, when combined with a PSA test, accurately detected prostate cancer more than 90 percent of the time. Earlier studies suggest that the conventional PSA test is 60-70 percent accurate in detecting cancer. The findings will be discussed at a poster session on May 31. Continue Reading »
Immunology researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how two biochemical signals play unique roles in promoting the development of a group of immune cells employed as tactical assassins.
In their initial response, these immune cells, known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes, or CTLs, kill cells infected with pathogens. They also provide long-term protection against pathogens by “remembering” which proteins the pathogen makes. Targeting the ability of these CTLs to remember the pathogen is one way vaccines protect against infection. Continue Reading »
The health of our skin — one of the body’s first lines of defense against illness and injury — depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface. To better understand this balance, National Institutes of Health researchers have set out to explore the skin’s microbiome, which is all of the DNA, or genomes, of all of the microbes that inhabit human skin. Continue Reading »
A long-proposed tool for hunting planets has netted its first catch — a Jupiter-like planet orbiting one of the smallest stars known.
The technique, called astrometry, was first attempted 50 years ago to search for planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets. It involves measuring the precise motions of a star on the sky as an unseen planet tugs the star back and forth. But the method requires very precise measurements over long periods of time, and until now, has failed to turn up any exoplanets. Continue Reading »
Most chemical elements become superconducting at low temperatures or high pressures, but until now, copper, silver, gold, and the semiconductor germanium, for example, have all refused superconductivity. Scientists at the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) research center were now able to produce superconducting germanium for the first time. Furthermore, they could unravel a few of the mysteries which come along with superconducting semiconductors. Continue Reading »
Hyperkyphosis, or “dowager’s hump” — the exaggerated forward curvature of the upper spine seen commonly in elderly women — may predict earlier death in women whether or not they have vertebral osteoporosis, UCLA researchers have found.
In a study published in the May 19 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that older white women with both vertebral fractures and the increased spinal curvature that results in the bent-over posture characteristic of hyperkyphosis had an elevated risk for earlier death. The finding was independent of other factors that included age and underlying spinal osteoporosis. Continue Reading »
