Tumors involving the pancreatic head or the common bile duct usually present with biliary obstruction or jaundice. However, biliary obstruction could also be due to benign processes such as bile duct stones…
In lung cancer, the formation of that niche likely involves immune cells and moderate levels of VEGF and other molecules that promote the formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis. But little is known about how the local lining, or endothelial, cells are activated at the niche…
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/21/infertile-men-may-be-at-greater-risk-for-developing-cancer/
A new study has pinpointed a single gene that appears to both strengthen the heart –  without exercise – and halt the spread of breast cancer. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that the gene HEXIM1, discovered in 2012, not only suppressed the spread of breast cancer in mouse models, but also made the mice’s hearts healthier. with respect to enhanced strength and size. Normally, exercise helps to strengthen the heart and increase its size. However, researchers found that when the HEXIM1 gene was re-expressed in adult mouse hearts, their hearts grew in weight and size - without exercise. Researchers say this discovery has the potential to help treat people with cardiovascular disease. “Our Cleveland-based collaborative research teams revealed that increasing HEXIM1 levels brought normal functioning hearts up to an athletic level, which could perhaps stand up to the physical insults of various cardiovascular diseases,” said Michiko Watanabe, professor of pediatrics, genetics, and anatomy at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Research at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. Common cardiovascular diseases like hypertension and heart failure create a shortage of both oxygen and necessary nutrients in the heart muscles, preventing blood from circulating at a satisfactory rate. This ultimately results in a distended heart, which can continually grow weaker and has the potential to stop at any given moment. However, researchers showed that the artificial enhancement of HEXIM1 led to increased blood vessel growth and enhanced overall functionality of the heart. In essence, HEXIM1 could potentially serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of heart disease. Researchers also found that HEXIM1 increased the number and density of blood vessels in the heart, decreased the animals’ resting heart rates and allowed the transgenic heart to circulate more blood per heartbeat.  The study also demonstrated that untrained genetically altered mice with the HEXIM1 gene were capable of running twice as long compared to unaltered mice. Lead researcher Monica Montano, associate professor of pharmacology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center member, and creator of the mice for the heart and breast cancer research, was very proud of the research’s findings. “Our promising discovery reveals the potential for HEXIM1 to kill two birds with one stone – potentially circumventing heart disease as well as cancer, the country's leading causes of death,” Montano stated. The study’s results add to previous findings from the team’s research, which revealed last year that increasing levels of HEXIM1 expression led to the inhibition of breast cancer metastasis. Given the discovery of the gene’s two therapeutic benefits, the researchers are currently developing a more potent version of the drug hexamethylene-bisacetamide, which is meant to enhance HEXIM1 expression. “Many cancer drugs have detrimental effects on the heart,” said Dr. Mukesh K. Jain, professor of medicine and director of Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “It would be beneficial to have a cancer therapeutic with no adverse effects on the heart and perhaps even enhance its function.” The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cardiovascular Research.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/14/newly-discovered-gene-strengthens-heart-fights-breast-tumors/
A one-hour educational session followed by personalized feedback helped pediatricians more closely align their antibiotic prescribing habits with national guidelines, in a new study. Researchers found fewer doctors in the program prescribed a drug that could increase the risk of antibiotic resistance for children with pneumonia or a sinus infection, compared to those who received no extra guidance. “We tried to keep it relatively simple,” said Dr. Jeffery Gerber, who led the new study at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. “Our hope is that any practice with an electronic health record would be able to adopt this strategy.” The potential for antibiotic resistance - when bacteria no longer respond to certain drugs - exists any time an antibiotic is used. Researchers have focused on limiting overuse or misuse of those drugs, in hopes they will continue to work when needed. One strategy for preventing resistance is to prescribe the antibiotic most specifically targeted to a particular infection, rather than a “broad-spectrum” antibiotic that can kill many types of bacteria. For their new study, Gerber and his colleagues tracked how often pediatricians prescribed a broad-spectrum drug versus “narrow-spectrum” options such as penicillin and amoxicillin, which are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for conditions like pneumonia and sinus infections. Their data came from 162 doctors at 18 pediatric primary care practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, nine of which received the year-long education and electronic feedback intervention. In the 20 months before the initial education session, doctors prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics to 27 percent of kids with common respiratory infections. During the program, that fell to 14 percent. In comparison, the decline in antibiotic misuse was much smaller at practices where doctors didn't receive education or feedback: from 28 percent to 23 percent, Gerber's team reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers did not see a reduction in how often antibiotics were inappropriately prescribed for viral conditions - but those numbers were low to begin with, they said. Dr. Adam Hersh, who studies pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said doctors in general are getting better at not prescribing antibiotics when they won't help, such as for the common cold. But concerns about increasing resistance continue. “Despite the success in the decline in overall antibiotic use that we've seen over the last decade, at the same time there's still an ongoing problem and even increasing problem of overuse of unnecessarily broad-spectrum antibiotics,” he said. Narrow-spectrum drugs “will limit the collateral damage that goes along with antibiotic prescribing,” said Hersh, who didn't participate in the new study. And they're often cheaper than broad-spectrum versions. He said the program used in the new study has the advantage of being relatively cheap and non-intrusive, so it's likely to work for other types of practices. Still, it's unclear from these findings whether the rate of broad-spectrum prescribing would stay down after doctors stopped getting regular antibiotic-related feedback, Gerber and his colleagues noted. Hersh said parents can do their part by asking if an antibiotic is really necessary when the doctor prescribes one, as well as if it's the most appropriate version. “The number one thing is to make sure the kid gets the best medication that cures their infection,” Gerber said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/program-helped-limit-antibiotic-misuse-in-kids/
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – & Saudi Arabia has confirmed four new cases of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS that appears centered in the Arabian Peninsula but that has also been reported in Europe. The official Saudi Press Agency said Tuesday that one patient was treated and released from a hospital, while three others remain under medical care. Saudi authorities have reported nearly 30 cases since the virus was identified last year. Other cases have appeared in France, Germany and Britain, possibly linked to travel in the Gulf region. The novel coronavirus has killed at least 18 people since September 2012. The new virus is related to SARS, which killed some 800 people in a global epidemic in 2003, and belongs to a family of viruses that most often causes the common cold.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/saudi-arabia-confirms-4-new-cases-deadly-sars-linked-virus/