Despite the revised guidelines, about half of the obstetrician-gynecologists surveyed in a recent study said they continue to provide annual exams — an outdated practice that may be more harmful than helpful, said Drs. …
In laboratory studies of cells, investigators found that knocking down expression of FAM190A disrupts mitosis. In three pancreatic cancer-cell lines and a standard human-cell line engineered to be deficient in FAM190A, researchers observed that cells often had difficulty separating at the end of mitosis, creating cells with two or more nuclei. The American Journal of Pathology published a description of the work online May 17, which comes nearly a century after German scientist Theodor Boveri linked abnormal mitosis to cancer…
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/28/family-reveals-10-year-old-girl-who-fought-organ-donation-guidelines-had-second/
In most tumors, the communication between the individual cells is disturbed and the cells permanently receive growth and survival signals. For this reason, drugs are increasingly used in modern tumor therapy that targets those molecules to shut down these faulty signals. Hitherto, however, it has been difficult to predict the success of such a therapy, since the signal molecules are integrated into an extremely complex cellular network, which, moreover, reacts differently for each patient, depending on the mutations the tumor bears. The research group headed by Nils Blüthgen, Charité Institute of Pathology, has now examined how the interconnection of such a cellular network affects the effectiveness of a therapy…
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/20/4-transparency-issues-under-obamacare/
Fewer CT scans were done on American children in recent years after a steep increase from 1996 to 2005, a new study showed, but medical experts said they remain concerned that too many youngsters are being unnecessarily exposed to the procedure's harmful radiation. Medical experts said that about one-third of kids who receive the scans likely are exposed unnecessarily to radiation from the equipment. Ionizing radiation from computed tomography equipment, which uses X-rays to examine internal organs for bleeding, fractures or cancer, among other purposes, has been linked in previous studies to increased risk of cancer. Children appear particularly vulnerable because their organs are still developing and they have a longer period for cancer to form. In Monday's study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers examined the rates and radiation dosages of CT scans used in children across seven large U.S. health-maintenance organizations between 1996 and 2011. The study examined data on the 152,000 to 370,000 children who got scans each year, for a total of 4.85 million child-years of observation. One child-year refers to data for one child over one year. For the 10 years up to 2005, use of scans doubled in kids younger than 5 and tripled in those aged 5 to 14. The rates then plateaued between 2006 and 2007 and began to decline between 2008 and 2010. “This is adding more to the body of knowledge of we're…overdoing CT scans in general and ionizing radiation in everyone, especially children,” said Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, Calif., who studies medical technologies and wasn't involved in the current study. The recent decrease may be connected in part to growing concerns about cancer risk from CT radiation, but probably also is related to a push to reduce unnecessary and expensive testing, said Diana Miglioretti, the first author on the study and a biostatistics professor at the University of California, Davis. Health-care spending of many types fell during the recession. However, there still likely is overuse of CT scans in children, Dr. Miglioretti said. For instance, medical evidence suggests that children with suspected appendicitis first should get an ultrasound, which doesn't use radiation, but many times they receive a CT scan initially. The researchers also used radiation-dosage information for CT scans, combined with prior studies on the amount of radiation associated with cancer, to project how many additional cancers might result from CT scans in childhood. They found that the highest risk was for abdomen scans, where one case of cancer could be expected in 300 to 400 girls and one in 700 to 800 boys who received such a scan. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/experts-worry-over-possible-link-between-child-ct-scans-and-cancer/
This landmark study is published in the June 6, 2013 issue of the journal Science. Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of Oncological Sciences led the team that discovered a mutation in the tumor suppressor gene PTEN, which has subsequently been recognized as the second most common mutation in cancer, especially in breast, prostate, and brain cancers. PTEN encodes a 403 amino acid lipid phosphatase protein that is critical to cellular growth, proliferation, and survival…
In a breakthrough discovery, researchers have discovered a treatment capable of reducing the debilitating autoimmune response that occurs in people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). When patients are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, their bodies begin to attack the protein myelin, which insulates the body’s spinal cord, brain and optic nerves. As a result, MS patients experience symptoms such as numbness in their limbs, paralysis and sometimes blindness. However, during a phase one clinical trial of a new treatment for MS patients, researchers were able to curtail the body’s attacks on myelin by 50 to 75 percent, while sustaining the functionality of the rest of the immune system. Current treatments for MS seek to lessen the body’s autoimmune response to myelin, but this often results in decreased effectiveness of the entire immune system. “Most therapies for autoimmune diseases employ approaches broadly called immunosuppressors – they knock down immune response without specificity,” study co-author Stephen Miller, professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com.  “People can become highly susceptible to everyday infections and develop higher rates of cancer.” Miller and his colleagues sought a more targeted ‘tolerance’ treatment that would leave the greater immune system intact while knocking out only the autoimmune response to myelin. “In MS, the idea is to target autoreactive T-cells directed against myelin…which would (reduce) disease progression, but wouldn’t make patient susceptible to higher rates of infection,” Miller said. In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, a small group of MS patients were treated intravenously with an infusion of their own white blood cells, which had been engineered to carry billions of myelin antigens. Researchers hoped the cells would teach the body to stop attacking myelin. Miller and his team needed to determine if the treatment, which was based on 30 years of previous research, could be safely applied in humans – and they were pleased to discover it could be. “It was safe to infuse as many as 3 billion autologous cells that we collected and manipulated back into the same patient and didn’t trigger exacerbations,” Miller said. “Most patients didn’t show any increased signs of disease during the six-month follow up.” Furthermore, the treatment did not seem to impede the larger immune system. Researchers tested this by analyzing whether or not each patient continued to retain their immunity to tetanus, for which all of the patients had previously been vaccinated. “Among four patients receiving the highest doses (of autologous cells),  immune response to myelin antigens had diminished or gone away - but tetanus had not gone away,” Miller said. This indicated that the immune system’s ability to fight other diseases after the procedure remained intact. Though researchers caution that the study was too small to draw any significant conclusions, they are optimistic about the outcomes of larger studies and the ability of this treatment to help halt the progress of MS – particularly among recently-diagnosed patients. “The idea is that if we’re able to intervene early enough in disease process, we can stop the autoimmune destruction and (the patient) will have little or no clinical deficit as result of earlier attacks before being diagnosed,” Miller said. Researchers hope to receive funding to begin a phase two trial soon.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/medical-breakthrough-for-multiple-sclerosis-sufferers/
I am now totally convinced that our current federal government loves confusion. When you have a single agenda, and many ways to spin it, the American public never gets a clear answer and that is exactly what has happened with the Plan B emergency contraception controversy. A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make certain forms of the emergency contraception pill available to children of all ages, without a prescription. This is exactly what I have been warning the American public about. One has to remember that the FDA first approved this form of over-the-counter contraception for women of all ages back in 2011. When that initial FDA ruling came out, there was a loud public outcry and restrictions were quickly put in place barring women under the age of 17 from purchasing these pills. But of course, that was just one spin on the story. In April, a New York judge ruled that restricting access to Plan B was inappropriate, forcing the FDA to reconsider their initial finding that emergency contraception should be available to children of all ages. And then, we got a third spin on the story, as the FDA tried to lower the age limit for access to emergency contraception to15 in May. There was another outcry and more criticism, because we know perfectly well that a 15-year-old may not have a clear understanding of how to utilize emergency contraception. Now, we see that an appeals court is forcing the FDA to do what they wanted to do in the first place. How convenient. And the final ruling is still unclear, after the court decided on Wednesday that while the two-pill version of emergency contraception can now be sold over-the-counter to women of all ages, the one-pill version will still only be sold to women age 17 or older. The court did not explain its reasoning. While there is still a lot of confusion about the ruling, it seems as though the FDA will ultimately get its way. So, what’s the message here? The polarizing health care agenda of this federal government is like a train without a stop and parents need to be aware of this. As I have said before, this is a medication. Yes, I know that it is safe – but it does have side effects. Side effects to Plan B can include, but are not limited to: migraines, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and blood clots. If this drug is available to young children, it might lead to problems including the misuse of the medication and the risk that children will utilize this as a regular form of contraception. Furthermore, it will exclude parents from the decision-making process. And in my opinion, parents can be very valuable in counseling children about proper behavior and doing the right thing. This is taking parents and caregivers out of the equation and inhibiting their ability to help their children live a healthy and happy life. America, we are being bamboozled. Wake up and pay attention.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/dr-manny-government-must-stop-bamboozling-americans-about-plan-b/
We asked several industry insiders to help us peel back the covers on your home away from home. Here's how to make the most of any stay.  “Eco-Friendly” Actually Means “Dirty Sheets” Here's a travel tip you might not have heard: Bedspreads are often cleaned just once a month. But sheets can dodge detergent, too.  “Some hotels take a unique approach to the water-conservation trend,” the housekeeping director we interviewed said. “Unless they look soiled, sheets may not be changed.” The solution: Ask for fresh sheets.  “When I travel, I change my own sheets,” one hotel director said.  Know what else you should change while you're on the road? Your diet. (Find out how one Men's Health reader wedged tough workouts and smart dining into his busy schedule.) Your Bill is Bogus The average business traveler is overcharged $11.35 a night, according to an audit of hotel bills by Corporate Lodging Consultants, a firm that helps companies and governments trim travel costs. Beware of fees for fridges, or anything labeled “local.” The solution: Question every charge, especially at the end of the month, one hotel controller said.  “It's unbelievable what managers do to make budget.” Even worse than the managers are some of the offerings at the morning buffet. (Avoid these 8 killer breakfast foods.) Upgrades Can Come Cheap Here's a travel tip from insiders: Upgrade at check-in. Full occupancy is rare - the average is 63 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and suites are often vacant.  “A smart manager knows that the cost to clean a suite is roughly the same as for a regular room,” one manager said. The solution: Make the hotel more money. Offer 20 percent more than your current rate for the upgrade; you could be sleeping in a suite. (Just make sure you're sleeping in style with this well-traveled wardrobe.) Some Souvenirs Have Legs Hotels are a haven for bedbugs. Pest-control companies say hotels account for more than 37 percent of their bedbug business, according to Pest Control Technology magazine. The solution: Search for your hotel on bedbugregistry.com. Scan mattress and couch creases for the reddish brown bloodsuckers and their black droppings, Jason Rasgon, a public-health professor at Johns Hopkins, said. At home, dry your clothes on high for 45 minutes to kill stowaways. The Bathroom is Cleaner Than the TV Remote  Often, the worst germ incubators are the frequently touched surfaces: the thermostat dial, phone, and remote. Chuck Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, actually found more traces of fecal matter on these surfaces than in the bathroom. The solution: Use hand sanitizer, and wash your hands frequently. A recent study reported that cold germs linger for more than a day on surfaces.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/dirt-on-hotel-rooms/