Tag Archives: health

How to improve HPV vaccination rates? It starts with physicians

Moffitt’s research team found only a "modest increase" in physicians who consistently recommended the vaccine to early adolescent girls and no significant increase in recommendations for slightly older girls in so-called "catch-up groups" between the ages of 13 and 26. The goal of universal HPV vaccination is to lower the risk of developing cervical cancer later in life by vaccinating the target age group prior to their first sexual experience. …

Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses

The research team focuses on primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), an aggressive and deadly variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that frequently occurs in people infected with HIV. Though scientists have known that the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) causes PEL, development of effective therapies has proven difficult. PEL tumors arise within body cavities and progress rapidly with an average survival of around 6 months. Combination chemotherapy represents the current standard of care for PEL, but side effects (including bone marrow suppression) and drug resistance (generated through virus-associated mechanisms) continue to limit the effectiveness of standard therapy…

Research uncovers key difference between our bodies’ fight against viruses and bacteria

The study, published in the journal Nature Immunology and led by Professor Uwe Vinkemeier in the University’s School of Life Sciences, centred on STAT1, a protein that can bind DNA and hence plays a vital role in regulating genes in the body. STAT1 responds to interferon signals, hormone-like molecules which control communication between cells to trigger defensive action by the body’s immune system when pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites are detected. …

Evidence of harmful effect of bisphenol A-based plastics

Complex mechanism of action "Our research provides further evidence that the physiological effects of bisphenol A may be even more complex than previously assumed," says Prof Dr Raphael Stoll, head of Biomolecular Spectroscopy at the Ruhr-Universität. "However, we have also discovered other related compounds that indicate which path the future development of pharmaceutically effective substances against GTPase-mediated tumours may take," adds synthetic chemist Prof Dr Jürgen Scherkenbeck from Wuppertal. Bisphenol A impairs the function of GTPases Small GTPases are enzymes that occur in two states within the cell: in the active form when bound to the GTP molecule; and in the inactive form when bound to GDP, a lower-energy form of GTP. …

Nomogram to determine individualized estimates of screen-detected prostate cancer overdiagnosis

The authors used a standard definition of overdiagnosis to refer to a cancer that would not have become symptomatic or clinically identifiable if it had not been detected by screening. Overdiagnosed cancers do not pose a risk to the patient and do not require treatment, which is associated with significant risks of impotence and incontinence. …