CPAP Treatment for Sleep Apnea Improves Men's Golf Game

A study shows that men improve their golf game, a 31.5% drop on their handicap, when their sleep apnea is treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. The game improvement is attributed to better concentration, endurance and decision making resulting from the treatment.

Sleep Apnea is a disorder where a person has shallow, obstructed, or paused breathing while asleep. Each pause in breathing is called an apnea. The apnea can vary from a few seconds to a few minutes. A loud snort or choking sound happens when normal breathing resumes.

A person moves out of the deep sleep state into light sleep when breathing is hindered because of sleep apnea. This results in poor sleep quality, fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea treatments involve keeping the air passage open, allowing the patient to breath easily. CPAP therapy uses a device that assists in breathing while the person is sleeping. It is a tight fitting face mask that is attached to a machine to regulate breathing.

In the study, after a six month CPAP therapy improves daytime sleepiness, sleep-related quality of life, and an 11 percent drop in their average golf handicap index.

Lipoxin A4 Discovered To Serve Dual Purpose In Treatment and Management of Asthma

Scientists from from Brigham and Women's Hospital have discovered a molecule that plays a dual role in the treatment and management of asthma.

Asthma is a breathing disorder wherein air passages start to swell and narrow which restricts the airflow to and from the lungs of the patient. The air passages, called bronchioles, start to swell up and tighten resulting in shortness of breath, coughing, tightening of the chest and a wheezing sound while trying to breath.

Asthma can be triggered by chemicals in the air or food, exercise, weather, stress, medicine, and other allergens. Also it is advised that people suffering from asthma to avoid exposure to cigarette smoke and other air born particles such as pollen.

Asthma is an incurable condition and can only be managed and controlled by medication such as inhaled corticosteroids. These help keep the swelling down and reduce the effects of an asthma attack.

The purpose of asthma medication is to reduce the swelling of the bronchioles. Recently, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have discovered a molecule that can be used to effectively treat and manage asthma attacks by both cutting down on the swelling and also inhibiting further inflammation of the bronchioles.

Lipoxin A4's process of quelling airway inflammation is similar to putting out a forest fire, according to Bruce Levy, M.D., Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division, BWH Department of Internal Medicine. Molecular image courtesy of Levy Lab.
Credit: Levy Lab

Research Suggest Beneficial Effect of Probiotic Therapy for HIV Patients

Researchers demonstrate that probiotics can be useful in treating HIV.

Probiotics are the opposite of antibiotics. Antibiotics fight bacterial infections by killing bacteria or inhibit their growth in the body. Probiotics are good bacteria that help in body functions and protect the body from harmful bacteria.

The most common use for probiotics are related to the digestive system. Although there are studies that probiotics can also be applied to therapies for diabetes, cancer, alleriges, anemia, and even cavities.

Some food that are commonly consumed that contains probiotics are yogurt, onions, garlic, sauerkraut, buttermilk and kimchi (a korean dish). There are also probiotic supplements available.

Probiotics are marketed depending on its bacterial strain. Bacillus coagulans and Lactobacillus plantarum are probiotics that are used by people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain are used for gastrointestinal conditions while probiotics containing Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis are for abdominal pain.

As stated on the embedded BBC video, on the average, the effects of probiotics are positive. But the effect of probiotics change from person to person. Most get the beneficial effect of it while others experience the complete opposite.

Non-Surgical Treatment for Neurofibromatosis Type 2 Being Developed

By identifying a new group of growth factor receptors that signal to brain tumors, researchers are confident that they may discover a non-surgical treatment for Neurofibromatosis Type 2.

Neurofibromatosis Type 2 or NF2 is a disorder that causes multiple tumors to develop that affect the nervous system. These tumors are non-cancerous and are called vestibular schwannomas or acoustic neuromas.

There are two types of Neurofibromatosis; Type I and Type II. In type 1 (NF1), the tumors are called neurofibromas and can be found mainly on the skin. NF1 is often considered a skin condition but can carry complications such as learning disabilities, bone problems and nerve tumors inside the body.

NF1 is the most common of the two types affecting 1 in 2,500 people.

Despite having the same name, NF1 and NF2 are two separate conditions and have different causes and symptoms.

Neurofibromatosis Type 2 is the rarest of the two but the most dangerous. Tumors in NF2 start growing on the nerves responsible for hearing and balance. Tumors may also develop on the nerves running down the spine and on the coverings of the brain.

NF2 is caused by a misprint of a gene on Chromosome 22. This misprint can be either inherited from a parent or as a new mutation of the gene. Parents with NF2 has a 50% chance of passing on the misprinted gene to their children.

Stem Cell Treatment For Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) Being Researched

A promising study on stem cell transplantation to treat Lou Gehrig's Disease will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease is a neurological disease that affects voluntary muscle movement.

When a person wants to move a part of the body, like the hand, the signal first starts in the brain (the motor cortex), travels through the central nervous system (the spine) and to the peripheral nervous system (the nerves connecting to the particular muscle).

In ALS, the two systems, The central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) start to deteriorate. There is nothing wrong with the muscle but because the nerve connection is lost, the muscle starts to shrivel up and dies. In advance stages of the disease, the ability to speak is also affected.

ALS is not as common as other neurological diseases like Parkinson's Disease or Alzheimer's Disease. In the United States, 5,600 each year gets diagnosed with ALS and there are around 30,000 Americans living with the disease at any given time.

Although muscle twitches (involuntary small movement of muscles) is a symptom of ALS, these twitches are a common occurrence due to an overactive nerve cell. It doesn't necessarily mean that one has ALS because of it. Difficulty chewing or swallowing, speaking problems, and muscle weakness and stiffness are additional symptoms.

There is no definitive test to diagnose the disease. Instead, physical examinations, blood tests, MRI imaging, and electrical study of nerves and muscles are used to detect the disease.

There is no cure for ALS.

Shear Thinning Hydrogels Developed For Cancer Treatment

Graphic: Christine Daniloff

Gels that can be injected into the body, carrying drugs or cells that regenerate damaged tissue, hold promise for treating many types of disease, including cancer. However, these injectable gels don’t always maintain their solid structure once inside the body.

MIT chemical engineers have now designed an injectable gel that responds to the body’s high temperature by forming a reinforcing network that makes the gel much more durable, allowing it to function over a longer period of time.

The research team, led by Bradley Olsen, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, described the new gels in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Functional Materials. Lead author of the paper is Matthew Glassman, a graduate student in Olsen’s lab. Jacqueline Chan, a former visiting student at MIT, is also an author.

Treating Alcohol Dependence Through Patient Insight Rather Than Abstinence Proposed

On Oct 1997, the journal, Science, published a paper by Alan Leshner. The editorial piece, Addiction Is A Brain Disease, And It Matters, notes that addiction is a "chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use can impact society's overall health and social policy strategies and help diminish the health and social costs associated with drug abuse and addiction..."

Leshner also suggests that treatment for addiction should include biological, behavioral, and social-context components to be effective.

Debate Focuses On Use Of Aspirin In Prevention And Treatment Colorectal Cancer

Aspirin is a very popular drug that is used as a pain killer, anti-inflammatory, and even in managing heart disease through its blood thinning properties.

Now, evidence suggests that it can also be used to treat and manage colon cancer.

A study by the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that colon cancer patients who took 325 milligrams (mg) of aspirin twice a week lowered the risk of dying from colon cancer by 30% compard to those who did not take aspirin.

Patients who were part of the test had an average of eleven years after the cancer has been detected.

Doctors believe that aspirin works in treating colon cancer by blocking an enzyme called COX-2 which is expressed in the cancer tumor. 66% of colorectal cancer produces the COX-2 enzyme.

A long term study by the same group also has shown that for men who have had at least 6 years of regular aspirin use helped in the prevention of colon cancer. Aspirin use for maximum effect was fourteen pills a week or two pills a day.

Doctors warn that despite the positive effects of aspirin, it also comes with risk. Apsirin can cause bleeding in the stomach, intestines and in the brain. Patients who are considering aspirin as part of their therapy or diet should first consult a doctor.

Should aspirin be used to prevent cancer?

Aspirin, the everyday drug taken by countless people around the world to ward off pain and reduce their risk of developing heart disease, may have a new trick up its sleeve –-preventing cancer.

A growing body of evidence suggests that taking aspirin may reduce an individual's chances of developing colorectal cancer and perhaps other malignancies, but whether that evidence is strong enough to outweigh the risks of prescribing it to millions of healthy people is the subject of debate.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2012 Congress in Vienna, both sides of that debate are being aired in front of an audience of experts in one of the meeting's popular Controversy sessions.

Drug Controls Brain Inflammation to Treat Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, and Traumatic Brain Injury

The chemicals also attract white blood cells that "eat" microorganisms and dead or damaged cells. The process where these white blood cells surround, engulf, and destroy foreign substances is called phagocytosis, and the cells are collectively referred to as phagocytes. Phagocytes eventually die. Pus is formed from a collection of dead tissue, dead bacteria, and live and dead phagocytes.

When tissues in the body are injured by bacteria, trauma, toxins, heat or other causes, it triggers an inflammatory response or inflammation.

Chemicals are released by the damaged cells which causes blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissues. This causes swelling that helps isolate the pathogen from doing further damage to the body.

Inflammation also attract white blood cells called phagocytes that consume the microorganisms and affected cells. This process, called phagocytosis, forms pus from the dead tissue, dead bacteria, and live and dead phagocytes.

Proteins associated with inflammation are cytokines. Cytokines are regulators of host responses to infection, immune responses, inflammation, and trauma. Some cytokines act to make disease worse (proinflammatory), whereas others serve to reduce inflammation and promote healing (anti-inflammatory).

New drug could treat Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and brain injury

A new class of drug developed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows early promise of being a one-size-fits-all therapy for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury by reducing inflammation in the brain.

Northwestern has recently been issued patents to cover this new drug class and has licensed the commercial development to a biotech company that has recently completed the first human Phase 1 clinical trial for the drug.

The drugs in this class target a particular type of brain inflammation, which is a common denominator in these neurological diseases and in traumatic brain injury and stroke. This brain inflammation, also called neuroinflammation, is increasingly believed to play a major role in the progressive damage characteristic of these chronic diseases and brain injuries.

By addressing brain inflammation, the new class of drugs -- represented by MW151 and MW189 -- offers an entirely different therapeutic approach to Alzheimer's than current ones being tested to prevent the development of beta amyloid plaques in the brain. The plaques are an indicator of the disease but not a proven cause.

YouTube Videos May Help In Treatment Of Vertigo

Benign Positional Vertigo or Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a condition where the person develops a sudden sensation of spinning. This occurs usually when moving the head. BPVV is the most common cause of vertigo.

This condition is caused by a disturbance in the inner ear. Semicircular canals in the ear are tubes containing fluid. The movement of the fluid within the canals is interpreted by the brain on the body's position and used to maintain balance. When a piece of calcium breaks free and floats within the canals, the brain gets confusing messages about the body's position which results in vertigo.

BPPV can be caused by a head injury or an inner ear infection called labyrinthitis. Even a very small bump in the head can cause BPVV.

Is YouTube a prescription for vertigo?

Watching videos on YouTube may be a new way to show the treatment for a common cause of vertigo, which often goes untreated by physicians, according to a study published in the July 24, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is an inner ear disorder that is a common cause of dizziness.

"This type of vertigo can be treated easily and quickly with a simple maneuver called the Epley maneuver, but too often the maneuver isn't used, and people are told to 'wait it out' or given drugs," said study author Kevin A. Kerber, MD, of the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We found that accurate video demonstrations of the maneuver that health care providers and people with vertigo can use are readily available on YouTube."

For the study, Kerber and his colleagues searched YouTube for videos showing the Epley maneuver and rated their accuracy. They also reviewed the comments posted regarding the videos to see how the videos were used.

"It was good to see that the video with the most hits was the one developed by the American Academy of Neurology when it published its guideline recommending the use of the Epley maneuver in 2008 and then posted on YouTube by a lay person," Kerber said. "But it was also good that the majority of the videos demonstrated the maneuver accurately."

Young Adults With Cancer Especially Women Not Given Enough Advice on Their Fertility After Treatment

Cancer and some cancer treatments can interfere with the ability of the patient to have children.

This is a growing concern among young adults or married couples who plan to raise a family but are sidetracked because of the presence of cancer and/or cancer treatment. The effect of a cancer treatment on fertility depends on the type of cancer treatment that is being performed.

Of the numerous treatments available to control and treat cancer, the following may have a stronger impact on fertility:

• Chemotherapy
• Bone marrow or stem cell transplant
• Radiation treatments
• Surgery
• Hormone Treatments

These procedures inhibit interfere with the body's normal biological process including reproduction.

It is advisable to consult with a doctor of options regarding protecting ones fertility or taking measure to ensure a chance of having children before undergoing cancer treatment. A common option is depositing in an egg/sperm bank before treatment.

Men and women receive different fertility advice following cancer diagnosis

There are significant gaps in the information women receive about their future fertility following cancer diagnosis, suggests a new paper published today (30 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Infertility can be a side-effect of cancer treatment and there are increasing numbers of people of reproductive age undergoing such treatment.

This study - led by the University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian - looks at perceptions and use of fertility preservation techniques in both men and women of reproductive age who have recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Combined Therapy of Epiduo Gel and Doxycycline Provides Powerful Treatment for Acne

Each pore on the surface of the skin is an opening to a canal called a follicle. The follicle also contains a hair and an oil gland (sebaceous gland). The oil gland helps remove old skin cells, keeps the skin lubricated, and prevents drying of tissues.

According to two published studies, a combined therapy of common acne medications have shown to be a powerful and potent regiment in the treatment of sever facial acne.

Acne is a skin condition that causes pimples or "zits." These are spots that results from excess oil getting trapped in the skin pores which results in blockages, infection and build up of bacteria.

It is the most common skin disease. It affects 80% of teenagers and many adults, especially women, 35% being between the ages of 30 and 40. 80% of professional consultations with dermatologists is about acne. While it isn't a life threatening disease, acne can have profound psychological effects on patients, says study co-author and dermatologist Linda Stein Gold, M.D., director of Clinical Research of Dermatology at Henry Ford.

The studies found that a combined therapy of the topical Epiduo Gel containing adapalene and benzoyl peroxide and the antibiotic doxycycline proved more effective at reducing acne lesions compared to other treatment regimens.

Beehive Byproduct Rich in CAPE, Propolis As Treatment For Prostate Cancer

Propolis in a beehive

Apart from nectar, honey bees also collect propolis from tree buds, sap flows, and other botanical sources. Propolis is a resin-like substance.

Rarely available in its pure form, it is usually obtained from beehives.

Bees use it as a sealant in holes and breaches in the beehive. The substance is used for small gaps although larger holes are usually filled with beeswax, a different material altogether. Propolis is sticky but becomes hard and brittle in cold temperatures.

Since 350 B.C. propolis has been recorded to be used for medicinal and health purposes.

Some records of propolis use in different times and cultures are:

• Greeks: Used for abscesses
• Assyrians: Healing wounds and tumors
• Egyptions: Used for mummification

The material is still popular today. Aside for being known as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, it is also used for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Tuberculosis, different variants of flus, and the common cold are some that include propolis use. Even nose and throat cancers are said to be treated by it.

Some apply it directly to the skin for wound cleansing, genital herpes and cold sores. It is also used for the treatment of minor burns and as an mouthwash rinse after oral surgery. Propolis is also included as an ingredient in cosmetics.

Beehive extract shows potential as prostate cancer treatment

An over-the-counter natural remedy derived from honeybee hives arrests the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumors in mice, according to a new paper from researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, or CAPE, is a compound isolated from honeybee hive propolis, the resin used by bees to patch up holes in hives. Propolis has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for conditions ranging from sore throats and allergies to burns and cancer. But the compound has not gained acceptance in the clinic due to scientific questions about its effect on cells.

Many Treatments Available To Help Prevent Migraine Unused

A migraine is a common type of headache. With most people, the migraine is felt on only one side of the head.

Symptoms of a migraine attack may include heightened sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, auras (loss of vision in one eye or tunnel vision), difficulty of speech and intense pain predominating on one side of the head. An aura is a group of symptoms that include vision disturbances (spots, tunnel vision, loss of vision) that signals an oncoming migraine attack.

It is caused by abnormal brain activity and can be triggered by a number of factors. The cause of a migraine is still undetermined. It is believed that it involves a Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder. The CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord. In a migraine, various stimuli or nerve signals may cause a series of neurologic and biochemical events which affect the brain's vascular system. This chain of events starting from the brain, travelling to nerve pathways affect the flow of blood in the brain and its surrounding tissues.

New guidelines: Treatments can help prevent migraine

Research shows that many treatments can help prevent migraine in certain people, yet few people with migraine who are candidates for these preventive treatments actually use them, according to new guidelines issued by the American Academy of Neurology. The guidelines, which were co-developed with the American Headache Society, announced at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans and published in the print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Studies show that migraine is underrecognized and undertreated," said guideline author Stephen D. Silberstein, MD, FACP, FAHS, of Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "About 38 percent of people who suffer from migraine could benefit from preventive treatments, but only less than a third of these people currently use them."

Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) With NanoKnife Technology May Provide Cure for Pancreatic Cancer

A more targeted treatment for cancer cells may be the answer to complicated and inoperable diseases like pancreatic cancer.

Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) is a new minimally invasive technique to treat soft tissue tumors in the liver, lung, prostate, head and neck, kidney and pancreas. It proves a safe option for patients who may have cancerous tumors near blood vessels, ducts or nerves that may otherwise be damaged using other techniques, such as burning through radio frequency/microwave ablation, freezing through cryotherapy or traditional open surgery.

IRE uses electrical energy to target tumors at the cellular level. Using short electrical pulses, IRE breaks open the tumor cell walls, causing the cancer cells to die. The key difference with IRE compared to other treatments is that this electrical field does not produce extreme heat or cold. It may selectively damage the cancerous cells, sparing healthy tissue and structures that may be nearby allowing a more targeted treatment.

Results of a study presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., signal a light at the end of the tunnel for individuals with inoperable locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). A new procedure called irreversible electroporation or IRE uses microsecond electrical pulses to force open and destroy tumor cells around a vast and delicate network of blood vessels of the pancreas. The technique has been successful in treating primary and metastatic liver cancer and IRE is now in the first stages of implementation as a treatment for pancreatic cancer.

"We think in another 12 to 15 months we will have a lot more evidence to support the use of IRE for inoperable pancreatic cancer patients," said Govindarajan Narayanan, M.D., chief of vascular and interventional radiology, associate professor of clinical radiology and program director for the vascular interventional radiology fellowship at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Fla. "If we continue to get good results, this procedure could provide a huge benefit for people who honestly don't have a lot of choices. It could potentially change the rules of how these cases are managed," he added.

Pancreatic tumors are notoriously difficult to treat because any method that uses heat or cold to remove the cancer comes with too much risk of collateral damage to important blood vessels in and around the organ. IRE involves guiding electrode needles into the tumor, which gives cancer cells a series of jolts of localized high-voltage electricity that break open the cell membranes, effectively killing the cancerous tissues around these blood vessels.

Nanobiodevice Consisting of Pond Scum Microbe, Euglena, Used To Detect Cancer

Scientists are utilizing a microbe found in pond scum called Euglena to construct a nanobiodevice that will help detect and treat cancer.

A nanobiodevice is a technology gained from applying nanotechnology and biology. It is a is a piece of contrivance, equipment, machine, or component used for biological, medical, and clinical purposes.

The terms bionanotechnology nanobiotechnology and nanobiology refer to the same technology. During the past decade, nanobiodevice has progressively begun to focus on the establishment of main four fields of biomedical applications of nanotechnology, including

1. Diagnostic Devices
2. Molecular Imaging
3. Regenerative Medicine
4. Drug Delivery Systems.

The Euglena microbe found in pond scum (pea-green surface slicks that form on ponds) are unicellular organisms classified into the Kingdom Protista, and the Phylum Euglenophyta. All euglena have chloroplasts and can make their own food by photosynthesis. They are often abundant in quiet, inland waters such as ponds, where they may bloom in numbers sufficient to color the surface of ponds and ditches green (E. viridis) or red (E. sanguinea).

Scientists are enlisting these living, self-propelled microbes found in pond scum in the development of a long-awaited new test to detect the cells that spread cancer through the bloodstream from the original tumor to new sites in the body.

In a report at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, they described how the test is intended to not only identify the spreading of cells, but allow lab analysis of those cells so that doctors can decide on the most effective treatment.

Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) Provides Safe and Effective Aneurysm Treatment

An emergency treatment that is minimally invasive can effectively treat ruptured abdominal aneurysms with less recovery time, no major surgery and fewer discharges to in-patient care facilities.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a condition when the large blood vessel that supplies blood to the abdomen, pelvis, and legs grows abnormally large or balloons outward. It can be fatal once the blood vessel ruptures.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms develop slowly over many years and do not show any outward symptoms. Once the aneurysm expands rapidly, ruptures, or leaks blood along the blood vessl walls, symptoms will develop suddenly such as:

• Severe, sudden, persistent, or constant pain in the abdomen or back which may radiate to the groin, buttocks, or legs.
• Clammy skin
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rapid heart rate
• Shock

Although the cause for aneurysms are unknown, factors that may raise the risk of abdominal aneurysms are:

• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Emphysema
• Genetic factors
• Obesity

Males are more likely to suffer abdominal aneurysm than women.

A burst aneurysm (a local area of bulge) in the abdominal aorta—the largest blood vessel in the body— is a deadly condition. In fact, about half of these patients don't make it to the hospital in time. Those who do more often than not face open surgery to repair the blood vessel. This study finds that a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for ruptured aneurysms called endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is safer than open surgical repair and is associated with lower mortality rates, say researchers Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a local area of bulge or dilatation in the abdominal aorta. If left untreated, this bulge can increase in size and—after reaching a certain size--it can burst or rupture causing fatal internal bleeding. In the United States, 9 percent of the population over the age of 65 years has an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and there are 15,000 deaths per year from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. A man is four times more likely to suffer an aneurysm of this kind than a woman, and smokers are also four times as likely to develop the condition.

"People with peripheral arterial disease are at risk of an aneurysm, which is a weakening and abnormal bulging of a major artery. Once this area of bulge ruptures, this can lead to fatal internal hemorrhage," explained Prasoon Mohan, M.D., co-author of the study from the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill. "Prior to the development of minimally invasive endovascular repair, it was customary for individuals to undergo open surgery, but now the majority of these elective aneurysm repairs are being done by endovascular technique. It's only a question now of getting clinicians and institutions to use the same technique in emergency settings for ruptured aneurysms," he added.

New Development In Chemotherapy Reduces Side Effects

In a study published in Nature online, scientists are led to a discovery that could reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy or "chemo", is the use of medicines or drugs to treat disease. This procedure is almost always associated with cancer. It works throughout the whole body unlike surgical or and radiation therapy where a certain part of the body is targeted to remove, kill, or damage cancer cells present there. Chemo can kill cancer cells that have metastasized or spread to parts of the body far away from the primary (original) tumor.

More than 100 chemo drugs are used in many combinations. A single chemo drug can be used to treat cancer. But for the most part, the drugs work better when used in certain combinations. This is called combination chemotherapy. A combination of drugs with different actions can work together to kill more cancer cells. It can also reduce the chance that the cancer may become resistant to any one chemo drug.

A team of researchers at Duke University has determined the structure of a key molecule that can carry chemotherapy and anti-viral drugs into cells, which could help to create more effective drugs with fewer effects to healthy tissue.

"Knowing the structure and properties of the transporter molecule may be the key to changing the way that some chemotherapies, for example, could work in the body to prevent tumor growth," said senior author Seok-Yong Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry at Duke.

Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer May Not Be Helpful

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment where radiation is used to destroy cancer cells and prevent the cells from multiplying and spreading. Unlike cancer cells, most normal cells recover from radiation therapy. Doctors try to protect normal cells by limiting the radiation dosage and spreading treatment out over time. X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles are types of radiation used for cancer treatment.

A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that physicians should not routinely use radiation after surgery to treat lung cancer that is advanced but has not widely spread, at least in older patients.