Hepatitis B viruses in bats
Hepatitis B virus (HBV, illustrated) is a substantial human pathogen. WHO estimates that there are now 240,000,000 individuals chronically infected with HBV worldwide, of which 25% will die from chronic liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma. The hepatitis B virus vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection. Because there are no known animal reservoirs of the virus, it is believed that HBV could be globally eradicated. The recent finding of HBV in bats raises the possibility of zoonotic introduction of the virus.
Serum and liver samples from 3,080 bats from Panama, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, Papua New Guinea...
Source: virology blog - October 18, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information bat hepadnaviridae hepatitis b virus hepatocellular carcinoma liver viral zoonosis Source Type: blogs
Esteya System for Skin Cancer Treatment Gets FDA 510(k) Clearance (VIDEO)
Nucletron, an Elekta company based in Atlanta, GA, has received FDA clearance for the Esteya electronic brachytherapy system for treating patients with skin cancer. According to the CDC, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, and each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. Though surgery is the main treatment strategy for skin cancer, High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy for nonmelanomatous skin cancer, such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, provides an alternative treatment option. Electronic...
Source: Medgadget - October 4, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gaurav Krishnamurthy Tags: Dermatology Oncology Plastic Surgery Source Type: blogs
I’ve unintentionally made most of my doctors uncomfortable
Since becoming ill, I’ve learned that I have the innate ability to make doctors very uncomfortable – squirmy, even. It’s surprising because I had assumed medical professionals with decades of experience have fielded every possible question a patient might ask.
But I suppose I’m not a typical patient. In November 2011, I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer (bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, a subset of adenocarcinoma) with extensive spread to the mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. At the ripe old age of 30, I joined a very exclusive club of young, non-smoking women with this rare cancer.
What I’m discussin...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 27, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Patient Cancer Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
Most common cause of death in older women
:
a) Uterine malignancy
b) Carcinoma breast
c) Cardiovascular disease
d) None of the above
Correct answer: c) Cardiovascular disease (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - September 25, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs
Pillow Talk? Aveo Execs, Stock Prices And Conflicts Of Interest
Here is a curious chain of events. On May 18, 2012, Ronald DePinho, who co-founded Aveo Pharmaceuticals and was a board member at the time, touted the stock on CNBC. But just 11 days earlier, his wife, Lynda Chin, who is another co-founder, attended a meeting of the Aveo scientific advisory board, where the agenda included discussion of troubles with a clinical trial for a key cancer drug.
The trial had compared tivozanib, which was being developed for treating renal cell carcinoma, against Bayer’s Nexavar, but results indicated that patient survival was less with the Aveo drug. That meeting was held prior to a meeting A...
Source: Pharmalot - September 16, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Shannon’s Story: Confronting Ovarian Cancer
My name is Shannon. I am from Charlotte, NC. I am married.
In July of 2009, I had just returned from my dream vacation to France. Not even a month later, following a few trips to the gynecologist with complaints of abdominal pain, I was sitting in the office of a gynecologic oncologist. I had never even heard those words used in a sentence. I was being prepped for surgery to remove a cyst.
One week later, I was diagnosed with Stage IIa clear cell carcinoma, a form of ovarian cancer considered rare in younger women. Within two weeks of being diagnosed, I had a radical hysterectomy and a few weeks ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - September 12, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Cancer Caregiving Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, September 6, 2013
From MedPage Today:
MRI No Help for Breast Cancer Recurrence After DCIS. Perioperative MRI did not reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence after treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
Warnings on Packs Deter Kids From Smoking. The addition of graphic warnings on cigarette packs were more likely to discourage teens from smoking than when warnings were text-only, but did little to dissuade teens who were already regular smokers.
Antidepressants Have No Effect on Bone Loss. The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclic antidepressants among women in midlife didn’t lead to a greater...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 6, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer Endocrinology Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Disappearance of risk after smoking cessation
The time taken for risk for developing coronary artery disease to approach that of non smokers after smoking cessation:
a) Soon after cessation
b) One year
c) Three to five years
d) None of the above
Correct answer: c) Three to five years
The coronary risk comes down by fifty percent one year after smoking cessation. The risk for developing coronary artery disease approaches that of non smokers three to five years after smoking cessation. But the risk for developing chronic obstructive airways disease and bronchogenic carcinoma may persist for even a decade after smoking cessation. (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - September 5, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs
It's an epidemic!
OMG! The incidence of thyroid cancer has tripled in the U.S. in the past 30 years, from 3.6 cases/100,000 to 11.6. Is it radioactive fallout? Pesticides? Vaccination? Fluoridation?Nope. It's CT scans. And you can relax. They aren't causing thyroid cancer, they're finding abnormal cells which in the past, nobody would have detected. But, as Brito, Morris and Montori tell us at the linked article (which I don't think you can read but that's okay, I'll tell you what's in it), they aren't actually cancer after all.There are four different kinds of thyroid "cancer," the most common of which is called papillary carcinoma. Guess ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - August 30, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
What's in a name?
If the name is "cancer," plenty. When people are told they have cancer, they ordinarily are terrified. And they and their doctors feel compelled to do something about it. Doing something about cancer normally means surgery, chemotherapy, radiation -- all extremely expensive, unpleasant, and in fact damaging to your health.It turns out, however, that since we've undertaken massive programs to screen the general population for what is generally called cancer, we've been detecting a lot of phenomena which, if untreated, would never hurt anyone. But the doctor tells the person "You have cancer," and off we go.The Nationa...
Source: Stayin' Alive - July 31, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Lets redefine cancer
The question has arisen as to how to redefine cancer. A scientific panel states we are using a 19th century definition in the 21st century. The issue is should some precancerous conditions be redefined with out the use of the words cancer or carcinoma."In one example, they say that some premalignant conditions, such as one that affects the breast called ductal carcinoma in situ — which many doctors agree is not cancer — should be renamed to exclude the word carcinoma. That way, patients are less frightened and less likely to seek what may be unneeded and potentially harmful treatments that can include the sur...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - July 30, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: cancer diagnosis Source Type: blogs
First Person: I’ve Been Diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Invasive Breast Cancer
This Yahoo Contributor shares how her life has changed since recently being diagnosed with breast cancer.Contributor: Lee HansenPublished: Jun 29, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - June 29, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs
Paget's disease if Nipple- Review
Clinical:
Approximately 1%–3% of women with adenocarcinoma of the
breast have Paget disease. Clinically-Paget disease has common dermatitis-like appearance,
as originally described in 1874, when Sir James Paget recorded that such
lesions may resemble “ordinary chronic eczema” or present as nipple erosion or
ulceration. Paget disease often has a deceptively banal clinical morphology but
should lead the list of differential diagnoses when evaluating unilateral
lesions of the nipple–areola complex in adults.
Paget disease presenting with nipple erosion.
Most women with the histopathologic finding o...
Source: Oncopathology - June 28, 2013 Category: Pathologists Tags: Breast Biopsy Procedure Breast Carcinoma vs. Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma a common misdiagnosis. Source Type: blogs
Paget's disease if Nipple- Review
Clinical:Approximately 1% –3% of women with adenocarcinoma of the breast have Paget disease. Clinically-Paget disease has common dermatitis-like appearance, as originally described in 1874, when Sir James Paget recorded that such lesions may resemble “ordinary chronic eczema” or present as nipple erosion or ulceration. Paget disease often has a deceptively banal clinical morphology but should lead the list of differential diagnoses when evaluating unilateral lesions of the nipple–areola complex in adults.Paget disease presenting with nipple erosion. Most women with the histopathologic finding of Paget disease ...
Source: Oncopathology - June 28, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: a common misdiagnosis. breast Breast Biopsy Procedure Breast Carcinoma vs. Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma Source Type: blogs
