BMJ Raises Concerns Over The Effectiveness Of A Costly And Invasive Procedure For Melanoma
BMJ Editor says all trials must be registered and the results published A special report published by the BMJ today finds that thousands of melanoma patients around the world are undergoing an expensive and invasive procedure called sentinel node biopsy, despite a lack of clear evidence and concerns that it may do more harm than good. Although not recommended for routine use in England, it has become the standard care for melanoma patients in several countries including the United States, where it was estimated to cost over $686m in 2012... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Melanoma / Skin Cancer Source Type: news
Medicine: the appliance of science
A cure for HIV? A new approach to obesity? Tailor-made therapies for cancer? Medical science surges aheadMore than once last year, researchers described leaps in medical science that were so breathtaking, and held so much potential for patients, that they immediately joined the list of fields to watch in the year ahead. In most cases, the work was, and is, at an early stage and its future success far from certain. Such is the nature of science. Most of today's breakthroughs will be tomorrow's failures. But some may go down in history for transforming how medicine is done.Often, medical science surges ahead when different a...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 1, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Ian Sample Tags: The Guardian Genetics Biology Medical research Microbiology Society Features Cancer Aids and HIV Chemistry Biochemistry and molecular biology Science Source Type: news
Stem Cells for Cell-Based Therapies
The world of stem cells
We know the human body comprises many cell types (e.g., blood cells, skin cells, cervical cells), but we often forget to appreciate that all of these different cell types arose from a single cell—the fertilized egg. A host of sequential, awe-inspiring events occur between the fertilization of an egg and the formation of a new individual:
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are also called totipotent cells.
The first steps involve making more cells by simple cell division: one cell becomes two cells; two cells become four cells, etc.
Each cell of early development is undifferentiated; that is, it is no...
Source: ActionBioscience - December 28, 2012 Category: Biology Authors: Ali Hochberg Source Type: news
Stem Cells for Cell-Based Therapies
The world of stem cells
We know the human body comprises many cell types (e.g., blood cells, skin cells, cervical cells), but we often forget to appreciate that all of these different cell types arose from a single cell—the fertilized egg. A host of sequential, awe-inspiring events occur between the fertilization of an egg and the formation of a new individual:
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are also called totipotent cells.
The first steps involve making more cells by simple cell division: one cell becomes two cells; two cells become four cells, etc.
Each cell of early development is undifferentiated; that is, it is...
Source: ActionBioscience - December 28, 2012 Category: Science Authors: Ali Hochberg Source Type: news
MicroRNA Profiling During Human Keratinocyte Differentiation Using a Quantitative Real-Time PCR Method
The terminal differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes requires transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that play key roles during differentiation processes by regulating protein expression at the posttranscriptional level. Several studies have investigated miRNA expression in murine or human skin using northern blotting, microarrays, deep sequencing, or real-time PCR (Andl et al., Curr Biol 16:1041–1049, 2006; Hildebrand et al., J Invest Dermatol 131:20–29, 2011; Sonkoly et al., PLoS One 2:e610, 2007; Yi et al., Nat Genet 38:356–362, 200...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Molecular Medicine - December 19, 2012 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: news
Reconstitution of Skin Fibrosis Development Using a Tissue Engineering Approach
Skin fibrosis is involved in several pathologies as hypertrophic scar or scleroderma. The determination of the mechanisms at the origin of these problems is however difficult due to the low number of in vivo models. To bypass this absence of animal models, studies typically use human pathological cells cultured in a monolayer way on plastic. However, cell behavior is different according to the fact that cells are on plastic or embedded in matrix. Using a tissue engineering method, we have developed new in vitro models to study these pathologies of the skin. Human pathological cells are used to reconstitute a three dimensio...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Molecular Medicine - December 19, 2012 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: news
Bioengineered Skin Humanized Model of Psoriasis
This protocol describes the generation of a skin humanized mouse model for psoriasis using bioengineering approaches. This method is relatively simple, highly reproducible and ensures the obtention of a large and homogenous number of engrafted animals bearing a portion of human skin with psoriatic phenotype. The technique can employ cells from skin biopsies and blood samples from non-related healthy human donors (allogeneic version), as well as skin and blood cells from psoriatic patients (autologous version). In both cases, the psoriatic phenotype was developed after intradermal administration of in vitro derived T1 lymph...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Molecular Medicine - December 19, 2012 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: news
Cervical Cancer during pregnancy – Suzanne ’ s Hysterectomy Story
I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer when I was pregnant – and almost died before I got a chance to hold my newborn baby girl. The nightmare began when doctors discovered a tumour the size of a tennis ball blocking little Aaron’s arrival. They immediately delivered Aaron by C-Sect – but I haemorraged. My bed sheets were soaked in blood and doctors couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. As my life slipped away, docs warned my partner, to expect the worst as he stood helpless with our baby in his arms.
He was left praying for a miracle – and fortunately for us, those prayers were answered. “My...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - May 23, 2012 Category: OBGYN Authors: Linda Parkinson-Hardman Tags: Health cervical cancer childbirth emergency hysterectomy hysterectomy stories Source Type: news
Cervical Cancer during pregnancy – Suzanne ’ s Hysterectomy Story
I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer when I was pregnant – and almost died before I got a chance to hold my newborn baby girl. The nightmare began when doctors discovered a tumour the size of a tennis ball blocking little Aaron’s arrival. They immediately delivered Aaron by C-Sect – but I haemorraged. My bed sheets were soaked in blood and doctors couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. As my life slipped away, docs warned my partner, to expect the worst as he stood helpless with our baby in his arms.
He was left praying for a miracle – and fortunately for us, those prayers were answered. “My...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - May 23, 2012 Category: OBGYN Authors: Linda Parkinson-Hardman Tags: Health cervical cancer childbirth emergency hysterectomy hysterectomy stories Source Type: news
Cervical Cancer during pregnancy – Suzanne ’ s Hysterectomy Story
I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer when I was pregnant – and almost died before I got a chance to hold my newborn baby girl. The nightmare began when doctors discovered a tumour the size of a tennis ball blocking little Aaron’s arrival. They immediately delivered Aaron by C-Sect – but I haemorraged. My bed sheets were soaked in blood and doctors couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. As my life slipped away, docs warned my partner, to expect the worst as he stood helpless with our baby in his arms.
He was left praying for a miracle – and fortunately for us, those prayers were answered. “My...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - May 23, 2012 Category: OBGYN Authors: Linda Parkinson-Hardman Tags: Health cervical cancer childbirth emergency hysterectomy hysterectomy stories Source Type: news
Summary: International Kidney Cancer Symposium
Conclusions:
Ideal ischemia time is 20-25 minutes or less improves short and long term renal function. >25 minutes carried 5 year risk of new onset stage 4 CKD
No differences on GFR for cold vs. warm ischemia times
Preoperative GFR and the percent of kidney preserved was a better predictor of post op GFR.
No ischemia preserves renal function better than warm.
Longer cold ischemia times were equivalent to shorter warm ischemia times.
Quality and quantity of the remaining kidney is associated with ultimate renal function.
Robotics in RCC Surgery
Gennady Bratslavsky, MD
The...
Source: Kidney Cancer Association - December 15, 2011 Category: Urology & Nephrology Source Type: news
Summary: International Kidney Cancer Symposium
Conclusions:
Ideal ischemia time is 20-25 minutes or less improves short and long term renal function. >25 minutes carried 5 year risk of new onset stage 4 CKD
No differences on GFR for cold vs. warm ischemia times
Preoperative GFR and the percent of kidney preserved was a better predictor of post op GFR.
No ischemia preserves renal function better than warm.
Longer cold ischemia times were equivalent to shorter warm ischemia times.
Quality and quantity of the remaining kidney is associated with ultimate renal function.
Robotics in RCC Surgery
Gennady Bratslavsky, MD
The opening question ...
Source: Kidney Cancer Association - December 15, 2011 Category: Urology & Nephrology Source Type: news
