http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Thomas Jefferson University An international group of investigators, led by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center, have solved the mystery of why a substantial percentage of castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer cells contain abnormally high levels of the pro-growth protein Stat5. They discovered that the gene that makes the protein is amplified—duplicated many times over—in these cancer cells, which allows them to produce excess amounts of the oncogenic protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-amplification-stat5-gene-excess-oncogenic.html Cancer Tue, 07 May 2013 17:46:53 EST news287167606 The well-studied protein VEGF does not appear to have any prognostic or predictive value for men with locally advanced prostate cancer, researchers from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and other institutions found in a retrospective study published online April 25 in the journal BMC Radiation Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vegf-relevant-biomarker-advanced-prostate.html Cancer Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:46:52 EST news286465601 Radiation oncologists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are stressing the need for evidence-based, standardized guidelines on dietary recommendations for cancer patients—and with good reason. A new analysis revealed that online dietary recommendations for cancer patients, if even present on an institution's website, appear to be consistently inconsistent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-cancer-websites-lack-nutritional-guidance.html Cancer Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:00:01 EST news283522728 Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons, muscles and ligaments, mostly in athletes, at all levels. Though it has anecdotally been successful, the evidence to support its efficaciousness is weak. Researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson participated in a multi-center randomized prospective study to evaluate the clinical value of PRP versus an active control group to determine its effectiveness in managing the pain and tenderness associated with tennis elbow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-platelet-rich-plasma-significantly-outcomes-patients.html Surgery Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:00:03 EST news283024711 Infections, as the news has shown time and again, can be deadly. Periprothesthetic joint infection (PJI) is the infection of grave concern to the orthopedic community, especially in its growingly common antibiotic-resistant form. This all-too-common infection can be found deep inside the joint prosthesis following joint replacement surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-optimal-esr-crp-cut-off-values.html Surgery Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:00:01 EST news283024687 Physician-researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson have developed a new, clinically meaningful scale of severity for diagnosing patients with cervical spinal stenosis. Their goal was to create a more accurate scale than the current "mild, moderate or severe" designations used for patients with this condition, a narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck. Researchers sought to create a reproducible, clinically validated classification of central cervical stenosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-anatomically-based-classification-cervical-spinal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:00:02 EST news282939053 A mailing or phone call to help patients get screened for colorectal cancer significantly increases their chances of actually getting tested, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-mailed-interventions-significantly-colorectal-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:15:31 EST news278590394 Infectious diseases in Ghana tend to capture the most attention, but a quiet crisis may soon take over as the country's most threatening epidemic: cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-stigma-stymies-prostate-cancer-screening.html Cancer Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:35:22 EST news278267715 Elevated levels of Cyclin D1b could function as a novel biomarker of lethal metastatic disease in prostate cancer patients, according to a pre-clinical study published ahead of print on December 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-pathways-metastatic-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:00:01 EST news275306017 Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson (KCC) have developed potentially game-changing diagnostic and prognostic genetic tests shown to better predict prostate cancer survival outcomes and distinguish clinically-relevant cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-game-diagnostic-prognostic-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:15:38 EST news275228128 Cancer and stress go hand-in-hand, and high stress levels can lead to poorer health outcomes in cancer patients. The Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine combined creative art therapy with a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for women with breast cancer and showed changes in brain activity associated with lower stress and anxiety after the eight-week program. Their new study appears in the December issue of the journal Stress and Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-art-therapy-brain-anxiety.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:25:18 EST news273432311 Treating Parkinson's disease patients with the experimental drug GM1 ganglioside improved symptoms and slowed their progression during a two and a half-year trial, Thomas Jefferson University researchers report in a new study published online November 28 in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-advance-parkinson-disease-symptoms.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:05:59 EST news273431145 Medical physicists at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center are one step closer to bringing a new tumor-tracking technique into the clinic that delivers higher levels of radiation to moving tumors, while sparing healthy tissue in lung cancer patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-tumor-tracking-technique-outcomes-lung.html Cancer Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:59:04 EST news272563126 Take off those Thanksgiving pounds with a week at a spa retreat. A new study shows that not only are they relaxing and nourishing, but they are safe and a week-long spa stay can correspond with changes in our physical and emotional well-being. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-week-health-spa.html Health Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:37:48 EST news272554584 Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium's hand. The new research revealed intriguing findings of decreased brain activity during mediumistic dissociative state which generated complex written content. Their findings will appear in the November 16th edition of the online journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-brazilian-mediums-brain-trance-state.html Neuroscience Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:00:01 EST news272274780