http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Virginia Commonwealth University A novel drug may help increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for the most deadly form of brain cancer, report scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. In mouse models of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the new drug helped significantly extend survival when used in combination with radiation therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drug-treatment-brain-cancer-preclinical.html Cancer Tue, 14 May 2013 13:21:59 EST news287756500 Can the patterns in tree branches or the meandering bends in a river provide clues that could lead to better cancer therapies? According to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, these self-similar, repeating patterns in nature known as fractals help scientists better understand how the immune system is organized and may one day be used to help improve stem cell transplant outcomes in leukemia patients by predicting the probability of transplant complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mathematics-nature-immune-role-cancer.html Medical research Wed, 01 May 2013 04:53:19 EST news286602789 A new, pre-clinical study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggests that a novel drug combination could lead to profound leukemia cell death by disrupting the function of two major pro-survival proteins. The effectiveness of the therapy lies in its ability to target a pro-survival cell signaling pathway known as PI3K/AKT/mTOR, upon which the leukemia cells have become dependent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-drug-combination-therapy-leukemia.html Cancer Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:09:14 EST news285422945 Physicians at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center have become the first in Virginia to successfully implant a telescope in a patient's eye to treat macular degeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vcu-medical-center-virginia-implant.html Ophthalmology Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:56:16 EST news285260163 Multiple genes contribute to risk for schizophrenia and appear to function in pathways related to transmission of signals in the brain and immunity, according to an international study led by Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-multiple-genes-robustly-contribute-schizophrenia.html Genetics Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:48:25 EST news284744896 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center have found that mitochondrial quality and functional capacity play an important role in Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-parkinson-disease-link.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:05:21 EST news282899112 With suicide rates among veterans on the rise, another problem facing veterans also is capturing the public's attention. Service members suffering from moral injury are feeling profound guilt and shame for things they may have done—or not done—in combat, or for events they may have witnessed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-moral-injury-issues-combat-veterans.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:50:01 EST news281953420 Preclinical, laboratory studies suggest a novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers, according to scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. Results from a recent study show the therapy could treat metastatic cancers and be used in combination with current cancer therapies while helping to prevent the development of new metastatic tumors and train specialized immune system cells to guard against cancer relapse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cancer-vaccine-future-metastatic-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:39:47 EST news281183979 (Medical Xpress)—As obesity rates continue to rise, experts are searching for answers in the clinic and at the lab bench to determine the types and amounts of food that people should eat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-worm-clues-obesity.html Medical research Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:35:08 EST news279527698 Laboratory experiments conducted by scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggest that a novel combination of the drugs ibrutinib and bortezomib could potentially be an effective new therapy for several forms of blood cancer, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-experimental-drug-combination-lymphoma-cells.html Cancer Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:59:47 EST news279377979 Patients who undergo knee replacement surgery may be at risk of gaining more weight than their peers who have not had the surgery, according to a five-year study led by a Virginia Commonwealth University professor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-knee-surgery-weight-gain.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:15:56 EST news277402501 After uncovering a mechanism that promotes chronic intestinal inflammation and the development of colorectal cancer, scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have found that fingolimod, a drug currently approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, could potentially eliminate or reduce the progression of colitis-associated cancer (CAC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-multiple-sclerosis-drug-day-colorectal.html Cancer Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:24:39 EST news276945870 After recently announcing success in eliminating melanoma metastasis in laboratory experiments, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have made another important discovery in understanding the process by which the gene mda-9/syntenin contributes to metastasis in melanoma (the spread of skin cancer) and possibly a variety of other cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-deadly-skin-cancer-body.html Cancer Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:07:02 EST news276440810 Approximately 68 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Cancer Institute, which puts them at greater risk for developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses. But an international team of scientists led by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has successfully reversed obesity in mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme known as tyrosine-protein kinase-2 (Tyk2). In their experiments, the scientists discovered that Tyk2 helps regulate obesity in mice and humans through the differentiation of a type of fat tissue known as brown adipose tissue (BAT). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-mechanism-obesity.html Medical research Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:53:40 EST news273938011 (Medical Xpress)—A supplement used worldwide as a memory enhancer and to help in recovery from stroke and head trauma provided no benefit in enhancing the recovery of adults who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to findings of a national multisite clinical trial published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-neuroprotective-agent-benefit-patients-traumatic.html Medical research Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:53:28 EST news273826398