http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Weill Cornell Medical College Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center and SUNY Downstate Medical Center has revealed the roots of a common type of childhood asthma, showing that it is very different from other asthma cases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-common-childhood-asthma-unconnected-allergens.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 13:34:48 EST news288534882 A soon-to-be-tested class of drug inhibitors were predicted to help a limited number of patients with B-cell lymphomas with mutations affecting the EZH2 protein. However, a research team, led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College, now report that these agents may, in fact, help a much broader cross section of lymphoma patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-master-majority-lymphoma.html Cancer Mon, 13 May 2013 16:51:34 EST news287682685 Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have successfully tested their novel anti-cocaine vaccine in primates, bringing them closer to launching human clinical trials. Their study, published online by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, used a radiological technique to demonstrate that the anti-cocaine vaccine prevented the drug from reaching the brain and producing a dopamine-induced high. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cocaine-vaccine-key-hurdle.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 10 May 2013 14:08:40 EST news287413696 Cancer spread or metastasis can strike unprecedented fear in the minds of cancer patients. The "seed and the soil" hypothesis proposed by Stephen Paget in 1889 is now widely accepted to explain how cancer cells (seeds) are able to generate fertile soil (the microenvironment) in distant organs that promotes cancer's spread. However, this concept does not explain why some tumors do not spread or metastasize. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cancers-poison-soil-block-metastasis.html Cancer Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:29:08 EST news286550938 Cancer is typically thought to develop after genes gradually mutate over time, finally overwhelming the ability of a cell to control growth. But a new closer look at genomes in prostate cancer by an international team of researchers reveals that, in fact, genetic mutations occur in abrupt, periodic bursts, causing complex, large scale reshuffling of DNA driving the development of prostate cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-periodic-genetic-mutations-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:02 EST news286108913 Humans don't "own" their own genes, the cellular chemicals that define who they are and what diseases they might be at risk for. Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially claimed the entire human genome for profit, report two researchers who analyzed the patents on human DNA. Their study, published March 25 in the journal Genome Medicine, raises an alarm about the loss of individual "genomic liberty." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-dont-genes-alarm-loss-individual.html Genetics Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:50:03 EST news283506577 Two studies led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-decode-biology-blood-iron-disorders.html Medical research Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:39:50 EST news283437564 In its 2001 report Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine outlined six domains of quality in medical care: safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency and equity. But, Dr. Tara Bishop writes in a new viewpoint article published online March 21, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), current quality measures for the outpatient setting do not include all of these domains. As a result, quality measurement and quality improvement efforts in the outpatient setting have neglected critical areas of high quality care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-health-quality-doctors-offices.html Health Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:28:30 EST news283166883 More than 50,000 stem cell transplants are performed each year worldwide. A research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators may have solved a major issue of expanding adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) outside the human body for clinical use in bone marrow transplantation—a critical step towards producing a large supply of blood stem cells needed to restore a healthy blood system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-method-blood-stem-cells-bone.html Medical research Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:42:26 EST news283095727 A multi-center analysis, led by Weill Cornell Medical College and published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, shows the use of temporary "fully covered self-expanding metal stents" (FCSEMS) can effectively fix a painful and potentially life-threatening benign biliary stricture—a severely blocked or narrowed bile duct. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-metal-stents-effective-treatment-blocked.html Cardiology Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:34:21 EST news283005254 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), a key feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aim to control health care costs, enhance quality in health care and improve population health. But what does "improving population health" really mean? This is the question asked in a new viewpoint article by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers published in the March 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The authors argue a clear definition is crucial in order to formulate effective health care and social service policy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-accountable-population-health.html Health Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:25:41 EST news282932733 (Medical Xpress)—Diabetes tops the list of preventable conditions and risk factors associated with heart attack and stroke in Qatar, according to a study appearing in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-qatar-diabetes-high-factor-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:14:34 EST news282906823 The powerful master regulatory transcription factor called Bcl6 is key to the survival of a majority of aggressive lymphomas, which arise from the B-cells of the immune system. The protein has long been considered too complex to target with a drug since it is also crucial to the healthy functioning of many immune cells in the body, not just B cells gone bad. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-shutdown-cancer-powerful-master-protein.html Immunology Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:24 EST news281519760 Sleep-related problems are among the most common issues seen by a pediatrician, and for good reason—poor sleep habits can lead to behavioral, educational, social and health problems. Fortunately for parents, many childhood sleep problems can be recognized early and treated successfully. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-kids-isnt-cute-center-focuses.html Pediatrics Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:30:04 EST news281087671 University at Albany and Weill Cornell Medical College researchers discuss proposed changes in HIV-Testing guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in a perspective article in the March 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Authors Erika G. Martin, assistant professor of public administration and policy at UAlbany's Rockefeller College and fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, and Dr. Bruce R. Schackman, associate professor of public health and chief of the Division of Health Policy at Weill Cornell, address the broad impact the changes will have on the health care of HIV-infected patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-discuss-broad-impact-hiv-testing-guideline.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:00:14 EST news280745998