http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Blood and urine markers can indicate which patients with an abrupt kidney injury following heart surgery will experience progressive kidney problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Testing for these markers soon after surgery could help doctors protect the health of patients' kidneys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-markers-kidney-problems-heart-surgery.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:28:15 EST news249845255 Highly elevated platelet levels fuel tumor growth and reduce the survival of ovarian cancer patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-high-platelets-ovarian-cancer-patients.html Cancer Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:10 EST news248544367 A new study shows that Kineret (anakinra), a medication approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is effective in stopping the progression of organ damage in people with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID). This rare and debilitating genetic disorder causes persistent inflammation and ongoing tissue damage. The research was performed by scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-drug-halts-inflammatory-genetic-disorder.html Inflammatory disorders Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:55:00 EST news248100889 Scientists have connected two signature characteristics of pancreatic cancer, identifying a self-perpetuating "vicious cycle" of molecular activity and a new potential target for drugs to treat one of the most lehal forms of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-mutated-kras-molecular-loop-pancreatic.html Cancer Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:29:06 EST news246796113 A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a review published in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, researchers from the Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine at Swansea University in the UK examine the impact of maternal obesity on the inflammatory responses in tissues of both the mother and the child. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-inflammation-link-obesity-adverse-pregnancy.html Health Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:43:22 EST news245432586 A phase II clinical trial found that rilonacept, an inhibitor of the protein interleukin-1 (IL-1), significantly reduced acute gout flares that occur when initiating uric acid-lowering therapy. Results of the trial—the first placebo-controlled study investigating IL-1 targeted therapy in prevention of gout flares—show rilonacept to be generally well tolerated with no serious infections or treatment-related serious adverse events reported. Full findings are published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-clinical-trial-rilonacept-significantly-gout.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:50:01 EST news244959263 Steve Reiner, MD, professor of Medicine, and Burton Barnett, a doctoral student in the Reiner lab at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have shown how immune cells, called B lymphocytes, are able to produce daughter cells that are not equal, a finding that might explain how lifelong antibodies are made after vaccination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cells-antibodies-vaccination.html Medical research Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:00:13 EST news243178420 New research from the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Leadbetter at the Trudeau Institute may lead to a whole new class of vaccines. Dr. Leadbetter's lab has discovered new properties of a potential vaccine adjuvant that suggest it could be useful for enhancing protection against a number of different infections. This new data will be published in the January 2012 issue of the journal Nature Immunology (Vol. 13, pp. 44-50). The paper, "iNKT cells direct B cell responses to cognate lipid antigen in an interleukin 21-dependent manner," is now available through Advance Online Publication (AOP) on Nature Immunology's website. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-advantages-vaccine-adjuvant.html Medical research Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:04 EST news242912269 Researchers have discovered a cellular pathway that promotes inflammation in diseases like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis. Understanding the details of this pathway may provide opportunities for tailored treatments of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-inflammatory-autoimmune-diseases.html Inflammatory disorders Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:10:45 EST news237208178 Melanoma of the eye (ocular or uveal melanoma) frequently spreads to the liver and, once this has happened, there is no effective treatment and patients die within an average of two to four months. Only about one in ten patients live for a year. Now, final results from a phase III study have demonstrated that a new treatment significantly extends the time patients can live without the disease progressing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-infusing-chemotherapy-liver-extra-months.html Cancer Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:48:47 EST news236022479 If you've been trying to lose weight and suspect your body's working against you, you may be right, according to a University of Illinois study published in Obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-obese-dieters-brain-chemistry-weight-loss.html Medical research Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:05:33 EST news228049516 Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine protein that reduces immune responses and staves off autoimmune disease. Now, a research team led by Masato Kubo at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Yokohama, has identified a transcription factor called E4 promoter-binding protein (E4BP4) that is responsible for driving the expression of IL-10 in multiple types of immune cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-transcription-factor-protein-dampens-immune.html Medical research Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:03:49 EST news227534618 By digging a little deeper, researchers may have found a potential target for reversing the deadly blood infection sepsis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-potential-sepsis.html Medical research Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:24:41 EST news226923855 An experimental cure for Type 1 diabetes has a nearly 80 percent success rate in curing diabetic mice. The results, to be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston, offer possible hope of curing a disease that affects 3 million Americans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-gene-therapy-reverses-diabetes-mice.html Medical research Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:53:19 EST news226572254