http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new study offers the first evidence of a drug capable of preventing lethal damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation, such as those occurring during a nuclear incident. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments or prophylactics available to manage the condition, known as radiation gastrointestinal syndrome (RGS), which is associated with weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, systemic infection, and – in extreme cases – septic shock and death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-antibody-therapy-gastrointestinal-exposure-mice.html Medical research Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:05:55 EST news252774318 Rush University Medical Center will begin offering in late March a new stereotactic radiosurgery treatment program with the latest radiation therapy technology available. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-treatment-sculpts-tumor.html Cancer Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:45:32 EST news251981123 A medical school in Ireland has successfully implemented a radiation protection program, improving knowledge of radiation protection among medical undergraduates, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-medical-school-successful-undergraduate-students.html Other Thu, 01 Mar 2012 04:50:01 EST news249799243 Developmental dislocation (dysplasia) of the hip (DDH) is a common congenital condition in which a child's upper thighbone is dislocated from the hip socket. The condition can be present at birth or develop during a child's first year of life. Plain radiography (X-rays) has long been the gold standard screening modality for this condition in 6-month-old children, despite concerns over exposing very young children to ionizing radiation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-ultrasound-reliably-hip-dysplasia-age.html Other Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:11:20 EST news248015473 An article in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in pediatric computed tomography (CT) scans. Approximately seven to eight million CT examinations are performed for various pediatric clinical indications per year in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-experts-pointers-optimizing-dose-pediatric.html Cancer Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:46:47 EST news245072794 Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), through a combination of time-lapse live imaging and mathematical modeling of a special line of human breast cells, have found evidence to suggest that for low dose levels of ionizing radiation, cancer risks may not be directly proportional to dose. This contradicts the standard model for predicting biological damage from ionizing radiation - the linear-no-threshold hypothesis or LNT - which holds that risk is directly proportional to dose at all levels of irradiation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-impacts-dose.html Cancer Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:12:59 EST news243609164 Governments and the nuclear industry have failed to address serious data gaps and untested assumptions guiding exposure limits to Cesium (Cs)-137 released in the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and this year's incident at Fukushima, says University of Massachusetts Amherst toxicologist Edward Calabrese. It's time now to move toward adopting more evidence-based risk assessment for the future, he adds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-assumptions-health-effects-toxicologist.html Health Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:00:09 EST news241097680 Scientists from the universities of Zurich and Duisburg-Essen have discovered a specific function of the protein p97/VCP. They demonstrate that the protein repairs DNA breaks like a corkscrew, a repair mechanism that could also prove significant for cancer therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-molecular-corkscrew.html Medical research Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:56:31 EST news239990179 A study conducted by Hebrew University researchers has found that that there can be very short latency periods between the time of exposure and development of cancer in workers in tasks with intense or prolonged exposure to electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). Previous studies have described excess risks for cancer from such high occupational exposures. However, none have addressed the issue of short latency periods from high exposure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-short-latencies-shown-cancer-young.html Cancer Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:25:58 EST news232622738 Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found clues to the functioning of an important damage response protein in cells. The protein, p53, can cause cells to stop dividing or even to commit suicide when they show signs of DNA damage, and it is responsible for much of the tissue destruction that follows exposure to ionizing radiation or DNA-damaging drugs such as the ones commonly used for cancer therapy. The new finding shows that a short segment on p53 is needed to fine-tune the protein's activity in blood-forming stem cells and their progeny after they incur DNA damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-genome-guardian-dimmer-p53-life.html Genetics Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:36:18 EST news228674160 A new study from Rhode Island Hospital has found that MR enterography (MRE) without the use of an anti-peristaltic agent were as reliable as CT enterography (CTE) in determining the presence of Crohn's disease. Additionally, MRE reduces the patient's exposure to ionizing radiation. The study is now published online in advance of print in the European Journal of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-enterography-effective-ct-crohn-disease.html Other Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:04:06 EST news227354347 Research introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting could be a sign of hope for patients with neuroendocrine cancer not responding well to standard therapies. Most radiotherapies use medical isotopes that emit beta radiation. The therapy in this study employs alpha particles, which have potential for higher potency. In fact, one single atom could be enough to kill an entire cancer cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-high-impact-radiopeptide-therapy-halts-neuroendocrine.html Cancer Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:10:02 EST news226584253 Ionizing radiation is not without danger to human populations. Indeed, exposure to nuclear radiation leads to an increase in male births relative to female births, according to a new study by Hagen Scherb and Kristina Voigt from the Helmholtz Zentrum München. Their work shows that radiation from atomic bomb testing before the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, the Chernobyl accident, and from living near nuclear facilities, has had a long-term negative effect on the ratio of male to female human births (sex odds). Their work is published in the June issue of Springer's journal, Environmental Science and Pollution Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-nuclear-affects-baby-gender.html Health Thu, 26 May 2011 10:02:00 EST news225622907 Each year, more than two million critically ill patients are transferred from one hospital emergency department (ED) to another for appropriate care. With the ability to successfully import data from a CD-ROM containing the patient's diagnostic medical images, hospitals may be able to significantly reduce unnecessary medical imaging tests, some of which expose patients to radiation. These findings are reported in a new study published in the July issue of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-cd-image-import-unnecessary-imaging.html Other Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:32:10 EST news222406315