http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Rice University researchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body's immune system. The find could lead to new treatments for thousands of patients who suffer from inflammatory diseases and disorders that cause abnormal blood clotting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-link-blood-clotting-immune-response.html Immunology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:36:49 EST news284031401 Extending steroid treatment for the most common form of kidney disease in children provides no benefit for preventing relapses or side effects, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings challenge previous assumptions about optimal treatment strategies for this disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-steroid-treatment-benefit-children-hard-to-treat.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:00:09 EST news275245044 Appropriately dosed hypofractionated radiotherapy was gentle on healthy tissues and effective in controlling local-regional early breast cancer, according to 10-year follow-up results from the U.K. Standardization of Breast Radiotherapy Trials (START), presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-hypofractionated-radiotherapy-safe-effective-early.html Cancer Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:40:03 EST news274095123 A drug which 'reboots' a person's immune system has been shown to be an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who have already failed to respond to the first drug with which they were treated (a 'first-line' therapy), as well as affected individuals who were previously untreated. The results of these two phase III clinical trials were published today in the journal The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-ms-drug-effective.html Neuroscience Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:18:12 EST news270933478 A new inhibitor helps previously nicotine-addicted rats stay on the wagon, according to a study published on October 22nd in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-ex-smokers-resist-urge.html Addiction Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:10:21 EST news270130211 (Medical Xpress)—Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients sometimes experience "natural" improvements in disability at least over the short term, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-ms-patients-natural-disability.html Neuroscience Thu, 18 Oct 2012 07:41:15 EST news269764866 Low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased number of brain lesions and signs of a more active disease state in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study finds, suggesting a potential link between intake of the vitamin and the risk of longer-term disability from the autoimmune disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-vitamin-d-linked-severe-multiple.html Neuroscience Tue, 02 Oct 2012 04:23:04 EST news268370555 (Medical Xpress) -- This week the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study with unfortuate news for the millions of people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. In the large study, a therapy known as interferon beta failed to stave off the progression of the incurable disease. Albert Lo, associate professor of neurology and epidemiology, comments on what the study means for patients, why it was well-designed, and how a new effort to support research on the disease in Rhode Island could help. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-multiple-sclerosis-drug-disappoints-disability.html Neuroscience Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:41:11 EST news262248063 (HealthDay) -- Repeated and prolonged use of rituximab for B-cell depletion to treat relapses or maintain remission is safe and effective in patients with refractory granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA; Wegener's), a primary systemic small vessel vasculitis, according to a study published online June 21 in Arthritis & Rheumatism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-long-term-rituximab-safe-patients-wegener.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:53:32 EST news260452404 (HealthDay) -- Teenagers and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, are more likely to relapse and less likely to survive than younger children with the disease, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-leukemia-deadlier-teens-young-adults.html Cancer Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:10:01 EST news257862687 How well people with newly diagnosed epilepsy respond to their first drug treatment may signal the likelihood that they will continue to have more seizures, according to a study published in the May 9, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-response-drug-treatment-likelihood-future.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 May 2012 16:00:01 EST news255782857 An investigational oral drug called ONO-4641 reduced the number of lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a phase two clinical trial to be presented as Emerging Science (formerly known as Late-Breaking Science) at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-ono-pill-ms-lesions-phase.html Neuroscience Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:00:03 EST news253810569 Children with moderate or severe asthma attacks who are treated with systemic corticosteroids during the first 75 minutes of triage in the Emergency Department (ED) were 16% less likely to be admitted to hospital. This highlights the importance of adopting a strategy to rapidly identify and begin treating children with moderate or severe asthma attacks directly after triage, according to a team of investigators working at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center (UHC), the University of Montreal, McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-hospital-admissions-asthmatics.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:02:34 EST news252756118 A new finding in basic science should trigger a "change in thinking" about how cancer drugs might be developed and tested for maximum effectiveness, says Louis M. Weiner, M.D., director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a "Clinical Implications of Basic Research" article titled Tumor-Cell Death, Autophagy, and Immunity published in the March 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-impact-cancer-drugs-dying-cells.html Cancer Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:00:06 EST news251556631 (Medical Xpress) -- Better help with battling drug addiction could be at hand as a result of research underway at Victoria University of Wellington. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-combat-drug-addiction.html Medical research Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:20:01 EST news245642706 Taking the new generation anti-inflammatory drug natalizumab for two years lowers the number of remitting multiple sclerosis patients who experience relapses and progression of disability. This is the main finding of a systematic review published in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-remitting-multiple-sclerosis-natalizumab-relapses.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:18:58 EST news237007118 Patients with a high degree of African ancestry had a greater incidence of high-risk neuroblastoma and poorer outcomes, according to preliminary results presented here at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-common-genetic-variants-high-risk-neuroblastoma.html Cancer Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:47:16 EST news235669616 Lymphoma is a cancer that affects organs of the immune system, including the lymph nodes. In a subtype of the disease called extranodal lymphoma, tumors arise in non-lymphoid organs, such as the tongue and tonsils. Patients with extranodal lymphoma of the head and neck often undergo radiation therapy, but this treatment frequently damages the salivary glands and causes dry mouth, which can lead to problems with eating, speaking and swallowing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-imrt-outcomes-patients-extranodal-lymphoma.html Cancer Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:15:22 EST news232600508 A new study examining the cost-effectiveness of drugs to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States finds that the health gains from these drugs come at a very high cost compared to basic therapy to control the symptoms of MS and compared to treatments for other chronic diseases. The research is published in the July 20, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-ms-drugs-high.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:41:20 EST news230398869 Patients who use anti-depressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all, concludes a McMaster researcher. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-patients-anti-depressants-relapse.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:02:57 EST news230299367 New research finds breastfeeding doesn't appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role. The research is published in the July 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-breastfeeding-ms-relapses.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:01:09 EST news229190454