http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A research team led by pediatric blood and marrow transplantation experts Mark Osborn, Ph.D. and Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D. from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, have discovered a remarkable new way to repair genetic defects in the skin cells of patients with the skin disease epidermolysis bullosa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-gene-epidermolysis-bullosa.html Medical research Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:59:50 EST news289753182 A newly developed, single-step Raman spectroscopy algorithm has the potential to simultaneously detect microcalcifications and enable diagnosis of the associated breast lesions with high precision, according to data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-method-breast-lesions-cancer-money.html Cancer Fri, 31 May 2013 00:10:02 EST news289153513 With the help of genetics, prostate specific antigen (PSA) screenings may become more accurate and reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-genetic-variants-psa-technique-biopsies.html Cancer Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:47:26 EST news286037239 Pioneering biophotonics technology developed at Northwestern University is the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer in humans by examining cells easily brushed from the neighboring cervix or uterus, not the ovaries themselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-screening-ovarian-cancer-neighboring-cells.html Cancer Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:10:19 EST news285869412 In 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) halted reimbursement for so-called "virtual colonoscopy" for routine colon-cancer screening in asymptomatic patients, in part due to concerns over how this procedure, computed tomography colonography (CTC), was being used in the elderly population. In the first study to examine appropriate utilization of the test among asymptomatic Medicare beneficiaries from 2007 to 2008, a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that CTC was used appropriately and may have expanded colorectal cancer screening beyond the population screened with standard ("optical") colonoscopy. The findings, led by Hanna M. Zafar, MD, MHS, an assistant professor of Radiology, are published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-virtual-colonoscopy-appropriately-screening-patients.html Cancer Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:09:03 EST news284371736 A new diagnostic test that uses a scientific technique known as metabolomic analysis may be a safe and easy screening method that could improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer through earlier detection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-metabolite-based-diagnostic-pancreatic-cancer-early.html Cancer Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:00:01 EST news283764130 A new immunoassay that tests for the presence of three biomarkers appears to be a valid screening method for the early detection of malignant kidney cancer, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-trio-biomarkers-kidney-cancer-early.html Cancer Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:10:01 EST news282138740 A novel tool exploits baker's yeast to expedite the development of new drugs to fight multiple tropical diseases, including malaria, schistosomiasis, and African sleeping sickness. The unique screening method uses yeasts which have been genetically engineered to express parasite and human proteins to identify chemical compounds that target disease-causing parasites but do not affect their human hosts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-tool-tropical-diseases.html Medical research Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:10:01 EST news281124813 Sifting through social media messages has become a popular way to track when and where flu cases occur, but a key hurdle hampers the process: how to identify flu-infection tweets. Some tweets are posted by people who have been sick with the virus, while others come from folks who are merely talking about the illness. If you are tracking actual flu cases, such conversations about the flu in general can skew the results. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-twitter-track-flu-screen-tweets.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:13:37 EST news278331210 Using cervical fluid obtained during routine Pap tests, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a test to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers. In a pilot study, the "PapGene" test, which relies on genomic sequencing of cancer-specific mutations, accurately detected all 24 (100 percent) endometrial cancers and nine of 22 (41 percent) ovarian cancers. Results of the experiments are published in the January 9 issue of the journal, Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-pap-fluid-ovarian-endometrial.html Cancer Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:00:01 EST news276958980 Ultrasound screening could be a more affordable and convenient way to detect early breast cancers in women, especially for those in countries where there is little access to mammograms, according to University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine research presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. These results are a component of a multinational study that looked at ultrasound as an adjunct to screening mammography. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ultrasound-accessible-breast-cancer-screening.html Cancer Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:33:34 EST news273223991 A new three-dimensional (3-D) digital mammography technique has the potential to significantly improve the accuracy of breast cancer screening, according to a study published in Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-stereoscopic-mammography-recall.html Cancer Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:07 EST news271955825 Researchers at the University of Southern California have devised a method for detecting certain neurological disorders through the study of eye movements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-everyday-eye-movements-aid-diagnosis.html Neuroscience Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:00:01 EST news265549952 Researchers have successfully developed and tested a new prostate cancer screening method that uses the combined power of a novel drug therapy and changes in PSA levels over time to identify men with a high PSA who are more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer despite negative biopsies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-doctors-hard-to-diagnose-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:01 EST news263661779 A study from researchers in Switzerland found that colonoscopy with polypectomy significantly reduces colorectal cancer incidence and colorectal cancer-related death in the general population. A total of 12 colorectal cancer cases were identified in the screening group of 1,912 patients and 213 cases of colorectal cancer were found in the non-screened group of 20,774 patients. One of the 12 persons of the screened individuals with a colorectal cancer and 51 of the 213 persons of the non-screened individuals with a colorectal cancer died because of their cancers. The study appears in the July issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-colonoscopy-screening-markedly-colorectal-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:42:50 EST news262352562 MADISON- A study of university students is the first evidence to refute the supposed link between depression and the amount of time spent on Facebook and other social-media sites. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-facebook-depression-wisconsin.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:23:40 EST news261077009 A new study describes a compound that selectively kills cancer cells by restoring the structure and function of one of the most commonly mutated proteins in human cancer, the "tumor suppressor" p53. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 15th issue of the journal Cancer Cell, uses a novel, computer based strategy to identify potential anti-cancer drugs, including one that targets the third most common p53 mutation in human cancer, p53-R175H. The number of new cancer patients harboring this mutation in the United States who would potentially benefit from this drug is estimated to be 30,000 annually. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drug-cancer-cells-faulty-tumor.html Cancer Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:02 EST news256208916 Biomarkers which could help to predict resistance to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients have been identified by researchers from the University of Hull, UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-biomarker-family-chemo-resistant-breast.html Cancer Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:09:30 EST news253443952 Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have conducted a study on a modified version of the Short Inventory of Problems (SIP) to help promote early intervention and treatment for patients with drug use in primary care. The findings, which validate this modified version of the SIP in a primary care setting, will appear online in the American Journal on Addictions in the March issue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-validate-drug-consequences-primary.html Addiction Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:24:08 EST news251547459 Studies currently available provide indications and a "hint" that precursors of cervical cancer can be detected and treated earlier, and consequently tumours occur less often, in women who underwent testing for human papillomavirus (HPV). In this context, an HPV test can be used alone or in addition to a Papanicolaou test (Pap smear). However, both screening procedures also carry a risk of harm in the form of unnecessary treatments after testing (over-treatment). This is the result of a final report published by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 24th of January 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hpv-indications-benefit-primary-screening.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:01:12 EST news246625261 Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing of self-collected specimens may be a more effective way to screen for cervical cancer in low-resource settings compared to visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and liquid-based cytology (LBC), according to a study published January 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-self-collection-hpv-dna-effective-cervical.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:00:11 EST news246555172 Research introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting reveals the extent to which an ongoing study can help save life and limb for patients with diabetes-related foot infections. Diabetes can cause nerve damage and reduced blood flow to the bones and tissues of the feet, leaving diabetics vulnerable to infection. This study shows that combining two imaging agents with molecular imaging techniques provides diabetic patients an excellent infection screening method that has already spared a number of patients from aggressive amputation of infected feet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-amputations-diabetic-patients-dual-isotope.html Cancer Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:10:01 EST news226584205 Swabbing a newborn's mouth for saliva can be used to quickly and effectively screen for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, a leading cause of hearing loss in children, says research in the June 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-saliva-effective-screening-cmv-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:43:22 EST news226168968