http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Exosomes are small, virus-like particles that can transport genetic material and signal substances between cells. Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have made new findings about exosomes released from aggressive brain tumors, gliomas. These exosomes are shown to have an important function in brain tumor development, and could be utilized as biomarkers to assess tumor aggressiveness through a blood test. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-virus-like-particles-vital-clues-brain.html Medical research Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:18:15 EST news285412653 For women with metastatic, HER2-positive breast cancer, the amount of HER2 on their tumor might determine how much they benefit from a drug called trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), according to data from a subanalysis of the phase III clinical trial that led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug on Feb. 22, 2013. These findings were presented by José Baselga, M.D., Ph.D., physician-in-chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, N.Y., at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-biomarker-analysis-women-benefit-t-dm1.html Cancer Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:13:12 EST news284573584 Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continues to be the leading cause of visual impairment in the United States for people over age 65, according to a study recently published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. AMD is a potentially blinding disease that affects more than 9.1 million Americans. This study, which tracked vision loss in relation to eye disease and treatment response in nearly 5,000 patients over a 20-year period, showed that despite the recent discovery of sight-saving drugs and advances in disease prevention, AMD still causes severe vision loss in approximately 15 percent of Americans 85 and older. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ophthalmologists-urge-early-diagnosis-treatment.html Ophthalmology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:25:17 EST news284207093 In a small, preliminary study of regular migraine sufferers, scientists have found that measuring a fat-derived protein called adiponectin (ADP) before and after migraine treatment can accurately reveal which headache victims felt pain relief. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-blood-fat-cell-hormone-severity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:19:41 EST news282824308 Last month, the National Institutes of Health announced a new collaborative initiative that aims to accelerate the search for biomarkers—changes in the body that can be used to predict, diagnose or monitor a disease—in Parkinson's disease, in part by improving collaboration among researchers and helping patients get involved in clinical studies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-effort-parkinson-biomarkers.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:41:45 EST news281709697 In a new phase III trial mirabegron, a β3-adrenoceptor agonist, given once daily for 12 weeks, reduced the frequency of incontinence episodes and number of daily urinations, and improved urgency and nocturia in adults with overactive bladder (OAB) compared to those in a placebo group. The incidence of common adverse events (hypertension, urinary tract infection, headache, nasopharyngitis) was similar in the mirabegron and placebo groups in this study. Rates of dry mouth and constipation were similar in the drug and placebo groups. The study is published in the Journal of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-mirabegron-effective-tolerated-overactive-bladder.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:37:19 EST news281637433 A process that normally occurs in developing embryos – the changing of one basic cell type into another – has also been suspected of playing a role in cancer metastasis. Now a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers has associated this process, called epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT, with disease progression and treatment response in breast cancer patients. The report also identifies underlying mechanisms that someday may become therapeutic targets. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-transition-cell-parallels-treatment-response.html Cancer Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:00:13 EST news278860997 Scientists from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) have discovered the workings of the gene that has been hindering treatment response in cancer patients. This discovery was made after 5 years of studying the mutant form of the p53 gene, the major tumor suppressor in humans, which is generally found mutated in over 50% of all type of human cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-singapore-scientists-p53-mutation-hinders.html Cancer Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:58:32 EST news278333905 In a genome-wide analysis of 13 metastatic prostate cancers, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found consistent epigenetic "signatures" across all metastatic tumors in each patient. The discovery of the stable, epigenetic "marks" that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer cells and alter gene expression, defies a prevailing belief that the marks vary so much within each individual's widespread cancers that they have little or no value as targets for therapy or as biomarkers for treatment response and predicting disease severity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-personal-epigenetic-signatures-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:00:08 EST news278165142 (HealthDay)—For patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), smoking status does not impact treatment response to early combination therapy or initial methotrexate treatment with step-up therapy, according to a study published in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-doesnt-impact-ra-treatment-response.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 21 Dec 2012 07:20:05 EST news275289360 Researchers in Singapore have succeeded in tracking, for the first time, the molecular changes caused by type 2 diabetes that affect how the body handles glucose production in the liver. In a series of experiments in mice, the researchers introduced a form of the compound pyruvate that incorporated specially treated carbon nuclei. This allowed the researchers to follow the processing of the compound using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In this way, the team, led by Phillip Lee of the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, showed that the enzyme pyruvate carboxylase plays a key role in the development of diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-ability-molecular-diabetes-personalized-medicine.html Diabetes Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:31:51 EST news275131897 (HealthDay)—For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), long-term clinical outcomes are good with etanercept and adalimumab; but for adalimumab, treatment response is strongly dependent on the presence or absence of anti-adalimumab antibodies, according to research published in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-immunogenicity-strongly-impacts-response-adalimumab.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:11:21 EST news274633874 New research suggests that the presence of a specific genetic marker, known as WT1 SNP rs16754, may be associated with reduced toxicity from chemotherapy in African-American and Asian children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genotype-treatment-mortality-trm-african-american.html Cancer Sun, 09 Dec 2012 03:10:02 EST news274244165 (HealthDay)—For patients with knee osteoarthritis, self-reported knee instability and fear of physical activity correlate with the likelihood of treatment response following a therapeutic exercise program, according to a study published in the November issue of Arthritis Care & Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-factors-impacting-benefit-knee-oa.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 02 Nov 2012 12:39:48 EST news271078771 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) have identified new biomarkers for antidepressant treatment response, an important step towards developing personalised treatments for depression. The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, is the first to identify blood biomarkers for antidepressant response in a clinical controlled study and is part of Genome-Based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP) project. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-biomarkers-antidepressant-treatment-response.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:36:14 EST news267341756 (Medical Xpress)—Research from Karolinska Institutet shows that sorafenib, a drug used for advanced cancer of the kidneys and liver, could also be effective against multiple myeloma. The disease is one of the more common forms of blood cancer and is generally incurable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-therapy-treatment-myeloma.html Cancer Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:26:31 EST news266048780 Scientists at Tulane University School of Medicine, led by Dr. James Antoon and Dr. Barbara Beckman, have characterized two drugs targeting sphingosine kinase (SK), an enzyme involved in cancer growth and metastasis. New treatments specifically attacking cancer cells, but not normal ones, are critical in the fight against cancer. The results, which appear in the July 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, demonstrate the role of SK in drug resistance and therapeutic potential of SK inhibitors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-resistant-cancer-inhibition-sphingosine.html Cancer Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:38:44 EST news263731115 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed a procedure to test the clinical benefits of cancer biomarkers. The method could radically shorten the path from the lab to their application. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cancer-biomarkers-re-evaluated.html Cancer Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:25:41 EST news261908719 In the current online issue of PLoS ONE, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say they have identified a set of laboratory-based biomarkers that can be useful for understanding brain-based abnormalities in schizophrenia. The measurements, known as endophenotypes, could ultimately be a boon to clinicians who sometimes struggle to recognize and treat the complex and confounding mental disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-biomarkers-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:30:54 EST news261232247 (HealthDay) -- Due to the potential survival and treatment response implications of BRCA mutation status, it is recommended that germ-line BRCA1/2 testing be offered to all women diagnosed with nonmucinous ovarian carcinoma, regardless of family history, according to research published online June 18 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-germ-line-ibrca12i-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:09:54 EST news259348183 Decoding the DNA of patients with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists to identify distinct cancer "signatures" that could help predict which women are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, while sparing others from unnecessary treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-scientists-decode-dna-breast-tumor.html Genetics Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:00:06 EST news258548280 A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, reinforces current thinking that smoking negatively affects treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-negatively-affects-response-anti-tnf-treatment.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 08 Jun 2012 04:25:12 EST news258348303 A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-inherited-dna-overactive-leukemia-gene.html Genetics Fri, 25 May 2012 10:59:20 EST news257162258 (HealthDay) -- Most people with obsessive-compulsive disorder manage their symptoms through talk therapy and medication. But for some, severe OCD can take over their lives. A few eventually turn to brain surgery, and a new study shows how they fared. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-aans-stereotactic-anterior-cingulotomy-viable.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:39:23 EST news253892339 (HealthDay) -- In patients with locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing radical resection, response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is an early marker that correlates with rates of recurrence-free survival, distant metastases, and local recurrences, according to research published online April 9 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-response-indicator-rectal-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:40:01 EST news253286418 A new study from Case Western Reserve University finds mothers tend to be more critical of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder than they are of other children in the family. And, that parental criticism is linked to poorer outcomes for the child after treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mothers-ocd-children-rituals-impaired.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:38:39 EST news253273089 Among patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who initiated treatment with the drug etanercept, one-third achieved an excellent response, and this response was associated with low measures of disability at study entry, younger age at the onset of JIA, and fewer disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs used before initiating etanercept, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Scientific Meeting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-factors-linked-medication-response-treatment.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:23:34 EST news239862066 Asthma patients could clearly benefit from personalized medicine, a new study suggests. However, the new discovery of a key gene, while exciting, does not mean that day is here quite yet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-asthma-treatment-personalized-medicine.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:51:09 EST news237009055 Even people who show a clear treatment response with antidepressant medications continue to experience symptoms like insomnia, sadness and decreased concentration, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found after analyzing data from the largest study on the treatment of depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-antidepressants-symptoms-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:42:39 EST news222579746