BreakThrough Digest Medical News

Recent Posts

• Study identifies how tamoxifen stimulates uterine cell growth and cancer
• Natural Compound Stops Diabetic Retinopathy
• HIV vaccine moves to human testing if FDA approval is granted
• New targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells
• Interferon alpha can delay full onset of type I diabetes
• Emerging techniques put a new twist on ankle repair
• Will IVF work for a particular patient? The answer may be found in her blood
• Mayo Clinic study finds celiac disease 4 times more common than in 1950s

Study identifies how tamoxifen stimulates uterine cell growth and cancer

UCSF researchers have identified a new “feed-forward” pathway linking estrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels and promotes cell growth.

The research is significant in helping determine why tamoxifen and other synthetic estrogens are linked to increased rates of endometriosis and uterine cancer, and identifies a pathway that could be targeted in drug therapies for those diseases, researchers say.

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Natural Compound Stops Diabetic Retinopathy

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association.

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HIV vaccine moves to human testing if FDA approval is granted

An HIV/AIDS vaccine called SAV001H, developed in Canada has passed safety tests in animals with the next step to begin human trials in the U.S. Trials of the new vaccine on animals have reportedly resulted in good anti-body reactions with no adverse effects. The vaccine was created by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at The Canadian University of Western Ontario partneted with Sumagen Canada, a subsidiary of the Korean pharmaceutical company.
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New targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells

New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia.

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Interferon alpha can delay full onset of type I diabetes

A low dose of oral interferon alpha shows promise in preserving beta cell function for patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, according to researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

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Emerging techniques put a new twist on ankle repair

Using cells grown in a lab, new treatments eliminate risks of traditional procedures

People with ankle injuries who do not respond successfully to initial treatment may have a second chance at recovery, thanks to two new procedures developed to restore the injured area, according to a study published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).

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