To childhood brain cancer

Genetic malfunctions linked to one of the leading types of childhood brain cancer have been identified by a Canadian-led team of researchers, who said their findings may lead to new treatments for medulloblastoma.

In the largest-ever genetic study of childhood brain cancer, the scientists sequenced the DNA of brain tumors taken from 800 children worldwide, the Globe and Mail reported.

They identified a family of eight genes capable of causing the deadly form of brain cancer, which occurs when primitive brain cells develop into tumors at the back of the brain. When the genes work properly, they instruct neurons in that area of the brain to stop growing. But a malfunction in any of the eight genes leads to medulloblastoma, which kills 40% of patients within five years.

Scientists are racing to test compounds already known to affect these eight genes, the Globe and Mail reported.

Published in MedicineNet.com

March 9, 2009

756 signs

(14) CHINESE TOWN UNDERGOES PLAGUE DISINFECTION

A Chinese farming town where three people have died of pneumonic plague was being disinfected Tuesday by health authorities. Left untreated, the disease can kill a person within 24 hours of being infected.

Checkpoints were set up last Thursday after the outbreak was first detected in Ziketan, in the northwestern province of Qinghai. On Tuesday, workers began disinfecting the town and killing rodents and insects that can carry pneumonic plague bacteria, according to the provincial health department's Web site, the Associated Press reported.

People who visited the town since mid-July and have developed a cough or fever have been advised to seek hospital treatment. Pneumonic plague can be passed from person to person through coughing.

Along with the three who died, nine other people are infected and in hospital, said health officials and the official Xinhua news agency, the AP reported.

Published in Evitamins.com

August 5, 2009

763 signs

(15) VITAMIN D LEVELS MAY AFFECT CHRONIC PAIN IN WOMEN

Low levels of vitamin D may contribute to chronic pain in women, suggests a study that looked at 7,000 women and men in England, Scotland and Wales.

Higher rates of chronic pain were reported by smokers, non-drinkers, and overweight and underweight people. Among women, vitamin D levels also seemed to be a major factor, BBC News reported.

Women with vitamin D levels between 75 and 99 mmol/liter – a range believed necessary for good bone health – had the lowest rates of chronic pain (8 percent), while women with vitamin D levels less than 25 mmol/liter had the highest rates of chronic pain (14.4 percent).

No link between vitamin D and chronic pain was seen in men, which suggests female hormones may be a factor, said the researchers from the Institute of Child Health in London. They said further research is needed to determine if vitamin D supplements can protect women against chronic pain, BBC News reported.

Published in Evitamins.com

August 13, 2008

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16