Jan-Mar 2009 Health Archives

Apr 2009 Health Archives

Experimental vaccine delays relapse in some cancer patients

(Liz Szabo, USA Today) A custom-made treatment vaccine — made with proteins from a patient's own tumor — can delay relapses in some lymphoma patients by 14 months, researchers announced Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando. The vaccine doesn't prevent cancer. Instead, it aims to treat cancer by harnessing the power of the immune system, says study author Stephen Schuster, associate professor of medicine and director of lymphoma translational research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

New Tech research center’s aim: healing soldiers quicker

(Craig Schneider, Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Georgia Tech officials on Tuesday unveiled a $5 million research center aimed at finding better ways to heal combat wounds and speeding those treatments into military use. Often, such advances lag for long periods before moving into clinical use, said Barbara Boyan, the director of the new center. Many researchers focus on study and publishing in scientific journals rather than planning to move a product to the market, she said.

UK scientists push for 'bottled sunshine' to fight cancer

(Jeremy Laurence, New Zealand Herald) Boosting levels of vitamin D could cut the incidence of breast cancer by a quarter, bowel cancer by a third and it should be offered to the population as part of a public health drive, UK scientists say. The finding is based on a review of 2,750 research studies involving vitamin D, sometimes called "bottled sunshine", which show that taking daily supplements of the vitamin could do more for cancer prevention than a library full of lifestyle advice.

Studies find new weaknesses in cancer

(Reuters) Researchers using a new gene-scanning method have found a potential way to fight cancer by silencing genes that tumors need to stay alive. They found a previously unknown gene that keeps tumor cells from killing themselves but that does not appear to be needed by normal, healthy cells. A second team found another new genetic process that also appears to be unique to tumors. Both discoveries relate to a gene mutation involved in as many as 30 percent of cancers, the researchers reported in two studies in the journal Cell.

The contact lens that can help the blind see again

(Fiona Macrae, Daily Mail) Scientists have used contact lenses coated in stem cells to restore sight to patients suffering a blinding disease. The groundbreaking operation brought significant improvements in vision within a matter of weeks. The procedure uses a person's own cells to heal damage to the cornea - the transparent outermost layer of the eye.

Thomas the Tank Engine helps autistic kids identify emotions

(Saeed Ahmed, CNN) Thomas the Tank Engine, whose television adventures on the fictional island of Sodor have delighted children around the world for years, is now on a real-life mission to help kids with autism. The steam locomotive and his friends are the stars of a new game in Australia, designed to help autistic children recognize emotions. Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), a nonprofit that provides services to people diagnosed with the developmental disorder, unveiled the game on its Web site Tuesday.

Meditation on Demand

(Peter B. Reiner, Scientific American) In the fall of 2005, the Dalai Lama gave the inaugural Dialogues between Neuroscience and Society lecture at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, DC. There were over 30,000 neuroscientists registered for the meeting, and it seemed as if most of them attended the talk. The Dalai Lama’s address was designed to highlight the areas of convergence between neuroscience and Buddhist thought about the mind, and to many in the audience he clearly achieved his objective.

'Blind' Man Able To Drive Again After Lens Op

(Thomas Moore, Sky News) A new procedure has enabled a former police officer who was effectively blind to see so well he is now allowed to drive again. Nigel Cook suffered from macular degeneration, a condition that obscured his central vision with a dark fog. He had to hand back his driving licence and quit his job with the police force. But after surgeons implanted two tiny plastic lenses in each of his eyes, he can now see.

Soldiers Dive Into Therapeutic Waters

(Christine Romo and Stephanie Wash) Thousands of visitors flock to the white sand beaches of St. John annually for a plentiful dose of rest and relaxation. But, for wounded soldiers, it's more than an exotic vacation destination -- it's a chance to get some underwater relief from the aches and pains of their injuries. "It's enlightenment really. Because you are so weightless, I don't have the pain that I usually do. It's pretty amazing," Army Maj. Joe Claburn told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff.

Study: Acupuncture Helps Ease Back Pain

(Allison Aubrey, NPR) If you've never had acupuncture, the vision of needles piercing your skin may sound more like a dreaded appointment with the phlebotomist to draw blood than a healing day at the spa. "I don't like getting blood tests or shots, those type of things," says Margaret Gillard, of Washington, D.C. So she recalls being anxious a little over a year ago when a friend referred her to an acupuncturist. But she also had an open mind. She was suffering from lower back pain, and traditional treatments — namely steady doses of Advil — were no longer working.

Seattle hospital teaches meditation to troubled vets

(Michelle Ma, Seattle Times) After four combat tours — two in Iraq and two in Afghanistan — normal life seemed impossible for one Seattle Army veteran. His heart raced when driving under an overpass, and he had trouble breathing when stuck in snarled traffic. As a soldier in combat, he wouldn't dare slow down for fear of being bombed or shot. Crowded rooms were just as bad. He locked himself away at home and drank instead of facing large groups or loud, sudden noises. He responded to the slightest sense of threat with all-out aggression. Last summer, the 34-year-old sergeant sought help at the Seattle veterans hospital, enrolling in group and individual therapy and starting medication to treat what doctors diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

Heading to a healthier lifestyle, 1 step at a time

(David Tirrell-Wysocki, AP) Brian Bishop was eating and stressing himself to death until a heart attack at age 28 got his attention. Now, after losing more than 100 pounds, he is a poster child -- literally -- for a national program to walk to a healthier lifestyle. Bishop, 33, of Pelham, woke up in the cardiac care unit five years ago, with patients two or three times his age. "That vision recurs to me on a daily basis because I don't want to go back there," said Bishop, who weighed 280 pounds at the time. "Everybody looked so unhealthy. I said 'I don't want to be here. I don't belong here. I need to fix my life.'" As part of the fix, he started walking, then running. After running in a 5 kilometer Heart Association race in Boston last summer, he found a forum.

Heart Healer

(Sean Captain, PopSci.com) Every year, 800,000 Americans elect to have a tiny metal-mesh tube inserted into their coronary artery to prop it open and improve blood flow to cardiac muscle tissue. It's an easy choice — the alternative entails cracking open the chest and operating on a stopped heart. The tube, or stent, is permanent, but the vessel hardens over it within months. After that, it becomes a nuisance. The metal blocks x-rays and MRI scans, and it can catch blood cells and form a dangerous clot. Now medical-equipment manufacturer Abbot Laboratories has developed a stent that opens the artery and then simply disintegrates.

Sing your way to happiness

(Dina Behrman, Telegraph) Unlikely as it sounds, choral singing is having its moment in the limelight. Following a succession of BBC TV shows, including Last Choir Standing and The Choir: Boys Don't Sing, choral groups have never been more mainstream. Church attendance is up, thanks to the recession, and so too are the numbers wishing to join choirs. Two months ago, Susan Boyle, the unassuming Britain's Got Talent sensation on course to be the next global superstar, was turned away by her local church choir because there were no vacancies. Besides being popular, singing is also good for you. In the current economic climate, choirs offer an inexpensive way to get a natural high.

Teaching Olivia to help granddad

(Jane Elliott, BBC News) When Olivia Lewis's granddad collapsed while she was alone with him, the seven year old did not panic. She calmly checked his vital signs, got him back to bed and then called for help. Luckily the schoolgirl had received emergency life support skills training at school and knew exactly what to do. "We learnt from our teacher how to check their breathing and their pulse, how to wake them and we practised on our friends," she said.

Fetus undergoes life-saving surgery in womb

(Carly Weeks, Toronto Globe and Mail) The tiny baby clothes and other items Vicki McKenzie bought to prepare for her little girl's birth are still in shopping bags, untouched since they were purchased in March. Until a few days ago, she thought she would have to return them. Instead, Ms. McKenzie, 32, and her husband, Ian, about to turn 33, have become part of a breakthrough medical success story that marks a new Canadian chapter in the quest to save the lives of critically ill babies before they're born. Oceané McKenzie, with fingers the length of a paper clip and a tiny mop of brown hair, has become the first baby in Canada to successfully undergo a life-saving heart intervention while still in her mother's womb.

Gates Foundation gives grants to 'out-of-the-box' ideas

(AP) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today its second round of grants for innovative, out-of-the-box, and sometimes just plain strange ideas for global health research. Among the 81 projects getting $100,000 each include a plan to create a tomato that delivers antiviral drugs and a project to give malaria-carrying mosquitoes a fungus that feels something like a head cold. The five-year grants are designed to encourage scientists to pursue bold, unconventional ideas that could lead to future breakthroughs.