science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τετάρτη 11 Ιουλίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Platinum compound may offer an alternative to cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy agent
The old primates' club: Even male monkeys ride their fathers' coattails to success
Liver Stiffness Predicts Liver Failure, Cancer and Mortality in Cirrhotic Patients Coinfected with HIV/AIDS and HCV
Levels of Hepatitis C Virus Higher Among African Americans and Males
Cancer Screening Rates Comparable For Those With and Without Rheumatoid Arthritis
Researchers Use First-of-Its-Kind Approach to Design Nanomedicines that Effectively Target Cancer with Decreased Toxicity
Nutrient mixture improves memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s

Platinum compound may offer an alternative to cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy agent

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 07:22 AM PDT

Drugs containing platinum are among the most powerful and widely used cancer drugs. However, such drugs have toxic side effects, and cancer cells can eventually become resistant to them.

MIT chemistry professor Stephen J. Lippard, who has spent much of his career studying platinum drugs, has now identified a compound that kills cancer cells better than cisplatin, the most commonly used platinum anticancer drug. The new compound may be able to evade cancer-cell resistance to conventional platinum compounds.

The old primates' club: Even male monkeys ride their fathers' coattails to success

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:24 PM PDT

If you're a male born to a father who's a strong and enduring community leader, you're far more likely than your less fortunate peers to become a leader yourself, due to the wide range of social advantages accruing from your dad's position.

And even if your old man isn't a leader, other men in your community are more likely to take you under their wing than your sisters, lavishing attention on you and showing you the ropes.

Sound like the basic description of an old boys' network?

Liver Stiffness Predicts Liver Failure, Cancer and Mortality in Cirrhotic Patients Coinfected with HIV/AIDS and HCV

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 12:38 PM PDT

Researchers from Spain established that liver stiffness, measured by transient elastography (TE), is an independent predictor of liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and mortality in cirrhotic patients coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Levels of Hepatitis C Virus Higher Among African Americans and Males

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 12:36 PM PDT

Epidemiologists have determined that levels of hepatitis C virus (HCV) found among injection drug users (IDUs) were higher in individuals who are male or African American even after differences in other factors were considered.

Cancer Screening Rates Comparable For Those With and Without Rheumatoid Arthritis

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 12:33 PM PDT

New research reveals that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients do not receive fewer cancer screening tests than the general population. Results of the study, funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), found that RA and non-RA patients receive routine screening for breast, cervical, and colon cancer at similar rates.

Researchers Use First-of-Its-Kind Approach to Design Nanomedicines that Effectively Target Cancer with Decreased Toxicity

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:21 AM PDT

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to report a new approach that integrates rational drug design with supramolecular nanochemistry in cancer treatment.

Supramolecular chemistry is the development of complex chemical systems using molecular building blocks. The researchers utilized such methods to create nanoparticles that significantly enhanced antitumor activity with decreased toxicity in breast and ovarian cancer models.

Nutrient mixture improves memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:15 AM PDT

A clinical trial of an Alzheimer’s disease treatment developed at MIT has found that the nutrient cocktail can improve memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s. The results confirm and expand the findings of an earlier trial of the nutritional supplement, which is designed to promote new connections between brain cells.