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New Screening Could Lead to More Potent Cancer Drugs

A team at the Broad Institute, a Harvard-M.I.T. collaborative for genomics research, has devised a way of screening for drugs that attack cancer stem cells but leave ordinary cells unharmed.

» NY Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Drug Compound That Kills Cancer Stem Cells Identified

A drug that can selectively target and kill the stem cells that drive the growth of tumors has been identified for the first time by scientists who searched more than 16,000 compounds to find it.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute looked for compounds that could destroy the stem cells, which often resist conventional cancer treatment. One, salinomycin, cut the number of stem cells at least 100 times more than did Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Taxol, a common chemotherapy medicine, according to a report on the findings published today in the journal Cell.

» Bloomberg [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

A Whole Industry Is Waiting For A Pandemic

"It's true that influenza viruses are unpredictable, so it does call for a certain degree of caution. But one of the extraordinary features of this influenza -- and the whole influenza saga -- is that there are some people who make predictions year after year, and they get worse and worse. None of them so far have come about, and these people are still there making these predictions. For example, what happened with the bird flu, which was supposed to kill us all? Nothing. But that doesn't stop these people from always making their predictions. Sometimes you get the feeling that there is a whole industry almost waiting for a pandemic to occur."

» Der Spiegel [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

'No doubt' sunbeds cause cancer

An IARC Working Group has classified UV-emitting tanning devices as “carcinogenic to humans”. There is no doubt using a sunbed or sunlamp will raise the risk of skin cancer.

Combined analysis of over 20 epidemiological studies shows that the risk of cutaneous melanoma is increased by 75% when the use of tanning devices starts before age 30. There is also sufficient evidence of an increased risk of ocular melanoma associated with the use of tanning devices. Studies in experimental animals support these conclusions and demonstrate that ultraviolet radiation (UVA, UVB, and UVC) is carcinogenic to humans.

» IARC Working Group [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Life Expectancy: World Health Statistics 2007

A boy born in San Marino, a tiny republic surrounded by Italy, will likely live to age 80, the world's longest male life expectancy, but newborn girls in Japan and 30 other countries have even better prospects. Females in Japan, who traditionally lead the world tables, have a life expectancy of 86 years, the same as last year's statistics. San Marino men, who tied with Japanese men last year at 79, added a year to get ahead.

Following San Marino on the male side were Australia, Iceland, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland at 79 years and then Canada, Israel, Italy, Monaco and Singapore at 78. France was tied for 12th place at 77 years with a group of countries including New Zealand and Britain. Germany was at 76 years. United States was among the countries that tied the U.S. for 33rd place at 75 years.

Countries with long-living women include Monaco, 85 years, and Andorra, Australia, France, Italy, San Marino, Spain and Switzerland at 84. Canada tied Iceland and Sweden at 83 years for women, and Germany was in a group at 82 years. Britain came in at 81 years. Costa Rica and Denmark tied the United States for 32nd place at 80 years.

» Database / Downloads [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

[ PDF ] View the ten global health highlights
[ PDF ] Review the indicator definitions and metadata

Team unearths genetic risk factors for diabetes

Scientists have discovered three unsuspected regions of human DNA that contain clear genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and another that is associated with elevated blood triglycerides.

Using this approach, the DGI team and their collaborators identified and confirmed three novel regions of the genome that influence the risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as a genomic region that is linked with blood triglyceride levels. Perhaps the most intriguing result involves a DNA region that lies far from any known annotated genes. Such genomic "outsiders" would have been incredibly difficult to find by traditional hypothesis-driven approaches.

» mit.edu / DGI [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Virulent New Strain of TB Raising Fears of Pandemic; Bug Is Resistant to Most Available Drugs

A virulent strain of tuberculosis resistant to most available drugs is surfacing around the globe, raising fears of a pandemic that could devastate efforts to contain TB and prove deadly to people with immune-deficiency diseases such as HIV-AIDS.

Known formally as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, the strain has been detected in 37 countries. It arises when the bacterium that causes TB mutates because antibiotics used to combat it are carelessly administered by poorly trained doctors or patients don't take their full course of medication. Rather than being killed by the drugs, the microbe builds up resistance to them.

» washingtonpost.com

Unlocking the Secrets of Longevity Genes

Calorie restriction while maintaining nutrient levels has long been known to dramatically increase life spans. Very different lab animals, from worms to mice, live up to 50% longer (or even more) on the restricted diets. However, so far, nobody has been able to figure out how this works.

Scientists at the Salk Institute have found a specific gene in worms (there's a very similar one in people) that is directly involved in the longevity effect. That opens up the interesting possibility that doctors may someday be able to activate that gene directly and we can live long and prosper.

» news.bbc.co.uk

» Nature
» Scientific American

Software identifies cancer probability

People with a family history of pancreatic cancer now have a way to predict accurately their chance of carrying a gene that causes the hereditary form of the disease, and their lifetime risk of developing it.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a computer software tool to help determine who would most benefit from early screening for the disease. Scientists estimate that inherited genes cause 10 per cent of aggressive and fatal cases of the disease.

Stark warning about rising Medicare costs

Medicare trustees issued the first ever statutory warning over the long-term finances of the government-backed health programme for senior citizens on Monday.

The warning, required by law, came as new projections showed the share of Medicare costs paid out of general taxation would exceed 45 per cent by 2013. More realistic assumptions suggest this threshold could be breached as early as 2010.

“Today is a historic occasion and not a happy one,” Hank Paulson, the Treasury secretary, said. He said he was frustrated at the lack of response to his efforts to generate a bipartisan initiative to tackle the problem of financing Medicare and the other main entitlement programmes, Medicaid and Social Security.

“There was a time when I was a bit more optimistic than I was today,” he said. “I am getting a little bit tired of playing solitaire.”

[ PDF ] 2007 Medicare Trustees Report

» HHS Press Release on the 2007 Medicare Trustees Report
» Financial Times

Value of Cholesterol Targets Is Disputed

A provocative review paper published this month has raised questions about the aggressive cholesterol-lowering recommendations made two years ago by a government panel.

The panel, the National Cholesterol Education Program, urged patients at risk for heart disease to reduce sharply their harmful LDL cholesterol and to try to reach specific, very low levels. Though the authors of the new paper, published in the Oct. 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, endorse the use of cholesterol-lowering statins, they say there is not enough solid scientific evidence to support the target numbers for LDL cholesterol set forth by the government panel.

The authors’ argument challenges mainstream medical thinking and the consensus among most cardiologists that the lower the cholesterol is, the better.
Via: New York Times
Via: Annals of Internal Medicine

[Report] U.S. Hospital Outcomes Vary Widely

Before you check into a hospital, it may be wise to check out the hospital's quality. That's because treatment outcomes at U.S. hospitals vary widely, depending on which state, city or individual hospital provides the care, a new report finds.

The report, HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, found that patients have a 69 percent lower risk of dying at "5-star" hospitals compared with "1-star" institutions.
Via: Forbes
[PDF] The Ninth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study

[Research] Mediterranean Diet and Alzheimer Disease

Dietary pattern analysis has recently received growing attention in relation to many diseases because individuals do not consume foods or nutrients in isolation but rather as components of their daily diet.
Via: USA Today
[PDF] Mediterranean Diet, Alzheimer Disease, and Vascular Mediation

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