Evidence mounts linking aspirin to lower risk of ovarian cancer
Taking a low-dose aspirin daily may help women lower their risk of developing ovarian cancer. A new study co-led by Moffitt Cancer Center found that women who reported taking a low-dose aspirin every day had a 23 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer compared to nonaspirin users.
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Health-related quality of life overlooked in cancer drug studies
A McMaster University-led review and analysis of randomized clinical trials is questioning whether interventions which prolong progression-free survival in cancer patients, improve their health-related quality of life. The systematic review and quantitative analysis of 52 articles reporting on 38 randomized clinical trials involving 13,979 cancer patients across 12 cancer types revealed no significant association between survival when the disease is not getting worse, or "progression-free survival", and health-related quality of life.
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In clinical trials, new antibody therapy controls HIV for months after treatment
Thanks to improvements in antiretroviral therapy, HIV is now a manageable condition. Yet even the best drugs do not entirely eliminate the virus, which latently lingers in the body, threatening to rise to dangerous levels should a patient forget or forgo treatment. To remain healthy, people infected with HIV must therefore adhere to strict medication regimens, which typically involve ingesting pills every day for the rest of their lives.
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New drug blocks pancreatic cancer growth in mice, study finds
A newly developed drug can prevent the most common type of pancreatic cancer from growing and spreading in laboratory mice, according to a study led by Cedars-Sinai. The study, published recently in the journal Gastroenterology, also demonstrated in mice that the drug, called Metavert, may prevent patients from developing a resistance to currently used pancreatic cancer chemotherapies.
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DNA islands effective as 'anti-bacterial drones'
Genomic "islands" that evolved from viruses can be converted into "drones" that disable Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria that are often resistant to antibiotics and pose a threat to safe hospital care, a new study finds. Conducted by researchers from NYU School of Medicine and published online in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study found that a certain type of bacterial DNA can be engineered to replace disease-causing genes with ones that kill or cripple bacteria.
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Pre-clinical success for a universal flu vaccine offers hope for third generation approach
Researchers from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology have demonstrated pre-clinical success for a universal flu vaccine in a new paper published in Nature Communications. Influenza is thought to be a highly variable virus, able to mutate and escape immunity built up in the population due to its circulation in previous seasons. However, influenza seasons tend to be dominated by a limited number of antigenically and genetically distinct influenza viruses.
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Discovery could explain failed clinical trials for Alzheimer's, and provide a solution
Researchers at King's College London have discovered a vicious feedback loop underlying brain degeneration in Alzheimer's disease which may explain why so many drug trials have failed. The study also identifies a clinically approved drug which breaks the vicious cycle and protects against memory-loss in animal models of Alzheimer's.
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