Monthly Archives: April 2007

Preliminary results from a large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a type of tumor usually found in the stomach or small intestine, showed that patients who received imatinib mesylate (Gleevec ®) after complete removal of their tumor were significantly less likely to have a recurrence of their cancer compared to those who did not receive imatinib.
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An international consortium of researchers has published the genome sequence of the rhesus macaque monkey and aligned it with the chimpanzee and human genomes. Published April 13 in a special section of the journal Science, the analysis reveals that the three primate species share about 93 percent of their DNA, yet have some significant differences among their genes.
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Researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, have engineered a portable, phone-sized test that in minutes measures proteins in saliva that may indicate a developing disease in the mouth or possibly elsewhere in the body.
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In a study appearing in the March 22 New England Journal of Medicine, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) have discovered a connection between a specific gene and the inflammatory skin condition vitiligo, as well as a possible host of autoimmune diseases.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected four individuals to serve as members of the Director’s Council of Public Representatives (COPR), an advisory committee to the NIH Director on issues of public importance.
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Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese form of exercise, may help older adults avoid getting shingles by increasing immunity to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and boosting the immune response to varicella vaccine in older adults, according to a new study published in print this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. This National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study is the first rigorous clinical trial to suggest that a behavioral intervention, alone or in combination with a vaccine, can help protect older adults from VZV, which causes both chickenpox and shingles.
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An international team led by researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a genetic variant that is a major contributor to small size in dogs. The findings appear in the April 6, 2007 issue of the journal Science.
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Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) that uses software designed to improve how radiologists interpret mammograms may instead make readings less accurate, according to new research. Use of CAD did not clearly improve the detection of breast cancer. The research was conducted by investigators at the University of California Davis Health System, Sacramento, Calif., and colleagues in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, which is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
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Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, a cancer typically found in bone marrow, has shown that the use of a low dose of the steroid dexamethasone (Decadron ®), in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid ®) is associated with improved survival when compared to a treatment regimen with lenalidomide and a higher, standard dose of dexamethasone. The clinical trial was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted by a network of researchers led by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG).
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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is holding a two day meeting to explore wide-ranging issues related to drug abuse, impaired decision making, and HIV/AIDS. Drug Abuse and Risky Behaviors: The Evolving Dynamics of HIV/AIDS will provide a broad understanding of the multiple ways that drug abuse and addiction affect the spread of HIV/AIDS and how research can inform public health policy.
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