Mediterranean Low-Clycemic Diet Beneficials For Diabetes

Mediterranean Low-Clycemic Diet Beneficials For Diabetes

Persons with type 2 diabetes who had a diet high in low-glycemic foods such as nuts, beans and lentils had greater improvement in glycemic control and risk factors for coronary heart disease than persons on a diet with an emphasis on high-cereal fiber, according to a study in the December 17 issue of JAMA.

One dietary strategy aimed at improving both diabetes control and cardiovascular risk factors is the use of low-glycemic index diets, but there is disagreement over their effectiveness, according to background information in the article.

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Team Solves Failed Vaccine Mystery
Research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists has figured out why a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine used in 1966 to inoculate children against the infection instead caused severe respiratory disease and effectively stopped efforts to make a better one. The findings, published online on Dec. 14 in Nature Medicine, could restart work on effective killed-virus vaccines not only for RSV but other respiratory viruses, researchers say.

The effectiveness of colonscopy in identifying some colon cancers

Physicians should advise patients of colonscopy test limitations in identifying some colon cancers.

Colonoscopy, a key screening test for colon cancer, appears to be less effective in reducing patients’ risk of dying from cancers that originate on the right side of the colon. The groundbreaking research led by St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) was published today on the Annals of Internal Medicine website (www.annals.org) and will be printed in the January 6, 2009 issue.

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TB Case Prompts Screening At University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, England
A healthcare worker from University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, has been diagnosed with multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). All patients who may have had contact with the infected healthcare worker have been identified. As a result of a thorough lookback exercise, 264 patients and staff were yesterday (Monday 8 December) sent a letter offering an appointment for screening as a routine precaution.

More female cardiologists, but still unrepresented

Number of female cardiologists nearly doubles, but under-representation and discrimination remain. Ten-year survey reveals progress and challenges amid increasing demand for cardiac care.

The number of female doctors in cardiology nearly doubled in the last decade, and male and female cardiologists both report a high level of job satisfaction, according to findings from a 10-year follow-up survey published in the December 16/23, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Heart, Stroke Death Rates Down

The age-adjusted death rates for coronary heart disease and stroke have each reached about a 30 percent reduction since 1999, according to the latest data in the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2009 Update, published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Preventing Metastasis To 'Stop Cancer From Killing People'

Preventing Metastasis To 'Stop Cancer From Killing People'
Metastasis is the ability of cancer cells to spread from a primary site, to form tumours at distant sites. It is a complex process in which cell motility and invasion play a fundamental role. Essential to our understanding of how metastasis develops is identification of the molecules, and characterisation of the mechanisms that regulate cell motility. Hitherto, these mechanisms have been poorly understood.

Clatterbridge Centre For Oncology Ranked As One Of The Best Healthcare Organisations To Work For In The UK
Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology is one of the Top 100 healthcare organisations to work for in the UK according to a survey by the Health Service Journal. The survey asked employees at the Centre a range of questions and the Centre has been included in the Top 100 list! The final results will be announced in March 2009, when the Centre will find out where they came in the top 100.

East Surrey Hospital Reports Cases Of Winter Vomiting Virus, England
Holmwood and Godstone wards have been closed to incoming patients after 18 people at the hospital have developed symptoms of winter vomiting virus. Tests are now being done to find the cause and the wards will remain shut until all symptoms of the bug have cleared. Members of the public are being asked to consider the necessity of their visit to the hospital. No one should visit if they themselves have been unwell within the last week.

Tau Protein Expression Predicts Breast Cancer Survival -- Though Not As Expected
Expression of the microtubule-binding protein Tau is not a reliable means of selecting breast cancer patients for adjuvant paclitaxel chemotherapy, according to research led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Presented Dec. 13, at the CRTC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the researchers found that Tau expression does predict survival, yet in an unexpected way. In earlier neoadjuvant studies, investigators from M. D.

Low Income Men Diagnosed More Often With Advanced Prostate Cancer, The Journal Of Urology
Coincident with the widespread adoption of PSA screening, the proportion of American men diagnosed with organ-confined, low risk prostate cancer has increased significantly during the last two decades. In a study scheduled for publication in the February 2009 issue of

Possible Therapeutic Target For Pancreatic Cancer
A possible new therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer, the most lethal form of human cancer, has been identified in the proteins whose DNA recipe comes from gene, "Seven-In-Absentia," according to researchers at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

ABRAXANE In Combination With Gemcitabine And Epirubicin Evaluated As Neoadjuvant Treatment For Patients With Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), a fully integrated, global biotechnology company, today announced the presentation of preliminary results from a single-arm, open-label, Phase II clinical trial evaluating ABRAXANE® for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin- bound) in combination with gemcitabine and epirubicin for the treatment of patients with locally advanced breast cancer (neoadjuvant treatment).

Study Finds That Low-Income Men Are More Likely To Be Diagnosed With Advanced Prostate Cancers
Low-income men are more likely to present with advanced prostate cancers, most likely because they don't receive screening services shown to reduce the diagnosis of later-stage cancers, a UCLA study found. The study focused on a group of disadvantaged men enrolled in the state's IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) program, which provides high-quality care to poor, underinsured and uninsured men.