Why The Flu Virus Infects Mostly In Winter
US scientists have discovered a possible reason why the flu virus is seasonal and tends to infect people mostly in the winter. It has a jacket that melts in the summer causing the virus to die off, and stays hard in the winter, until it enters a landlord where it melts and gets to work. The discovery could lead to new ways to prevent and treat the flu.
The findings are published in the 2nd March issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology and are the result of a study carried out by senior investigator and neuroscientist Joshua Zimmerberg and colleagues. Zimmerberg is based at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics (LCMB) in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), in Bethesda, Maryland.
Zimmerberg and his team examined the structure of the flu virus, and its outer coat in particular, using nuclear magnetic reverberation imaging.
The outer coat of the flu virus, and other respiratory viruses, are made of a fatty protein called hemagglutinin that hardens in cold conditions.
Zimmerberg told Reuters in a telephone interview that this was the “protein we make vaccines against”. Hemagglutinin is where the “H” in flu virus names comes from.
When the virus enters a warm host, the hemagglutinin coat melts, and the virus gets to work infecting cells.
Hemagglutinin also helps the virus to bind to the target cell of its host, so the virus can fuse with it and allow its contents to invade the host cell.
During the summer, when the ambient temperature is much higher, the hemagglutinin coat is not able to stand still hard and protect the virus, which is in greater numbers likely to die before it can infect people.
“Like an M&M in your mouth, the protective covering melts when it enters the respiratory tract,” Zimmerberg told Reuters.
“It’s only in this dulcet phase that the virus is capable of entering a cell to infect it,” he added.
Duane Alexander, NICHD Director, said these results could suggest new ways to prevent and treat the flu by targeting the hemagglutinin coat.
Scientists have been puzzled for some time about why viruses like the flu are more prevalent in winter, speculating that perhaps it’s because people spend more time indoors in confined environments, or because the sun’s radiation kills more viruses in the summer. But not any of these explanations is entirely satisfactory.
Viruses can’t reproduce on their own. They have to enter a living cell and hijack its resources, reprogramming the cell DNA to do its bidding. The new copies of the virus don their hemagglutinin jackets and break out of the small cavity in large numbers.
The jacket hardens when the virus is shed by the warm host into the cold, so in winter, they stay insulated and alive, increasing the chance of infecting another host.
The jacket does not get hard all at once, Zimmerberg said they observed that it solidifies slowly, from 40 degrees Celsius (104 deg F) down to 4 degrees C (39 deg F). He said he and his colleagues believed this was how the virus managed to stay alive over a range of temperatures.
The researchers suggested that in hibernate it may even be harder to wash the virus off your hands because in the cold its hard shell protects it against soap and detergents.
“Progressive ordering with decreasing temperature of the phospholipids of influenza virus.”
Ivan V Polozov, Ludmila Bezrukov, Klaus Gawrisch & Joshua Zimmerberg.
Nature Chemical Biology, Published online: 02 March 2008.
doi:10.1038/nchembio.77.
Click here for Abstract.
Sources: Nature Chemical Biology abstract, Reuters.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Pfizer To Buy Serenex In A Cancer Drug Move
In a move to bolster its cancer treatment drug supply Pfizer said that it has reached a deal with Serenex to buy the pharmaceutical drug company.
Serenex is NC based drug company that owns the rights to a drug that treats cancer tumors and fights cancers of the life-current, lymph nodes and bone marrow. The drug, SNX-5422, is currently in phase I trials, the earliest of the three stages of human testing. Pfizer also will acquire Serenex’s drug discovery technology.
On February 27, Serenex Announced collaboration with National Cancer Institute to initiate clinical trial through Serenex’s proprietary Small Molecule HSP90 Inhibitor, SNX-5422.
"The clinical trial under this CTA is being funded by the NCI and conducted by the NCI intramural program. Serenex and CCR have jointly developed the clinical protocol and Serenex will provide the study drug. This study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SNX-5422 viewed like well in the same manner with certain novel efficacy biomarkers. Data from the experience will be submitted by Serenex under its current Investigational New Drug (IND) application."
Pfizer’s acquisition deal with Serenex, pending regulatory and other approvals, is expected to close in the side with district. Financial terms were not released.
"The agreement to acquire Serenex is the latest step in the execution of Pfizer’s strategy to expand our commitment to oncology, each area where Pfizer plans to establish a leadership position," Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler said in a written statement.
2 commentsSirona Dental Systems Chooses 3D Systems For Its New InCoris Wax-Pattern Service
3D Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: TDSC), a leading provider of 3-D Modeling, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions, has announced that Sirona Dental Systems, Inc., a pioneer in digital dentistry and a leading producer of dental CAD/CAM systems, has chosen its InVision® DP (Dental Professional) 3-D Modeler to launch Sirona’s new infiniDent wax pattern service.
After extensive research and testing with the 3-D Printer, Sirona has announced plans to use 3D Systems’ InVision® DP 3-D Modeler to fabricate inCoris WAX patterns as part of Sirona’s infiniDent service beginning in March 2008. The new inCoris WAX patterns are used by dental technicians who want fast, consistent and economical fabrication of full cast crowns, copings and bridge frameworks for example well as full contour units for press ceramics or over metal and pure zirconium oxide (ZrO2) substructures.
3D Systems’ InVision® DP (Dental Professional) 3-D Modeler and new ProJet™ DP 3000 3-D Production System accurately, consistently and economically manufacture precision wax-ups. A dental professional scans a model, designs a virtual wax-up using 3-D software, then sends the data to the InVision® or ProJet™ modelers to “print” wax-ups in layers; these systems can generate hundreds of units in each cycle. through built-in VisiJet® DP 200 Material, the wax-ups receive a smooth external part finish and can be cast or pressed with conventional techniques.
“The introduction of inCoris WAX vastly increases infiniDent’s service offering for existing inLab and inEos users and provides them with more access to more materials,” said Marcus Meier, MDT, manager of infiniDent. “We are convinced that dental laboratories utilizing these wax patterns will substantially greaten their efficiencies when fabricating wax-patterns through infiniDent.”
“We are very pleased that a world-class dental player like Sirona selected our dental professional production system,” said Abe Reichental, 3D Systems’ president and chief executive officer. “We believe that digital dentistry applications represent a significant growth opportunity for our company and expect to broaden our presence in this space with additional Additive Manufacturing solutions for dental labs.”
About 3D Systems
3D Systems is a leading provider of 3-D Modeling, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions. Its systems and materials reduce the time and cost of designing products and facilitate direct and indirect manufacturing by creating actual parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used for design communication and prototyping as well as in spite of production of functional end-use parts: Transform your products.
More information on the company is available at http://www.3dsystems.com.
About Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.
Recognized as a leading global manufacturer of technologically advanced, high-quality dental equipment, Sirona has served rigging dealers and dentists worldwide for more than 125 years. Sirona develops, manufactures and markets a complete line of dental products, including the CAD/CAM restoration equipment (CEREC), digital and film-based intra-oral, panoramic and cephalometric X-ray imaging systems, dental treatment centers and handpieces.
Sirona Dental Systems
3D Medical Imaging Solutions Growing In Affordability In Europe
3D imaging has become one of the highest growth segments in the field of medical imaging and the European 3D imaging mart is expanding as applications become increasingly affordable. 3D is gaining in popularity as a rapid diagnostic tool that tackles the huge volume of medical data being produced daily in European hospitals, aiding in workflow efficiency.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.medicalimaging.frost.com), European 3D Imaging Markets, finds that the market earned revenues of USD 210.0 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach USD 521.5 million in 2014.
“In the past few years, the 3D imaging market has become one of the highest growth segments in the medical imaging field, and this trend is set to persist as these applications become more affordable and research proves their clinical value,” notes Frost & Sullivan inquiry Analyst Darshana De. “Most of these applications will provide non-invasive alternatives that have the potential to improve standards of care for patients.”
3D therapeutical imaging solutions are additional imaging tools that help display images more accurately, displaying internal body structures with a three-dimensional view. This ability, in turn, offers added information to physicians and supports the precise detection and diagnosis of diseases. 3D medical imaging provides advanced visualisation options and tools to radiologists and surgeons.
While market prospects appear promising, the major opportunities are likely to be restricted to large hospitals. The high price involved in large, enterprise-wide deployment, coupled with the lack of reimbursement for 3D imaging, which is not recognised as a separate procedure and is bundled with other diagnostic procedures, will challenge market participants.
“In Europe, very limited reimbursement is offered for performing imaging procedures using 3D visualisation,” elaborates De. “Where reimbursement is offered, the 3D processing is typically not recognised like a distinct action, but is usually bundled with reimbursement for a particular modality procedure.”
Despite the ease of viewing 3D rendered images, it requires highly skilled radiologists to pre-process the images. Moreover, the imaging tool can be effectively utilised only in hospitals that generate large volumes of premises everyday.
To leverage growth opportunities, sales and marketing need to continuously minimise costs through efficient functioning, while R&D has to focus on reducing product development and manufacturing costs. Market participants need to make accrue user-friendly solutions with high levels of customer support, including training, maintenance and installation services. Partnering with PACS vendors also affords 3D visualisation companies expanded recurrence to end users through the superior sales and distribution channels of PACS vendors.
European 3D Imaging Markets is part of the therapeutic Imaging Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes scrutiny in the following markets: European Computed Tomography (CT) Systems Markets, European 3D Imaging Markets, European Molecular Imaging Markets, European Mobile Imaging Services Market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews by the press are available.
Frost & Sullivan, the Global Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company’s Growth Partnership Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices enable clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements operative growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investing. community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.
XenoPort And GlaxoSmithKline Report Positive Top-line Results Of Final Pivotal Trial Of XP13512/GSK1838262 For Restless Legs Syndrome
XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq: XNPT) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) announced positive top-line results from the final pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of XP13512 (GSK1838262) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe symptoms of primary restless legs syndrome, or RLS. XP13512 demonstrated statistically significant improvements compared to placebo on both of the co-primary endpoints of the trial and was generally well-tolerated.
“We have now demonstrated in three Phase 3 trials that XP13512 treatment leads to a clear improvement in RLS symptoms. Based on data from the RLS clinical program, we believe that XP13512 could offer compelling benefits to patients with primary RLS,” said Ronald W. Barrett, Ph.D., chief executive officer of XenoPort.
“This novel compound is the in the beginning non-dopaminergic agent to demonstrate efficacy in controlled clinical trials for the treatment of primary RLS and may offer patients a new treatment option,” said Atul Pande, M.D., senior vice president, GlaxoSmithKline Neurosciences Medicines Development Center. “With the completion of this third Phase 3 clinical trial, we look forward to filing the NDA for primary RLS in the third quarter of 2008.”
This clinical trial (XP053) was a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial that enrolled 325 patients who were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe primary RLS. Patients were treated with 1200 mg or 600 mg of XP13512 or placebo, given formerly per day. The pre-specified primary efficacy analysis of the study was the comparison of the 1200 mg XP13512 and placebo treatment groups. The co-primary endpoints for the clinical trial were the change from baseline for the International Restless Legs Syndrome (IRLS) rating scale score at end of treatment and the percentage of patients showing significant improvement on the Investigator Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) scale at end of treatment.
Results from the pre-specified analysis indicate that treatment with 1200 mg of XP13512 was associated with statistically significant improvements in the co-primary endpoints compared to placebo. Improvements in the IRLS lamella score were significantly greater for 1200 mg XP13512 than for placebo (unadjusted mean values: -13.0 for 1200 mg XP13512; -9.8 for placebo; p=0.0015). At the end of treatment, significantly more patients treated with 1200 mg of XP13512 were reported as “much improved” or “very much improved” on the CGI-I scale compared to those treated with placebo (78% for 1200 mg XP13512; 45% for placebo; p< 0.0001).
Treatment with 600 mg of XP13512 was also associated with statistically significant improvements in the IRLS and CGI-I endpoints compared to placebo. The unadjusted mean reduction in the IRLS scale score was -13.8 for 600 mg XP13512 patients (p<0.0001 compared to placebo). At the end of treatment, 73% of patients treated with 600 mg of XP13512 were reported as "much improved" or "very much improved" on the CGI-I scale (p<0.0001 compared to placebo).
During the 12-week management period, the most commonly reported adverse events for XP13512 were dizziness (24% 1200 mg XP13512; 10% 600 mg XP13512; 5% placebo) and somnolence (18% 1200 mg XP13512; 22% 600 mg XP13512; 2% placebo). These adverse events were generally mild or moderate in intensity. Withdrawals due to adverse events were 7% in the 1200 mg XP13512 group, 6% in the 600 mg XP13512 group and 6% in the placebo group. There were three reported serious adverse events in the study (one in the placebo group, two in the 600 mg XP13512 group), none of which were considered treatment-related.
Dr. Barrett stated, “This study provides additional confirmation of the efficacy and safety of the 1200 mg dose of XP13512 in RLS patients. The efficacy of 600 mg XP13512 in this study was somewhat surprising since a two-week Phase 2 clinical trial with a 600 mg dose did not show a statistical difference from placebo. Data from all doses examined in the RLS trials will be evaluated as part of the XP13512 NDA. With three positive pivotal RLS trials now completed, we hope to provide an important new treatment option to patients with primary RLS. “
About XP13512
XP13512 is a patented, new chemical entity that is designed to improve upon the clinical utility of gabapentin by taking advantage of high-capacity transport mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract to improve absorption.
Completed phase 3 clinical trials for moderate-to-severe primary RLS
XP052
A double-blind, 12-week clinical trial comparing 1200 mg of XP13512 to placebo designed to evaluate safety and efficacy. Results from this trial were released on April 25, 2007.
XP060
A placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the potential of 1200 mg of XP13512 to maintain efficacy over nine months in patients. Results from this trial were released on January 16, 2008.
About RLS
According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 12 million people in the U.S. are afflicted with RLS across a range of severity from mild to severe. The syndrome is characterized by disturbing, unpleasant and sometimes painful sensations in the legs that result in a compelling urge to move. The discomfort is often temporarily relieved by movement. Because symptoms typically occur at night, RLS patients often suffer from sleep disruption. RLS symptoms can be debilitating published data suggest that RLS can have an impact on quality of life equivalent to, or worse than, major chronic medical disorders such as diabetes and osteoarthritis.
About XP13512 Collaborations
In December 2005, XenoPort licensed to Astellas Pharma Inc. rights to develop and commercialize XP13512 in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan. Astellas is currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials of XP13512 in painful diabetic neuropathy and RLS in Japan. In February 2007, XenoPort entered into a collaboration with GSK for the development and commercialization of XP13512 in all countries of the world, excluding the Astellas territory. XenoPort is completing RLS clinical trials in the U.S. in support of the submission of the NDA by GSK, which is expected in the third quarter of this year. GSK is responsible for all other clinical development and commercialization of XP13512 outside the Astellas territory. In December 2007, GSK announced plans to initiate clinical trials of XP13512 in 2008 for treatment of sleep disturbance in patients with moderate-to-severe primary RLS, management of post-herpetic neuralgia and painful anti-diabetic neuropathy and for migraine prophylaxis.
About XenoPort
XenoPort, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a portfolio of internally discovered product candidates that utilize the body’s natural nutrient transporter mechanisms to improve the therapeutic benefits of drugs. Its development and commercialization efforts are currently focused on potential treatments of central nervous system disorders. XenoPort’s most advanced product candidate, XP13512, has successfully completed three pivotal trials in its Phase 3 clinical program for the treatment of moderate-to-severe primary RLS, and has successfully completed a Phase 2a clinical trial for the management of post-herpetic neuralgia. XenoPort has also reported positive results from a Phase 2a clinical trial of its second product candidate, XP19986, in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease
To learn more about XenoPort, please visit the web site at http://www.XenoPort.com.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For more information, visit GlaxoSmithKline at http://www.gsk.com
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including, without limitation, all statements related to XenoPort’s and its partners’ clinical development programs for XP13512 and the timing thereof; the potential filing of an NDA for XP13512 and the timing thereof; the therapeutic and commercial potential of XP13512; and GSK’s future clinical trials. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as “believes,” “plans,” “expected,” “will,” “potential,” “may,” “could,” “hope” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon XenoPort’s current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. XenoPort’s actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to the uncertain results of clinical trials; XenoPort’s or its partners’ ability to successfully conduct the clinical trials for XP13512, and the results thereof; the uncertainty of the FDA approval process and other regulatory requirements; XenoPort’s dependence on its current and additional collaborative partners; and the uncertain therapeutic and commercial value of XenoPort’s compounds. These and other risk factors are discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in XenoPort’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2008. XenoPort expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
GlaxoSmithKline forward-looking statement
Under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that may affect GSK’s operations are described under ‘Risk Factors’ in the operating and Financial Review and Prospects in the company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2006.
XenoPort is a registered U.S. trademark
Micrus Endovascular To Present At March Investment Conferences
Micrus Endovascular Corporation (Nasdaq: MEND) announced that management will make presentations at four investment conferences in March:
- Robert Stern, Micrus President and COO, will present at the Rodman & Renshaw “Straight to the Heart” one-day, one-on-one meeting conference on Tuesday, March 4. The conference will be held at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
- John Kilcoyne, Micrus Chairman and CEO, will present at the Susquehanna International Group’s SIGnificant Options Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. This conference will be held at the W Hotel in New York.
- Robert Stern, Micrus President and COO, will present at the Cowen and Company 28th Annual Health Care Conference on March 18 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. This conference will be held at The Boston Marriott Copley Place.
- Gordon Sangster, Micrus CFO, will grant at Citigroup’s 5th Annual Small & Mid Cap Conference on Wednesday, March 19 at 8:05 a.m. Pacific time. This discourse will be held at the Four Seasons hotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
A live webcast of conference presentations at the Susquehanna International Group’s SIGnificant Options Healthcare Conference, Citigroup’s 5th Annual Small & Mid Cap Conference, and Cowen and Company 28th Annual Health Care Conference will be available via the Internet by visiting the Investor Relations section of Micrus’ Web site at http://www.micruscorp.com. Each presentation will be archived and available on the Web site as being 14 days.
About Micrus Endovascular Corporation
Micrus develops, manufactures and markets both implantable and disposable healing devices used in the treatment of cerebral vascular diseases. Micrus products are used by interventional neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons primarily to treat cerebral aneurysms responsible for hemorrhagic stroke, a significant cause of death worldwide. The Micrus product line enables physicians to gain access to the brain in a minimally invasive manner through the vessels of the circulatory system. Micrus’ proprietary, three-dimensional microcoils are unique in that they automatically deploy within the aneurysm, forming a scaffold that conforms to a wide diversity of aneurysm shapes and sizes. Micrus also sells accessory devices and products used in conjunction with its microcoils.
http://www.micruscorp.com
How The Brain Learns, And The Role Of Time And Timing In Education, To Be Discussed At ”Science Of Learning” Forum, USA
Can a better understanding of the science of learning help us educate our students? Researchers at the Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center (TDLC), a National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center, think so. To address the issue the TDLC is hosting a forum titled, “Brains R Us: The Science of Educating,” a free, open to the public event on March 3 at the Salk Institute’s Frederic de Hoffmann Auditorium in La Jolla, Calif.
Drs. Paula Tallal and Mike Merzenich, noted neuroscientists and co-founders of Scientific Learning Corp., are among featured speakers at the day-long event, which is sponsored in part by Scientific Learning. Scientific Learning is the developer of the Fast ForWord® group of genera of products, educational software that accelerates learning by developing the pupil brain to process more efficiently.
At the forum, prominent researchers and policymakers will share new information on how the brain learns and how this premises have power to benefit academic instruction and performance. One area of particular focus will be the concept of instructional timing and its impact on knowledge retention. Researchers with the TDLC, a collaborative consortium of University of California San Diego, Rutgers University and Vanderbilt University, will address their reliance that the role of time and timing in learning is an essential and understudied element of learning that could have a powerful impact on the success of children in schools.
Another major theme at the forum will exist how neuroscience research can be put to use in today’s classrooms to help student of all ages and capabilities build learning capacity and improve overall literacy.
“Educators and course of action makers should be aware of the advances in neuroscience and how they can help develop and strengthen students’ cognitive skills,” said Dr. Paula Tallal, co-director of Rutgers University’s Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience and a co-founder of Scientific Learning Corp. “investigation on neuroplasticity has opened the door on this account that developing uncommon, neuroscience-informed methods for enhancing basic cognitive and linguistic skills that are critical to reading success. This is just one example of how neuroscience can provide practical tools for teaching and learning.”
Joining Tallal as a featured presenter is Dr. Mike Merzenich, co-founder of Scientific Learning Corp. and the Francis A. Sooy Chair of Otolaryngology in the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at UC-San Francisco. Dr. Merzenich has been awarded more than 50 patents and has contributed his software development skills to several therapeutic training programs including Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord® software products, as conveniently as those from Posit Science Corp., which strive to improve the brain health of aging adults by using effective, non-invasive tools that engage the brain’s natural plasticity.
As one extension to the event, Roger Bingham, Director of The Science Network, will videotape a conversation with Physics Nobel laureate, Dr. Leon Lederman on Tuesday, March 4 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conversation inclination be followed by a signing of Dr. Lederman’s books The God Particle and Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe. This interview will offer attendees a unique opportunity to meet one of world’s greatest in quantity taking Nobel laureates and ruling spokesmen for science education.
Individuals partial in attending the event can visit http://www.thesciencenetwork.org. Admission and parking are free but seating in the auditorium is limited, so registration is essential to guarantee attendance. For people unable to attend, a live webcast will be available at http://www.calit2.net/webcast on March 3 and will begin at 8:15 a.m. PST. A video of the event will be offered later on The Science Network Web site at http://www.thesciencenetwork.org.
For more information about the Temporal Dynamics of acquired knowledge Center, visit http://tdlc.ucsd.edu.
About Scientific Learning Corporation
Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. Scientific Learning’s Reading Assistant™ combines advanced speech recognition technology with scientifically-based courseware to help students strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient, life-long readers. The efficacy of the products has been established by more than 550 research studies and publications. For more accusation, visit http://www.scientificlearning.com and http://www.brainconnection.com.
Chemical ‘Chords’ Used By Neurons To Shape Signaling
Researchers have discovered that neurons can use two different neurotransmitters that target the same receptor attached a receiving neuron to shape the transmission of a nerve impulse. Although the researchers’ experiments identified the “co-release” of the two neurotransmitters single in specific types of neurons in the brain’s auditory center, their finding may apply more broadly in the brain, they said. Thus, the finding may represent a recently made known way in which the brain precisely modulates the nerve impulses that travel from neuron to neuron in its circuitry.
Tao Lu and colleagues Maria Rubio and Laurence Trussell reported their findings in the February 28, 2008, issue of the journal Neuron, published by means of Cell Press.
To propagate a nerve impulse within neural circuitry, one neuron launches a burst of chemical signal called a neurotransmitter at a receiving neuron, where the neurotransmitter attaches to a specific receptor - equal a key fitting a lock. That neurotransmitter-specific receptor is activated to trigger a nerve impulse in the receiving neuron.
Such nerve impulses, however, rather than being the electrical equivalent of a shotgun blast, are precisely modulated signals, like the finely shaped notes of an orchestra.
In studies over the past several decades, researchers had institute evidence for co-release of different neurotransmitters by the same neuron. But they had assumed that in such cotransmission, each neurotransmitter targeted its own receptor on the receiving neuron.
However, Lu and colleagues performed biochemical and electrophysiological experiments on rat neurons and established that two neurotransmitters - called GABA and glycine - both mark the glycine receptor in specific types of neurons. The neurons they studied reside in the part of the rat auditory system that processes sound location. Thus, shaping the timing of the nerve impulse is important for such processing.
Glycine acts as an prohibitory neurotransmitter in such neurons, and Lu and colleagues rest that GABA acts on the glycine receptor to accelerate glycine-produced inhibition.
Lu and colleagues wrote that, although their studies only establish the role of GABA/glycine cotransmission in the specialized auditory neurons, other studies had found evidence for cotransmission in other areas of the brain. Such findings insinuate that the two neurotransmitters may work in concert elsewhere “at a single receptor to enhance the temporal manliness of inhibition.”
“Of course, a hallmark of a great scientific study is the ability to approach an established problem from a fresh perspective,” wrote Joshua Singer in a preview of the article in the same issue of Neuron. “And certainly the present work by Lu, Rubio, and Trussell characterizes this.” Singer, who is at Northwestern University, asked, “Who would have thought that gaba [is a natural trigger for glycine receptors]? Not me, unfortunately.”
—————————-
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
—————————-
The researchers include Tao Lu, Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR; Maria E. Rubio, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; and Laurence O. Trussell, Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR.
Source: Cathleen Genova
Cell Press
Further Steps Leading To Celiac Disease Uncovered By Scientists
Scientists who last year identified a new genetic risk factor for coeliac disease, have, following continued research, discovered an additional seven gene regions implicated in causing the condition. The team, lead by David fore-rank Heel, Professor of Gastrointestinal Genetics at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have further demonstrated that of the nine coeliac gene regions now know, four of these are also predisposing factors for type 1 diabetes. Their research sheds light not only on the nature of coeliac disease, but on the belonging to all origins of both diseases. It is published online today (2 March 2008) in Nature Genetics.
Professor van Heel and his team, including collaborators from Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, primeval performed a genome wide association study in coeliac disease. Genetic markers across the genome were compared in coeliac disease subjects versus healthy controls. They then assessed around 1,000 of the strongest markers in a further ~ 5,000 samples. Their results identified seven new risk regions, six of that harbour important genes critical in the control of immune responses, highlighting their significance in the development of the disease.
Coeliac disease is common in the West, afflicting around 1 per cent of the population. It is an immune-mediated disease, triggered by intolerance to gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye containing foods), that prevents normal digestion and absorption of nutrients. If undetected it can lead to a number of often severe problems amidst them anaemia, poor bone health, fatigue and ponderousness loss. Currently only a restricted diet can diminish symptoms.
Professor van Heel said: “So far our findings explain nearly half of the heritability of coeliac disease - now studies with many more samples from individuals with coeliac disease are needed to identify the precise causal genetic variants from each region, and understand how these influence biological processes.”
—————————-
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
—————————-
The research was funded by Coeliac UK and The Wellcome Trust.
The paper, ‘Newly identified genetic risk variant for celiac disease related to the immune response’ is published online, on 2 March 2008, in Nature Genetics.
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry offers international levels of excellence in research and instruction while serving a population of unrivalled diversity amongst which cases of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, TB, oral disease and cancers are prevalent, within east London and the wider Thames Gateway. Through partnership with our linked trusts, notably Barts and The London NHS Trust, and our associated University Hospital trusts - Homerton, Newham, Whipps Cross and Queen’s - the School’s research and teaching is informed by an exceptionally wide ranging and stimulating clinical environment.
At the heart of the School’s mission lies world class research, the result of a focused programme of recruitment of leading research groups from the UK and abroad and a £100 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities. Research is focused onward translational research, cancer, cardiology, clinical pharmacology, inflammation, infectious diseases, stem cells, dermatology, gastroenterology, haematology, diabetes, neuroscience, surgery and dentistry.
The School is nationally and internationally recognised for research in these areas, reflected in the £40 million it attracts annually in research income. Its fundamental mission, with its partner NHS Trusts, and other partner organisations such as CRUK, is to ensure that that the best possible clinical good is underpinned by the very latest developments in scientific and clinical teaching, training and study.
Websites
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/ http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/
http://www.icms.qmul.ac.uk/
http://www.icms.qmul.ac.uk/Profiles/Gastro/van%20Heel%20David.htm
http://www.nature.com/ng/table of contents.html
Source: Sally Webster
Queen Mary, University of London
$4.1M Grant To Study Nurses’ Work Decisions Awarded To NYU College Of Nursing Researcher
New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN), has received an eight-year, $4.1 million year bounty from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) in order to track changes in their careers. The new grant extends from 4 to 10 the number of years these nurses will be studied. The grant also adds funding to study two new cohorts of NLRNs and to survey new nurses about the quality of patient-care education.
“Following the same nurses for the first 10 years of their careers will provide an unprecedented opportunity to learn about how they invent decisions about their work,” said NYUCN’s Christine Kovner, RN, PhD, FAAN, the study’s principal investigator.
In the face of continuing nursing shortages, which are projected to top 340,000 by 2020, exploring the conditions that power of impelling nurses to remain in, or leave, their positions will be vital to informing health care organizations and policymakers’ efforts to retain qualified RNs and ameliorate the environments in which they work.
“This grant continues our work about the work patterns of strange RNs over time that is particularly important both to the nursing profession and to our hale condition care system,” said co-principal investigator Carol S. Brewer, PhD, RN, associate professor in the School of Nursing at the University at Buffalo in New York.
Findings from the course research, “Newly Licensed RNs’ Characteristics, Work Attitudes, and Intentions to Work,” were published in the September 2007 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. The sample included new RNs in the District of Columbia and 34 states. A total of 3,266 nurses completed the first survey. Data were gathered in four areas: respondent characteristics, work-setting characteristics, respondents’ attitudes about work, and job opportunities. Respondents who were not working were asked on the eve their reasons for being unemployed. Findings from the current study can be found at RNWorkproject.org.
“New graduates of nursing programs who become registered nurses are essential to balancing the supply and demand for these professionals,” uttered Kovner. “Therefore, it is vital that we understand the factors that promote the retention of newly licensed RNs considered in the state of well as factors that lead to the high turnover rates among them.”
“We deeply appreciate the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s continued unwavering stay for the study of the important issues of RN retention and job satisfaction,” said NYUCN Dean Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN. “The findings will in turn help leaders in the field make informed decisions about where in the system we neediness to make greater investments in educating, hiring, and retaining excellent nurses, which is in this way critical to the health of our nation.”
—————————-
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
—————————-
Along with Kovner and Brewer, other members of the research team include co-investigators William Greene, PhD, an expert in econometrics of NYU Stern School of Business, and Sean Corcoran, PhD, an economist at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
The College of Nursing at the College of Dentistry is located upon the body repaired York University’s historic Greenwich Village campus in New York City. The College of Nursing is one of the leading nursing programs in the United States. The College offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Master of Arts and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Research Theory and Development. For more information, visit http://www.nyu.edu/nursing.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and healthcare of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For in greater numbers than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org/
Source: Christopher James
New York University
Characteristics Of Prostate Cancer Detected By Digital Rectal Examination Only
UroToday.com - A report in the December, 2007 issue of Urology by Dr. Okotie and the group of Dr. William Catalona suggests the digital rectal examination (DRE) remains an important element of prostate cancer (CaP) screening. The group performed the study, as others be favored with suggested that DRE is no longer indispensable thing to CaP screening. For example, the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer states that a prostate biopsy should be offered for a PSA level of >3.0ng/ml but omits DRE.
From Dr. Catalona’s database of 36,000 men participating in CaP screening betwixt 1989 and 2001, 3,568 (10%) were diagnosed with CaP. Prior to 1995 a PSA level >4.0ng/ml and after 1995 a PSA level >2.5g/ml was the indication for prostate biopsy. The other indication has always been a DRE suspicious for CaP. Among men who had a prostate biopsy due to a suspicious DRE, 18% were diagnosed with CaP. Of the 3,568 men diagnosed with CaP, 2,233 underwent radical prostatectomy. Of the men treated with surgery, 303 (14%) were diagnosed with CaP by DRE alone, 1,426 (64%) on the basis of PSA, and 504 (22%) due to abnormalities in both the PSA and DRE.
Among men diagnosed with CaP due to an abnormal DRE alone who underwent surgery, 60 (20%) were non-organ confined, 56 (20%) had Gleason score 7 or higher, 49 (16%) had positive surgical margins, 8 (3%) had seminal vesicle invasion and 4 (1.3%) had lymph node metastasis. Comparing these pathologic features to CaP detected to be paid to abnormalities in both PSA and DRE findings revealed that adverse pathology was significantly more likely if both the PSA and DRE were abnormal, compared to either test lonely. The 10 year progression-free survival rate was 83%, 82%, and 63% for CaP detected by DRE only, PSA only, and both PSA and DRE, respectively. Overall survival and cancer-specific survival were also significantly higher for CaP detected by an abnormality on only DRE or PSA compared to both tests. This data supports a role for both DRE and PSA in CaP screening.
Okotie OT, Roehl KA, Han M, Loeb S, Gashti SN, Catalona WJ
Urology. 70(6):1117-20, December 2007
doi:10.1016/j.urology.2007.07.019
Reported by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS Professor & Chairman Department of Urology University of California, Davis, School of Medicine Sacramento, CA
UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com
—————————-
Copyright © 2007 - UroToday
Reproduced for Medical News Today with permission of UroToday.
—————————-
Endogenous Sex Hormones And The Risk Of Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Study
UroToday.com- Relationship between Endogenous Sex Hormones and Prostate Cancer Not Demonstrated in Prospective Study: Previous epidemiologic studies relating serum hormone levels to prostate cancer (CaP) risk have been inconclusive. In the International Journal of Cancer, Dr. Weiss and associates report a large nested case-control study including 727 cases and 889 controls using pre-diagnostic serum samples in the prospective Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. They examined associations between androstenedione (?4-A), testosterone (T), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and 3 androstanedio glucuronide (3?-diolG) with the risk of CaP. This study had the benefit of a large size that would permit evaluation of androgen-associated risks in relation to CaP aggressiveness and to consider risks in population subgroups.
The PLCO screening trial is a two-armed, randomized controlled touchstone designed to evaluate the effectiveness of prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening and to investigate etiologic factors and early markers of cancer. Case diagnosis followed one elevated PSA (57%), an abnormal rectal exam (14%), and both (17%). Most serum hormone levels were not correlated with PSA in cases or controls, however T:SHBG was correlated with PSA in controls. Although risks tended to increase with greater total, free, and bioavailable T, and to decrease with greater SHBG, these findings were not statistically significant. T:SHBG ratio, however, was associated with increased risk for CaP especially in men age 65 years and older.
In summary, there is not significant convincing evidence of a relationship between serum sex hormones and prostate cancer.
Weiss JM, Huang WY, Rinaldi S, Fears TR, Chatterjee N, Hsing AW, Crawford ED, Andriole GL, Kaaks R, Hayes RB.
Int J Cancer. 2008 Jan 2 [Epub ahead of impress]
doi:10.1002/ijc.23326
Reported by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Christopher P. Evans, MD
UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology guide opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical custom.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com
—————————-
Copyright © 2007 - UroToday
Reproduced for Medical News Today with permission of UroToday.
—————————-
Why Men In The United Kingdom Still Want The Prostate Specific Antigen Test
UroToday.com - In a report in the January 2008 issue of Qualitative Health Research, an Oxford University team of sociologists led by Alison Chapple analyzed British men’s views and experiences regarding PSA screening. The UK has no formal national screening program for prostate cancer (CaP) but in 2001 the UK Department of Health introduced the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Program (PCRMP), which gives men access to the PSA test if they are first informed about its benefits and limitations. All general practitioners in UK received denunciation about the PCRMP. The authors who have previously reported on British men’s views on heath screening sought to inquire into men’s views ago the PCRMP was introduced.
The objectives of the research was to explore men’s understanding of the PSA test, their perceptions of the information they received, the factors that they before-mentioned influenced them when deciding whether to have a test, and their understanding of the results. The analysis included 30 men who underwent 1-2 hour interviews in their homes. Participant range was ages 40-78, almost all were white and most were recruited by way of their general practitioner
. Overall, the views were similar to those noted prior to the introduction of the PCRMP. Most men described having been given little information and encouraged by wives, friends, and the media to have the test. Three aspects dominated the views of the men interviewed; that PSA is perceived and approached by men and doctors as “just another blood test”, that any testing for cancer is responsible health behavior, and that there is a be in want of message about the uncertainty that is inherent in the test and treatment options. Some men viewed PSA screening as civic duty to advance medical science, others as prevention is better than cure. Overall however, men interviewed were silent unsure end for end the meaning of the PSA test and received little information from their general practitioners. Men often seemed unprepared for the possible adverse consequences of having the test, including the uncertainties about the value of management.
Chapple A, Ziebland S, Hewitson P, McPherson A
Qual Health Res. 18(1): 56-64, January 2008
DOI: 10.1177/1049732307309000
Reported by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS Professor & Chairman Department of Urology University of California, Davis, School of Medicine Sacramento, CA
UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com
—————————-
Copyright © 2007 - UroToday
Reproduced for Medical News Today with permission of UroToday.
—————————-
Complex Interventions For Elderly People Can Be Beneficial
According to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet, elderly people can improve physical function and live more independently if provided with complex interventions such as preventive home visits and community-based care after hospital discharge. The study of over 90,000 elderly people also led authors to conclude that well-developed services for the elderly should not be withdrawn.
Elderly people tend to have reduced physical capabilities, which leads to increased dependence on others, a need during the term of hospital and long-term nursing-home care, and premature death. Community-based complex interventions seek to preserve physical function and independence in elderly people. Researchers were interested in assessing the efficacy of interventions such as preventive home visits, care after hospital discharge, fall prevention, and education and counseling in a group setting.
The meta-analysis, performed by Andrew Beswick, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK, and colleagues, included a systematic review on data from 89 trials. The data consisted of 97,984 people, averaging 65 years of age, who have been living home and had at least six months of follow-up.
The researchers focused on the outcomes of living at home, death, nursing home admission, hospital admission, falls, and physical functions. One typical study that concentrated on these outcomes was the Medical Research Council trial of assessment and management of elderly mob in the community.
Results of the meta-analysis include:
- Complex interventions were associated with:
- a 13% reduced risk of nursing-home admission, and therefore improved the chances of living at home
- a 6% reduced risk of hospital admissions
- a 10% reduced risk in the occurrence of falls
- Those who received intervention also improved physical function
- There was no impact on the risk of death
The authors bill that admission rates to nursing homes were lower in trials that reported higher death rates for the complex intervention groups.
Results were also different depending on the time period of the trial. Studies that started before 1993 were more likely to show benefits of complex intervention. The period closely before this, the 1980s to 1990s, was a period of great change in elderly care. During this time, general practice began to include certain principals of powerful care.
Beswick and colleagues point out that the specific type or intensity of intervention did not necessarily have an impact on the benefits. They suggest that it could be wise to tailor different types of care to the specific needs and desires of individuals, which could lead to improved care response and adhesion without loss any potential benefits.
“Our systematic review and meta-analysis showed that complex interventions can help elderly people to continue living at home, largely through prevention of the need for nursing home care, and can help to reduce the rate of falls,” conclude to the authors. “Complex interventions can help elderly people to live safely and independently, and could be tailored to meet individuals’ needs and preferences. We believe that our general conclusion, drawn from all the available randomised evidence…suggests that a withdrawal of existing well developed services [for the elderly] would be inappropriate.”
Dr. David Stott, Academic Section of Geriatric Medicine, University of Glasgow, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary, UK, and colleagues write in an accompanying editorial: “There are major challenges in the household of access to multifactorial intervention for frail older people living in the common. The numbers of qualified health-care workers are limited, and the number of older people that efficacy benefit is growing. However, benefits will be maximised if we avoid ineffective or poorly coordinated systems of care, and concentrate on trying to replicate what we know works. It is vital we get this right - there is the potential to improve the quality of life with regard to elderly people and their carers, and possibly even to impair the costs of health and social care.”
Complex interventions to improve physical function and maintain independent living in elderly people: a systematic re-examine and meta-analysis
Andrew D Beswick, Karen Rees, Paul Dieppe, Salma Ayis, Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Jeremy Horwood, and Shah Ebrahim
The Lancet (2008). 371:725-735
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60342-6
Click Here to View Abstract
Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to exist reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Virginia Senate Votes To Eliminate State Funding For Planned Parenthood
The Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved every amendment to eliminate state funding for the Virginia League for the sake of Planned Parenthood, the Washington Post reports. Planned Parenthood opponents say that the funds supply with a subsidy abortions services, the Post reports. According to the Post, the move could “endanger hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid for women’s health care programs.”
The funding cut was included in an amendment to the state’s budget plan for fiscal years 2008-2010, which the Senate approved on Wednesday. All 19 Senate Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, sponsored by Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R). Although Senate Democratic leaders “struggled during the term of hours to foil the amendment,” Sen. Charles Colgan (D) joined Republicans and cast the tie vote, which was broken by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who voted in favor of the restrictions (Craig, Washington Post, 2/28). The House version of the bill also eliminates the funding but uses broader language, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The restriction could be removed by Gov. Tim Kaine (D) via a line-item veto when the bill reaches his desk next month (Schapiro/Whitley, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/28).
According to Cuccinelli, the state budget traditionally includes between $250,000 and $500,000 for VLPP programs that are not of the same nature to abortion services — such as contraceptive services, programs to prevent teen pregnancy and HIV — and health programs for low-income women. Cuccinelli declared that any funds to Planned Parenthood could subsidize abortion. Sen. Janet Howell (D), who voted against the amendment, said, “The irony is, Planned Parenthood probably prevents more abortions than any other organization in the country.” Officials from VLPP were not available for comment, the Post reports (Washington Post, 2/28).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a released service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
&archetype; 2007 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
Beyond The Abstract Dietary Modification In Patients With Prostate Cancer On Active Surveillance: A Randomized, Multi Centre Feasibility Study
To our knowledge, this is the first clinical trial to report the application of a major, validated, diet-based intervention as a single form of therapy in active surveillance patients. These data indicate that telephone-based counseling emphasizing a plant-based diet significantly increases vegetable intake and plasma concentrations of potentially anti-carcinogenic carotenoids among men with prostate cancer on active surveillance.
Prostate cancer patients in large numbers are experimenting with complementary and alternative medicine, including food [19]. Assessing the clinical efficacy of dietary change is an important public health issue and requires the accumulation of data from rationally-designed trials focused on feasible diet-based interventions. Unlike the present study, the intensive lifestyle modifications and face-to-face counseling employed in the prior study of diet and active management patients [15] requires substantial resource commitments that may be difficult to implement and sustain on a larger scale.
Diet change represents an innovative approach to refining treatment paradigms for lower risk prostate cancer. Active surveillance patients are a particularly compelling study population in this regard for several reasons. First, approximately 100,000 men are diagnosed with lower-risk prostate cancer every year in the U.S.; thus, treatment benefits for this population would have important ramifications for public health. Second, for the reason that up to 30% of men on active surveillance may progress [7], reducing this proportion represents a realistic therapeutic goal. Third, these patients are not receiving ready therapy (i.e., radiation, surgery, or androgen bereavement) that would otherwise obscure or confound beneficial effects of dietary make different on prostate cancer progression. Finally, these patients would likely be receptive to relatively simple nutritional interventions with proven benefits to cardiovascular and overall health.
Indeed, because prostate cancer diagnosis is a source of considerable anxiety and diminished station of life for many patients diagnosed with lower-risk disease [20], it is possible that dietary change would not only exert therapeutic biological effects, but would also encourage men with lower risk prostate cancer and no signs of progression to remain in an active surveillance program. Many patients with no objective PSA or pathologic criteria for progression will nonetheless opt for treatment [7]. Treatment preferences in this condition are generally believed to arise from patient discomfort over not receiving curative therapy for a cancer diagnosis.
For these patients, a diet change program presents an opportunity to alter their perceptions of humble risk prostate cancer by dint of. providing an intervention or therapy on which to focus, thereby easing their discomfiture and possibly dissuading otherwise lower risk men from pursuing unnecessarily aggressive, morbidity-generating treatments. Such an draw nigh would promulgate a novel therapeutic paradigm for lower risk prostate cancer akin to diet alterations for non-insulin dependent diabetes: medical management, without curative intent, of a chronic disease state.
Our innovative telephone-based counseling program focuses on beneficial dietary components associated with decreased prostate cancer incidence and progression. The counseling protocol is step-wise and phased; it employs strategies adopted from social cognitive theory [21, 22] using the techniques of motivational interviewing [23]. It is practicable, demands few resource commitments for the patient, and is low-cost for relatively abundant study populations. A similar program has proved efficacious in breast cancer patients: the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study produced significant diet changes and plasma carotenoid increases over 12 months that have been maintained for 4 years in over 1,500 women previously diagnosed. The significance of the plasma carotenoid increases in the intervention group is underscored by a comparison of these results to those of another major dietary intervention: the Polyp Prevention Trial [25]. Although MEAL study participants began with total carotenoid concentrations 30% higher than those of Polyp Prevention Trial participants, the proportional increase in agency group carotenoid concentrations in MEAL was almost twice that achieved in the first year of the Polyp Prevention Trial.
Several caveats of these results are worth addressing. First, although dietary self-reporting methods may be susceptible to systematic measurement error [26], plasma carotenoid concentrations are an effective biomarker for dietary intake of carotenoids and serve as an objective indicator of a vegetable-intense diet [27]. Moreover, carotenoids have been associated through reduced risk of incident prostate cancer [28, 29] and diminished oxidative damage in prostate tissue [30].
Second, while these results practise not manifest that the changes in diet intake and plasma carotenoid concentrations observed over a 6-month period will be maintained over a longer period of time, the WHEL Study findings suggest that diet changes observed in the first 6 months of this intervention will be maintained for at least 4 years [24].
Third, although these results do not prove that changes in diet and plasma carotenoid concentrations will unavoidably alter the natural history of prostate cancer, it is reasonable to hypothesize that these diet changes increased total vegetable, cruciferous vegetable, and tomato intakes will decrease disease progression in active surveillance patients, given the extensive observational and pre-clinical data supporting this concept. Moreover, it is important to note that the rationale for trials of diet intervention and prostate cancer is driven not only by the supposition that diet plays a weighty role in prostate cancer carcinogenesis, but also by the widespread desire of patients to know whether dietary change has any value in malady curb.
Finally, although PSA concentrations did not change appreciably during the duration of the study, this trial was neither powered nor designed to examine PSA changes as a primary endpoint, which would require determination of PSA kinetics (doubling time or velocity) over a longer time period [7]. Our main purpose in this feasibility study was to test the hypothesis that a telephone-based counseling intervention would bring forward diet and plasma carotenoid changes in prostate cancer patients not to assess whether these changes would alter the natural history or clinical progression of prostate cancer in an active surveillance population.
In compend, these data support the feasibility of implementing clinical trials of telephone-based dietary interventions in men with prostate cancer on active surveillance. Future, larger studies should utilize PSA changes as a primary endpoint to test the hypothesis that telephone-based diet changes will decrease disease progression and need for conventional treatment in these patients.
References
[1] Cooperberg MR, Lubeck DP, Meng MV, Mehta SS, Carroll PR. The changing face of low-risk prostate cancer: trends in clinical presentation and primary management. J Clin Oncol. 2004 Jun 1;22(11):2141-9.
[2] Miller DC, Gruber SB, Hollenbeck BK, Montie JE, Wei JT. Incidence of initial local therapy among men with lower-risk prostate cancer in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Aug 16;98(16):1134-41.
[3] Miller DC, Sanda MG, Dunn RL, Montie JE, Pimentel H, Sandler HM, et al. Long-term outcomes among localized prostate cancer survivors: health-related quality-of-life changes after radical prostatectomy, external radiation, and brachytherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Apr 20;23(12):2772-80.
[4] Potosky AL, Davis WW, Hoffman RM, Stanford JL, Stephenson RA, Penson DF, et al. Five-year outcomes after prostatectomy or radiotherapy for prostate cancer: the prostate cancer outcomes study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004 Sep 15;96(18):1358-67.
[5] Albertsen PC, Hanley JA, Fine J. 20-year outcomes following conservative management of clinically localized prostate cancer. Jama. 2005 May 4;293(17):2095-101.
[6] Carroll PR. Early stage prostate cancer–do we have a problem through over-detection, overtreatment or both? J Urol. 2005 Apr;173(4):1061-2.
[7] Klotz L. Active surveillance for prostate cancer: for whom? J Clin Oncol. 2005 Nov 10;23(32):8165-9.
[8] Warlick C, Trock BJ, Landis P, Epstein JI, Carter HB. Delayed versus immediate surgical intervention and prostate cancer outcome. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Mar 1;98(5):355-7.
[9] Sonn GA, Aronson W, Litwin MS. Impact of diet on prostate cancer: a review. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2005;8(4):304-10.
[10] Stevens VL, Rodriguez C, Pavluck AL, McCullough ML, Thun MJ, Calle EE. Folate nutrition and prostate cancer incidence in a large cohort of US men. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Jun 1;163(11):989-96.
[11] Barber NJ, Zhang X, Zhu G, Pramanik R, Barber JA, Martin FL, et al. Lycopene inhibits DNA synthesis in primary prostate epithelial cells in vitro and its administration is associated with a reduced prostate-specific antigen velocity in a phase II clinical study. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2006;9(4):407-13.
[12] Brooks JD, Paton VG, Vidanes G. Potent induction of phasis 2 enzymes in human prostate cells by sulforaphane. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2001 Sep;10(9):949-54.
[13] Singh AV, Xiao D, Lew KL, Dhir R, Singh SV. Sulforaphane induces caspase-mediated apoptosis in cultured PC-3 human prostate cancer cells and retards growth of PC-3 xenografts in vivo. Carcinogenesis. 2004 Jan;25(1):83-90.
[14] Spentzos D, Mantzoros C, Regan MM, Morrissey ME, Duggan S, Flickner-Garvey S, et al. Minimal efficiency of a low-fat/high soy diet for asymptomatic, hormonally naive prostate cancer patients. Clin Cancer Res. 2003 Aug 15;9(9):3282-7.
[15] Ornish D, Weidner G, Fair WR, Marlin R, Pettengill EB, Raisin CJ, et al. Intensive lifestyle changes may affect the advancement of prostate cancer. J Urol. 2005 Sep;174(3):1065-9; discussion 9-70.
[16] Saxe GA, Major JM, Nguyen JY, Freeman KM, Downs TM, Salem CE. Potential attenuation of disease progression in recurrent prostate cancer with plant-based diet and stress reduction. Integr Cancer Ther. 2006 Sep;5(3):206-13.
[17] Pierce JP, Natarajan L, Sun S, Al-Delaimy W, Flatt SW, Kealey S, et al. Increases in plasma carotenoid concentrations in response to a major dietary change in the women’s healthy eating and living study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Oct;15(10):1886-92.
[18] Pierce JP, Newman VA, Flatt SW, Faerber S, Rock CL, Natarajan L, et al. Telephone counseling intervention increases intakes of micronutrient- and phytochemical-rich vegetables, fruit and fiber in conscience cancer survivors. J Nutr. 2004 Feb;134(2):452-8.
[19] Wilkinson S, Gomella LG, Smith JA, Brawer MK, Dawson NA, Wajsman Z, et al. Attitudes and use of complementary remedy in men with prostate cancer. J Urol. 2002 Dec;168(6):2505-9.
[20] Korfage IJ, Essink-Bot ML, Janssens AC, Schroder FH, de Koning HJ. Anxiety and depression after prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment: 5-year follow-up. Br J Cancer. 2006 Apr 24;94(8):1093-8.
[21] Kahneman D, Tversky A, eds. Choices, values, and frames. New York; Cambridge (United Kingdom): Russell Sage Foundation; Cambridge University Press 2000.
[22] Bandura A. Self-Efficacy: The exercise of self-control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company 1997.
[23] Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change. New York: Guilford Press 2002.
[24] Pierce JP, Newman VA, Natarajan L, Flatt SW, Al-Delaimy W, Caan B, et al. Telephone counseling helps maintain long-term adherence to a high-vegetable dietary pattern. The Journal of feeding. 2007;137:2291-6.
[25] Lanza E, Schatzkin A, Daston C, Corle D, Freedman L, Ballard-Barbash R, et al. Implementation of a 4-y, high-fiber, high-fruit-and-vegetable, low-fat dietary intervention: results of dietary changes in the Polyp Prevention Trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Sep;74(3):387-401.
[26] Natarajan L, Flatt SW, Sun X, Gamst AC, Major JM, Rock CL, et al. Validity and systematic error in measuring carotenoid consumption with dietary self-report instruments. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Apr 15;163(8):770-8.
[27] Muller H, Bub A, Watzl B, Rechkemmer G. Plasma concentrations of carotenoids in healthy volunteers after intervention with carotenoid-rich foods. Eur J Nutr. 1999 Feb;38(1):35-44.
[28] Lu QY, Hung JC, Heber D, Go VL, Reuter VE, Cordon-Cardo C, et al. Inverse associations between plasma lycopene and other carotenoids and prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2001 Jul;10(7):749-56.
[29] Gann PH, Ma J, Giovannucci E, Willett W, Sacks FM, Hennekens CH, et al. Lower prostate cancer risk in men with elevated plasma lycopene levels: results of a prospective analysis. Cancer Res. 1999 Mar 15;59(6):1225-30.
[30] Chen L, Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M, Duncan C, Sharifi R, Ghosh L, van Breemen R, et al. Oxidative DNA damage in prostate cancer patients consuming tomato sauce-based entrees as a whole-food intervention. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001 Dec 19;93(24):1872-9.
J. Kellogg Parsons, MD, MHS
Assistant Professor of Surgery/Urology
Staff Investigator Moores Cancer Center
University of California San Diego
Link to full abstract
UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com
—————————-
Copyright © 2007 - UroToday
Reproduced for Medical News Today with permission of UroToday.
—————————-
FDA Approves Pristiq For The Treatment Of Adult Patients With Major Depressive Disorder
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PRISTIQ™ (desvenlafaxine), a structurally novel, once-daily serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), to treat adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Wyeth expects to begin shipping PRISTIQ to wholesalers beginning in the second quarter of 2008.
“We are pleased to be able to bring PRISTIQ to patients,” says Bernard Poussot, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wyeth. “PRISTIQ is Wyeth’s fourth new drug to receive approval in the last twelve months, demonstrating our ability to achieve success through the rigorous scientific process of discovery and development. We expect forward to working with FDA and other regulatory authorities around the world to continue to bring important new medicines to patients who need them.”
“PRISTIQ is an important new therapeutic option for patients and clinicians because no single therapy works for all people with major depression,” says Philip Ninan, M.D., Vice President of Wyeth Medical Affairs, Neuroscience. “PRISTIQ is approved at a once-daily 50-mg dose that does not require titration, allowing physicians to start their patients at the recommended therapeutic dose. We are encouraged by the tolerability profile seen in clinical studies.”
FDA approval was subject to distinct post-marketing commitments, including conducting and submitting data from a new long-term maintenance (relapse prevention) study, a sexual dysfunction study, pediatric studies and a study exploring lessen doses. The agency also requested an additional non-clinical toxicity study.
The efficacy of PRISTIQ as a treatment for depression was established in four 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose studies in adult outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for MDD. At the recommended dose of 50 mg, the discontinuation rate due to an adverse experience for PRISTIQ (4.1 percent) was similar to the rate for placebo (3.8 percent).
Side furniture of many antidepressant therapies can cause some patients to stop taking their medication. The most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients taking PRISTIQ for MDD in short-term, fixed-dose studies (incidence >5 percent and at least twice the rate of placebo in the 50 or 100 mg dose groups) were inclination to vomit, dizziness, insomnia, hyperhidrosis, constipation, somnolence (sleepiness), decreased appetite, anxiety, and specific male sexual function disorders.
About PRISTIQ
PRISTIQ delivers the major active metabolite of EFFEXOR XR® (venlafaxine HCl) in its active state without going through the CYP2D6 metabolic pathway. This could be beneficial then PRISTIQ is coadministered with other commonly prescribed medications metabolized through that pathway. EFFEXOR XR, discovered and developed by Wyeth, was the first SNRI approved by the FDA for the sake of MDD and is currently the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the world.
PRISTIQ, also discovered and developed by Wyeth, demonstrates the Company’s significant and continued commitment to developing new therapies in the field of neuroscience.
About Major Depressive Disorder
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder, affecting about 121 million people worldwide. In the United States, MDD affects approximately 15 million adults, or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. In fact, depression is among the leading causes of disability and the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Further, a research study estimated that the total economic burden of depression was $83.1 billion in 2000, including direct treatment costs and suicide- and work-related costs.
MDD is a serious medical condition that is different from “feeling blue” and is not something that people just “get over.” Criteria for MDD include five or more of the following symptoms that have been present for at least two weeks, and at least one of the symptoms must be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure: depressed mood; loss of interest or pleasure; changes in appetite or weight; changes in sleeping patterns; psychomotor agitation or retardation; fatigue or low energy; feeling worthless or guilty for no reason; fix thinking or concentrating; or thoughts of death or suicide. Further, people with MDD must experience clinically significant distress or impairment in companionable, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
Important Treatment Considerations for Antidepressants
Suicidality and Antidepressant Drugs
— Antidepressants increased the risk compared to placebo of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children, adolescents, and young adults in short-term studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders.
— Depression and infallible other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with increases in the risk of suicide.
— Patients of totality ages who are started on antidepressant therapy should subsist monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior, especially when starting therapy or at times of dose changes.
— PRISTIQ is not approved for use in pediatric patients.
Important Treatment Considerations put on account of PRISTIQ
PRISTIQ is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adults.
Contraindications
— PRISTIQ is contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity to PRISTIQ or venlafaxine.
— PRISTIQ must not be used concomitantly with an MAOI or within 14 days of stopping an MAOI. Allow 7 days after stopping PRISTIQ before starting an MAOI.
Warnings and Precautions
— All patients treated with antidepressants should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the first few months of treatment and when changing the dose. Consider changing the therapeutic regimen, including possibly discontinuing the medication, in patients whose depression is persistently worse or includes symptoms of worry, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, mania, or suicidality that are severe, abrupt in onset, or were not part of the patient“s presenting symptoms. Families and caregivers of patients being treated with antidepressants should be alerted about the need to mentor patients.
— Development of a potentially life-threatening serotonin syndrome may occur with SNRIs and SSRIs, including PRISTIQ, particularly with concomitant use of serotonergic drugs, including triptans. If concomitant use is clinically warranted, careful observation of the patient is advised, particularly during treatment initiation and dose increases. Concomitant use of PRISTIQ with serotonin precursors is not recommended.
— Patients receiving PRISTIQ should have regular monitoring of blood pressure since sustained increases in blood pressure were observed in clinical studies. Pre-existing hypertension should be controlled ahead of starting PRISTIQ. Caution should have being exercised in treating patients with pre-existing hypertension or other underlying conditions that might be compromised by increases in kindred pressure. Cases of elevated blood pressure requiring immediate treatment have been reported.
— SSRIs and SNRIs, including PRISTIQ, may increase the risk of bleeding events. Concomitant use of aspirin, NSAIDs, warfarin, and other anticoagulants may add to this risk.
— Mydriasis has been reported in association with PRISTIQ; therefore, patients with raised intraocular pressure or those at risk of acute narrow-angle glaucoma (angle-closure glaucoma) should be monitored.
— As with all antidepressants, PRISTIQ should be used cautiously in patients with a history or family history of mania or hypomania.
— Caution is advised in administering PRISTIQ to patients with cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or lipid metabolism disorders. Increases in blood pressure and small increases in heart rate were observed in clinical studies with PRISTIQ.
— Dose-related elevations in fasting serum total cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and triglycerides were observed in clinical studies. Measurement of serum lipids should be considered during PRISTIQ treatment.
— Symptoms associated with discontinuation of PRISTIQ have been reported. Patients should be monitored for symptoms when discontinuing treatment. A gradual reduction in dose rather than inelegant cessation is recommended whenever possible.
— Dosage adjustment (50 mg every other day) is necessary in patients with severe renal impairment or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The dose should not subsist escalated in patients with moderate or severe renal impairment or ESRD.
Products containing desvenlafaxine and products containing venlafaxine should not be used concomitantly with PRISTIQ.
Adverse Reactions
The most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients taking PRISTIQ for MDD in short-term fixed-dose premarketing studies (incidence >5% and twice the rate of placebo in the 50- or 100-mg dose groups) were nausea, dizziness, insomnia, hyperhidrosis, constipation, somnolence, decreased appetite, anxiety, and specific male sexual function disorders.
Full prescribing information for PRISTIQ will be available at http://www.Pristiq.com.
Important Treatment Considerations for effexor XR
— EFFEXOR XR is contraindicated in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).
— Adult and pediatric patients taking antidepressants can experience worsening of their depression and/or the emergence of suicidality. All patients should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening and suicidality, especially at the opening of drug therapy, or at the time of increases or decreases in dose. Anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, and mania have been reported and may represent precursors to emerging suicidality. Stopping or modifying therapy should have existence considered especially when symptoms are severe, abrupt in onset, or not part of presenting symptoms.
— The development of potentially life-threatening serotonin syndrome may occur when EFFEXOR XR is coadministered with other drugs that may affect the serotonergic neurotransmitter systems. Concomitant use of EFFEXOR XR with MAOIs is contraindicated. If concomitant use of EFFEXOR XR with an SSRI, SNRI, or a triptan is clinically warranted, careful observation of the patient is advised. Concomitant application of EFFEXOR XR with tryptophan supplements is not recommended.
— Treatment with venlafaxine is associated with sustained increases in blood pressure (BP) in some patients. Postmarketing cases of elevated BP requiring immediate treatment have been reported. Pre-existing hypertension should be controlled. Regular BP monitoring is recommended.
— SSRIs and SNRIs, including EFFEXOR XR, may increase the risk of bleeding events. Concomitant use of aspirin, NSAIDs, warfarin, and other anticoagulants may add to this risk.
— Mydriasis has been reported in association with venlafaxine; therefore, patients with raised intraocular pressure or those at risk of acute narrow-angle glaucoma (angle-closure glaucoma) should be monitored.
— Abrupt discontinuation or dose reduction has been associated through discontinuation symptoms. Patients should be counseled on possible discontinuation symptoms and monitored while discontinuing the drug; the dose should be tapered gradually.
— The most common adverse events reported in EFFEXOR XR short-term placebo-controlled MDD, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety derangement (SAD), and/or panic disorder (PD) trials (incidence >10% and >2x that of placebo) were anorexia, asthenia, constipation, dizziness, dreary mouth, ejaculation problems, impotence, insomnia, nausea, nervousness, somnolence, and sweating.
For full prescribing information for EFFEXOR XR, please go to http://www.EffexorXR.com.
About Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women’s health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world’s largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company’s major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, there can be no assurance that PRISTIQ will be commercially successful in the highly competitive market for antidepressants in the United States, or that PRISTIQ will exist approved in the future for other indications (including treatment of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause) and/or in other countries. Other risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products and our pipeline products (including future regulatory action regarding our other pending applications for desvenlafaxine for the treatment of major depressive disorder and the treatment of vasomotor symptoms, as to which no assurance can be given); government cost-containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including engage and currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from allotted period to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption “Item 1A, RISK FACTORS.” The forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Beyond The Abstract Prostate Cancer Volume At Biopsy Predicts Clinically Significant Upgrading
UroToday.com - Despite two decades of experience, the clinical evaluation of the prostate cancer patient in the context of PSA screening productions controversial. Many patients today have a humble risk of disease-related mortality, and there is no clear consensus for their optimal management or whether they should be treated at all. Our study among others has attempted to sub-classify these patients to identify those who have more offensive cancer than suggested by the current standard of risk stratification.
Based on the findings, we make acceptable that in addition to clinical stage, Gleason score, and PSA, prostate volume and the amount of cancer present in the prostate biopsy should be considered by reason of prophasis and counseling. Our hope is that the results will help clinicians collect for use appropriate recommendations for their patients; however, the optimal treatment strategy is still uncertain in many cases. in the manner that data becomes available from ongoing clinical trials comparing surgery, radiotherapy, and delayed intervention, the urologic community will benefit from further insight into the management of patients with low risk prostate cancer.
Written by Eric Klein, MD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations, etc., of their research by referencing the published abstract.
Link to full abstract
UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key estimation leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com
—————————-
Copyright © 2007 - UroToday
Reproduced for Medical News Today with permission of UroToday.
—————————-