Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine

The Price of a False Idea about Economic Growth

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Two Crises

In ancient Ionia, the physician-philosopher Galen of Pergamos and Rome wrote, children would take pig bladders, “fill them with air, and then rub them with ashes near the fire …and sing songs [in] an exhortation to the bladder to increase in size … until the bladder seems to them to have become large enough.” This describes with near perfection the beliefs and behavior of politicians and ‘experts’ who promote the false idea about economic growth prevailing in our nation’s centers of government. Promising new directions in disease prevention are being sidelined and the control of long-known environmental risks to life is obstructed. Their mistake has costs in sickness and death. ...

Novel Mechanism May Lead to New Targeted Pharmacological Cancer Treatment

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Inactivation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRb) by phosphorylation triggers uncontrolled cell proliferation. Accordingly, activation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)/cyclin complexes or downregulation of CDK inhibitors appears as a common event in human cancer.

Now, a new study from the Sbarro Health Research Organization shows that Pin1 (protein interacting with NIMA (never in mitosis) A-), a peptidylprolyl isomerase involved in the control of protein phosphorylation, is an essential mediator for inactivation of the pRB. The findings, published in Cell Death and Differentiation, have important implications for cancer treatment. ...

Hope: a therapeutic tool?

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Patients with advanced-stage cancer are generally submitted to so-called palliative treatments that primarily aim to control symptoms such as pain and malnourishment, but also psychological and social problems. The goal of such treatments is to guarantee patients the best possible quality of life.

The term palliative care, which is derived from the Latin word for cloak (pallium), is generally associated with a negative meaning, as if the purpose of this type of treatment were to cover or hide the reality of the illness from the patient or his/her family. ...

8 rules for living better

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0100

A healthy diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes and contains limited red meat, preserved meats and sugared beverages, protects against tumor development and recurrences.

The right diet can be one “protective” factor against cancer, but lifestyle must always be considered as well. Indeed, it is important to engage in physical activity and avoid alcohol and drugs as well as overuse of over-the-counter and prescribed medication. Furthermore, it is important to follow a few rules that have been drawn up by the World Cancer Research Fund:

1. Stay thin and maintain a healthy weight

2. Keep physically active

 It is sufficient to walk for at least 30 minutes to an hour a day and/or engage in some type of sport. ...

The V Astana Economic Forum

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0100

In May 22-24, 2012, in Astana (Kazakhstan) will be held the Fifth Astana Economic Forum (AEF), dedicated to the challenges and prospects of world economic development in terms of global transformation.

One of the exclusive events of the Forum will be “The Dialogue of Leaders: New financial and economic policy”, where in interactive debates the most prominent figures from economy, business, politics and media will discuss the issues of global development.

Among the important events there are also a permanent Conference of Finance Ministers of the CIS countries, as well as the Conference “Existential Crisis of the international financial architecture”, which will focus on countering the regional recessions, as well as development of new mechanisms of financial and economic stability. ...

Opinion: Good, But Not Good Enough

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0100

The system for funding scientific research is broken.

This declaration came to my mind after I experienced three separate occurrences. The first was my application for a European research grant. At the end of the evaluation procedure, the reviewers wrote that my proposal was interesting, I had a good track record of publications, and the project had been well described. Nevertheless, they had to reject my application since I am a “good” but not “outstanding” researcher. This reply was received after I had applied for dozens of research grants without success.

My reading of a comment by John P. A. Ioannidis in Nature (477,529–531 2011) was the second occurrence. ...

New Hope for Amyloidosis Patients Facing Organ Transplants or Dealing with Side Effects

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0100

Amyloidosis patients are expected to see some significant breakthroughs in treatment over the next three years, reducing side effects and possibly the need for organ transplants, research by healthcare market analysis specialist GlobalData has found.

Amyloidosis occurs when a build-up of proteins forms an abnormally folded structure within the body's cells and tissues, which then forms an insoluble deposit in a particular organ. Although amyloidosis is a severe and life-threatening disease, the market currently lacks an approved therapy.

The current therapeutic approaches towards amyloidosis are non-specific, invasive, often toxic and sometimes ineffective. ...

Physicians' Opinions Vary Widely on Health Care Reform

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0100

When President Obama invited 150 doctors to discuss proposed health care reforms in 2009, two of the physicians in attendance offered radically different views of the proposed legislation. They were Dr. Hershey Garner, an oncologist from NW Arkansas and Dr. Donald Palmisano. Garner is a member of Doctors for America, which backs the legislation. Palmisano represents the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights, which opposes the law.

Garner expressed his satisfaction with the Medicare system and dissatisfaction with health insurance companies. He stated that under Medicare, he is able to obtain the studies and procedures that patients need. The same is not true under for-profit insurance. ...

Gary Stein

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0100

Gary Stein, graduate of the University of Vermont is returning home as co-Director of the Vermont Cancer Center and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. Following graduate training at UVM in physiology and biology and post-graduate training in pathology, Gary joined the faculty at the University Of Florida College Of Medicine where he became Vice-Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. In 1987 he joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical School where he has served as the Haidak Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology, Co-Director of the UMass Memorial Health Care Cancer Center of Excellence, Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Founding director of the UMass Human Stem Cell Bank & Registry. ...

Grant helps build NeuroAIDS research capacity at Temple University School of Medicine

info@doctmag.com (Doctormag - The Health and Medicine News Web Magazine) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0100

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded Temple University a five-year, $8.34 million grant to create a Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Core Center (CNAC) at the School of Medicine.

The new center, one of only nine funded by NIMH, will enable researchers to study basic science and clinical aspects of HIV-induced neurological diseases and neurocognitive disorders. Kamel Khalili, Laura H. Carnell Professor and chair of neuroscience, is the principal investigator on the project.

“Many of the neuroAIDS-related grants at Temple have been focused on the basic science aspects of the disease,” said Khalili, who is also director of the Center for NeuroVirology. ...