Thursday 29 November 2012

350-bed cancer hospital to be set up in Bihar

A new cancer super-specialty hospital is to be opened in Nalanda, Bihar by the central government.  This hospital will have 350 beds.  It is going to be the first specialty cancer hospital in the state by the government.

Unfortunately, since there currently is no cancer hospital in the state, residents are forced to go elsewhere for treatment.  Depending on the specialty, this can be very far from patients' homes.

Dr. Jagdish Prasad, Director General of Health Services is from a village in the area.

“The main purpose behind setting up a cancer hospital is to provide the facility to cancer patients and help them to get affordable treatment in the state,” Dr Prasad said.

So far there is no confirmation as to when the hospital will be opened.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/23/350-bed-cancer-hospital-to-be-set-up-in-bihar/.

Monday 26 November 2012

250 trauma centres proposed in India

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana chief minister, has announced that the central government has proposed to open 250 new trauma centers across the country.  The leading number of deaths in 15-29 year olds in India is due to road accidents.  Wearing a helmet is the most important way to save oneself from major injury.  India has experienced a 3% increase in road accidents annually.

India also needs to train more medical staff in trauma care.  Unfortunately, trauma care varies from state to state and patients do not reach a trauma center until many hours after fatal injuries have been incurred.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/23/250-trauma-centres-proposed-in-india-hooda/.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Cancer: Some cells don't know when to stop

Researchers at University of Southern California are using new imaging techniques to look at cancerous cells and how some keep replicating, despite being exposed to chemotherapy.

This new imaging is allowing them to see why some cancerous cells keep dividing while others are shut down and stop with exposure to chemotherapy.  The cells that keep going, called "checkpoint mutants," have been seen to keep replicating.

Prior research indicated that the exposure to chemotherapy would stop the checkpoint mutants from replicating and would damage DNA.  With this new technique they are able to see that they keep working.

Their findings have been published in the journal Molecular 7 Cellular Biology.

For the full article, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121119171403.htm

Tuesday 20 November 2012

5 cancers men should worry about

There are five types of cancer that men should be aware of and what the symptoms are and what to do about them.  Here is a summary:

1. Prostate Cancer - doctors can run a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test or perform a biopsy. False alarms involve urination problems.
2. Lung Cancer - doctors can perform a biopsy. Pnemonia and tumors both are white on x-rays.  Pnemonia could be a false alarm, since it will go away, but the tumor will still be there after a few weeks.
3. Colorectal Cancer - always be aware if there is blood in stool. This could be the only warning sign, even though the bleeding could be a result of a hemorrhoid, diverticulosis, colitis or a blood vessel. 
4. Bladder Cancer - blood in urine is a reason to go see the doctor. It could be a sign of bladder cancer or kidney stones.  Regardless, go to the doctor.
5. Lymphoma - consult a doctor if swollen lymph nodes are noticed in the neck, armpit or groin area for over a week. Infections make lymph nodes larger, but they should also go back down once the infection is gone. Doctors will know if they need to take a biopsy of the lymph nodes. 

For the full article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47520976/ns/health-mens_health/.

Monday 19 November 2012

Study: Breast cancer can turn off key immune response

In the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Medicine, a study published by researchers at Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne discusses how breast cancer can "turn off" the immune response from the body, which allows the cancer to spread to the patient's bones.

Belinda Parker, who led the study, hopes that by identifying and understanding how the cancer allows itself to spread will determine how future patients can avoid the cancer spreading to their bones.

The researchers have experimented with two ways to "turn on" the immune response to help fight breast cancer.  However, it will take years before the practice can become routine.

Parker and her researchers have discovered that in mice, when breast cancer spread into the blood, the IRF7 gene is "switched off," which is the gene that releases interferon.  Interferon is an immune protein which would normally detect and fight the cancerous cells which would spread.

Determining, and experimenting with, two ways to get the interferon detecting the cancerous cells is the work that Parker and her team are currently doing.  They plan on having a clinical trial in two or three years.

For the full article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48287917/ns/health-cancer/.

Thursday 15 November 2012

New tool separates tumour-causing cancer cells from more benign cells

Tumor-causing cells are more flexible than benign cells.  Benign cells have a cytoskeleton made up of rod-shaped protiens.  Researchers think in the haste of attempting to divide quickly, cancerous cells do not bother developing a cytoskeleton, and instead continue to divide. 

The resulting "squishiness" is what researchers at The Methodist Hospital have taken advantage of and have designed a tool around this characteristic.  Because benign cells are rigid, they are not able to pass through a 7 micrometer hole.  The flexible cancerous cells are able to squeeze through this barrier, resulting in a separation of benign and cancerous cells.

Furthermore, tests performed on the separated cancerous cells have found that these are less likely to have a cytoskeleton and more likely to have a motility gene.  This could explain why some cancers metastasize.  Being able to test for cells that are metastic helps doctors determine the success of a cancer treatment or if a cancer will spread.

For more information and the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/05/new-tool-separates-tumour-causing-cancer-cells-from-more-benign-cells/

Exercise linked to lower breast cancer risk

Remember those New Year Resolutions to lose weight or start an exercise routine?  Well, here's another reason to keep that up: researchers are finding that keeping a healthy weight and exercise routine can lower the risk of breast cancer.  Even if people are not routine exercisers pick up exercising, no matter how much later in life, will benefit.  The study found that even women who started exercising after menopause saw a 30% decrease in their risk of breast cancer.

For the whole article, visit http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/06/25/12401665-exercise-linked-to-lower-breast-cancer-risk?lite

Coffee may help protect against skin cancer

A Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health Professor, Jiali Han, has found an association between caffine consumption and reduced cancer risk.

The study found that women who drink more than three cups of coffee a day are 21% less likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.  Men are 10% less likely to develop the same compared to those who drink less than one cup of coffee a month.  The researchers determined that decaf coffee doesn't have an effect, so they are saying that it is more than likely the caffeine.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer.  But, since it doesn't usually spread to other organs.  Melenoma is a more deadly type of skin cancer.  More reasearch needs to be done to conclude more findings, but other studies have found caffeine decreases the risk of prostate, breast and endometrial cancers.

For the full article, visit http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/02/12527378-coffee-may-help-protect-against-skin-cancer?lite.

FDA approves Afinitor for some breast cancers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Afinitor to treat breast cancer patients who have not had reactions to other medications.  Afinitor is used already for pancreatic, brain, and kidney cancers.

For the full article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48263229/ns/health-cancer/.

Friday 9 November 2012

Researchers explore connection between popular pain relievers, bladder cancer

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, Norris Cotton Cancer Center and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth show a possible link between ibuprofen users of 10+ years.  Their study involved over 2,500 bladder cancer and non-bladder cancer patients from the New England area in the US.  They looked at the relationship between NSAIDs and a new class of NSAIDs, COX-2s. Their study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.

For the full article, please visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/09/researchers-explore-connection-between-popular-pain-relievers-bladder-cancer/.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Michigan Hospital Systems in Merger Talks

Henry Ford Health System and Beaumont Health System have started discussing the possibility of merging.  The combined organization would become a $6.4 billion annual revenue hospital system, with 8 hospitals, 38 medical centers, 3,600 beds, 42,000 employees, 1,900 employed physicians, 3,000 private practice physicians, and a 643,000 member health plan.

For the full article, visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204846304578090831989898580.html.

Doctors will have to work in rural areas

Doctors in Bihar state in India will be required to work in rural areas, according to Bihar Health Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey.  More help is needed in the rural areas of India.  Over 8,000 more doctors are needed to help Indians. 

The state government is talking about the potential of opening up to three more medical colleges to provide for this need.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/05/doctors-will-have-to-work-in-rural-areas-bihar-health-minister/.

Making robotic surgery easier and safer: a clinical review

Vattikuti Network Surgeon Meenakshi Jain discusses the Jain Technique in her published article, "Making robotic surgery easier and safer: a clinical review" which has been published in the World Journal of Laparoscopic Surgery.

For a direct link to the article, visit http://www.jaypeejournals.com/eJournals/ShowText.aspx?ID=3314&Type=FREE&TYP=TOP&IN=_eJournals/images/JPLOGO.gif&IID=256&Value=4&isPDF=YES.

Monday 5 November 2012

New device could diagnose tumour in less than 20 minutes

In London, researchers at QuantuMDx are developing a medical device that could cut tumor diagnosis to 20 minutes.  This device should be completed within the next three years.  The goal is to have a low-cost device that will analyze the tumor DNA to make sure patients can get proper care as quickly as possible.

For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2012/11/04/new-device-could-diagnose-tumour-in-less-than-20-minutes/.

Friday 2 November 2012

Meet Mumbai's first robo doc

Mid-day.com highlights and interviews Dr. Ramakant Panda of Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai.  Dr. Panda is a Vattikuti Foundation Network surgeon and Asian Heart Institute is a Vattikuti Foundation Network Hospital.

For the full article, visit http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2011/jul/310711-medical-technology-Robot-surgeon.htm.

New Firefly Technology Lights Up More Precise Kidney Sparing Surgery

In the world of kidney cancers, robotic surgery was a huge breakthrough.  Then came the robotic partial nephrectomy which allowed surgeons to keep part of the kidney in tact for the patient.  Now, with a new technology called Firefly, surgeons can help their patients even one step further.

Firefly is a dye that lights up a bright firefly green (hence the name Firefly) which under a floroscopic camera can light up various items, such as blood flow to a tumor, distinguish between cancerous and healthy cells and then verify after the tumor has been removed that the blood supply has been restored to the kidney.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has established kidney cancer as one of the ten most common cancers in America.

For the full article, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120605143424.htm.