ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia suggest potential new uses of existing cancer drugs
• New pathway underlying multiple myeloma relapse
• Frugal antibiotic prescribing associated with lower GP satisfaction scores
• New vaccine strategy better protects high-risk cancer patients from flu
• Ibrutinib superior to traditional chemotherapy in untreated chronic leukemia patients
• Age doesn't affect survival outcomes in patients with MDS who receive a HCT
• 'No-drill' dentistry stops tooth decay
• Early gene therapy results in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome promising
• Children with childhood leukemia benefit from prophylactic antibiotics
• Mysteries of SCN8A mutation in epilepsy unraveled
• Personalized medicine studies reveal gene targets for epilepsy
• Emerging technologies help advance the understanding, detection and control of epilepsy
• Genetic variants tied to increased risk of bone complications in young leukemia patients
• Making cancer care personal
• Gene therapy restores immunity in children and young adults with rare immunodeficiency
• Studies reveal the surprising complexity of cognitive issues in children with epilepsy
• Four studies explore memory decline in people with epilepsy
• Novel devices, technologies provide insights into seizure control, surgical targets
• Stress-induced loss of NG2 glial cells in the brain causes depression
• A visit to the gas station: Protein helps power up DNA repair

Mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia suggest potential new uses of existing cancer drugs Posted: 06 Dec 2015 06:35 PM PST Mining the DNA of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients uncovered 12 mutations that may be targetable using therapies already available for other cancers, researchers reported.

New pathway underlying multiple myeloma relapse Posted: 06 Dec 2015 06:35 PM PST One of the biggest questions about the treatment of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, is why nearly all patients treated with current therapies eventually suffer relapse. A new study may have solved this mystery by identifying how cancer cells escape treatment, leading to recurrence.

Frugal antibiotic prescribing associated with lower GP satisfaction scores Posted: 06 Dec 2015 06:30 PM PST Reduced antibiotic prescribing is associated with lower patient satisfaction. The study found a 25 per cent lower rate of antibiotic prescribing by a GP practice corresponded to a 5-6 point reduction on GP satisfaction rankings.

New vaccine strategy better protects high-risk cancer patients from flu Posted: 06 Dec 2015 06:30 PM PST Researchers have developed a vaccine strategy that reduces the risk of flu infections in cancer patients at highest risk for influenza.

Ibrutinib superior to traditional chemotherapy in untreated chronic leukemia patients Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:53 PM PST A multi-center, international, randomized, Phase III study of older untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) demonstrated that ibrutinib, a kinase inhibitor, is significantly more effective than traditional chemotherapy with chlorambucil.

Age doesn't affect survival outcomes in patients with MDS who receive a HCT Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:48 PM PST A prospective study shows age doesn't affect survival outcomes in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who receive a hematopoietic cell transplant.

'No-drill' dentistry stops tooth decay Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:48 PM PST A new study has revealed that tooth decay (dental caries) can be stopped, reversed, and prevented without the need for the traditional 'fill and drill' approach that has dominated dental care for decades. The seven year study found that the need for fillings was reduced by 30 to 50 per cent through preventative oral care.

Early gene therapy results in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome promising Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:48 PM PST Researchers reported promising preliminary outcomes for the first four children enrolled in a US gene therapy trial for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), a life-threatening genetic blood and immune disorder. All four have improved between nine and 24 months following treatment. Since undergoing treatment, none have experienced bleeding events or severe WAS-related infections. All four have experienced improvements in immunologic symptoms and variable improvements in platelet count.

Children with childhood leukemia benefit from prophylactic antibiotics Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:47 PM PST Prophylactic antibiotics significantly reduce the risk of serious bacterial infections in children during the critical first month of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, according to a US and Canadian study. While the overall cure rate for ALL is high, about one to two percent of children with this diagnosis die during the first month of therapy from treatment complications, primarily infection-related.

Mysteries of SCN8A mutation in epilepsy unraveled Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:47 PM PST Three studies explore the effects of mutations in the SCN8A gene, thought to underlie early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) and other neurological conditions. The SCN8A gene mediates electrical signaling in the brain by controlling the flow of sodium currents. Findings from these studies could inform the development of precision medicine therapeutics and lead to more effective strategies for diagnosing and treating patients with epilepsy.

Personalized medicine studies reveal gene targets for epilepsy Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:47 PM PST Technological advances ranging from gene editing to next-generation sequencing offer unprecedented access to the human genome and promise to reshape the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. Four studies demonstrate how these innovative technologies are being used to identify and manipulate genes linked to epilepsy.

Emerging technologies help advance the understanding, detection and control of epilepsy Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:47 PM PST A smartphone-induced EEG waveform and an intelligent algorithm for seizure detection are among the emerging new technologies. Four innovative studies promise to reshape current paradigms for seizure detection and epilepsy management.

Genetic variants tied to increased risk of bone complications in young leukemia patients Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:29 AM PST Research has identified genetic variations in young leukemia patients that are associated with an increased incidence of osteonecrosis, a serious cancer treatment side effect.

Making cancer care personal Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:28 AM PST Researchers are partnering with a private company to develop computer simulations that can help personalize cancer care by predicting how a patient will respond to a drug treatment.

Gene therapy restores immunity in children and young adults with rare immunodeficiency Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:28 AM PST Gene therapy can safely rebuild the immune systems of older children and young adults with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects males, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found.

Studies reveal the surprising complexity of cognitive issues in children with epilepsy Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:28 AM PST Children with epilepsy face a number of challenges compared with their healthy peers, including an increased risk of cognitive impairment. Three studies presented the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 69th Annual Meeting parse the complex underpinnings of cognitive development in these children, revealing a need for smarter assessments and targeted interventions.

Four studies explore memory decline in people with epilepsy Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:28 AM PST Four studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 69th Annual Meeting uncover the biological factors that mediate memory decline in people with epilepsy, particularly those with seizures that affect the temporal lobe. Loss of neurons from the hippocampus, a brain region that processes and stores memories, is a common cause of temporal lobe epilepsy. People with temporal epilepsy caused by hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) have impaired memory and find it particularly challenging to recall details of specific events in everyday life.

Novel devices, technologies provide insights into seizure control, surgical targets Posted: 06 Dec 2015 03:28 AM PST Three studies to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's 69th Annual Meeting describe novel devices and technologies that could reshape current understanding of the complex mechanisms underpinning seizure development in the brain. Two of the three studies unveil information about the neural networks that produce and propagate seizure activity, providing information that could help refine and target surgical interventions.

Stress-induced loss of NG2 glial cells in the brain causes depression Posted: 03 Dec 2015 11:25 AM PST A research team has discovered that when a rare type of glial cells, called NG2 glia, are depleted from the brain in mice, depressive-like behaviors occur.

A visit to the gas station: Protein helps power up DNA repair Posted: 03 Dec 2015 11:25 AM PST In a game-changing study, researchers have shown that the enzyme cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), which plays a key role in DNA repair, also leaves the nucleus to boost cellular energy production. By irradiating normal cells, the team showed that CDK1 turned up production of ATP, cellular energy packets that -- in this case -- provided the necessary power supply to fix the radiation-damaged DNA.

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