Health & Medicine
Targeting melanoma cells with a drug-infused graphene matrix
Dr Livia Sima of the Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy and Dr Emanuel Axente of the National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics in Romania are developing novel platforms for screening of therapeutic drug combinations for patients with metastatic melanoma. Their most recent work involves investigating a method which can be used to screen potential drug candidates. […]
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Patients as partners in research – The challenges for researchers of patient involvement
Modern clinical research often includes Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), in which patients play an active role in the research process. While the benefits of PPI are well recognised, little attention has been given to the challenges researchers face in implementing it. Recently, Professors Mogens Hørder and Marie Konge Nielsen of the University of Southern Denmark set out to discover […]
AMP-activated kinase as a therapeutic target in prostate cancer
Pharmacological treatment of prostate cancer has advanced significantly in recent years. However, while the newest therapies are initially effective in reducing tumour size, most patients eventually develop drug resistance and the recurrence of malignant spread. Professor Inés Díaz-Laviada and her team at the Alcala University in Madrid, Spain, have demonstrated that long-term treatments may induce the transformation of cancer cells […]
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The adaptive cancer cell: How metastases evolve to resist treatment
Species adapt to survive in a changing environment through the process of evolution. Evolutionary processes can also take place at the cellular level. Dr Sarah Amend of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, is investigating poly-aneuploid cancer cells (PACCs). These large, DNA-laden cells, which are more common in metastatic cancer, develop evolvability: the capacity to evolve. Dr Amend believes that targeting […]
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Shedding light on the role of sleep in memory consolidation
The average human spends about a third of their life sleeping and it is accepted that sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. Still, scientists remain in the dark about many of the details and mechanisms of this strange state. Harry Pantazopoulos, Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the U.S., has conducted novel research […]
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Halalopathy: Integrating mind, behaviour and health
With the current focus on personalised medicine, some physicians are searching for new ways to treat the patient as an individual. Dr Jawad Alzeer of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, proposes a novel approach to medicine: halalopathy. Under halalopathy, mind, behaviour and health are fundamentally connected. By prioritising the relationships between these three aspects of a person, Dr Alzeer believes […]
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Transtympanic injections to prevent hearing loss caused by cisplatin
Dr Sofia Waissbluth from The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is specialised in otolaryngology (conditions of the head and neck). She has reviewed clinical trials that use transtympanic injections to prevent hearing loss caused by the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. To date there is no ‘one-shot’ solution to protect or cure patients from hearing loss. However, combinational therapy using transtympanic injections […]
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Group support psychotherapy as a depression treatment in Uganda
Dr Ethel Nakimuli-Mpungu at Makerere University in Uganda works toward making therapy more culturally appropriate, particularly for people living with HIV and depression. She has developed a highly cost-effective group support psychotherapy programme that can be delivered by lay health workers and which has been shown to dramatically reduce depression symptoms and improve adherence to anti-viral medication in those affected. […]
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Responses to spaceflight: The mouth as a mirror
During spaceflight astronauts experience extreme environmental conditions, such as cosmic radiation and the absence of gravity that impact their physiology. The resulting changes must be monitored. While blood is usually used to assess astronauts’ health, Professor Arthur Hand and Dr Maija Mednieks, from the University of Connecticut, suggest that saliva could be used as a non-invasive, easily collectible diagnostic fluid. […]
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Stem cells could offer hope for muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophies are genetic conditions that cause muscles to become progressively weaker. Researchers are investigating several novel approaches, including gene and stem cell therapy, to meet the challenges of these serious illnesses. Recently, Dr Yoshitsugu Aoki of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo and colleagues have drawn on research from around the world to create a picture of […]
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