| Resolve to quit smoking? No time like right now
Smoking doesn't just lead to lung cancer; it increases your likelihood of suffering from many different types of cancer and is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. Additionally, another 30,000 deaths annually can be linked to second-hand smoke exposure. In a commitment to better the health of a nation, health care professionals and the American Cancer Society continue to strive in educating and assisting smokers to kick the habit. Many people have been successful, but do not get discouraged if you have tried and not succeeded. About 70 percent of smokers want to quit, and the average smoker will take six to nine tries before quitting completely. Now's the best time to pick yourself up and try again! With more than half of the country covered by smoke-free laws, the multitude of support groups locally and nationally, and the availability of tobacco cessation aids and medications, today is as good of a time as any to toss the cigarettes out and embrace a healthier you.
CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell Kit For Monitoring Patients With ...
Immunicon Corporation (NASDAQ-GM:IMMC) announced that it filed with the FDA a request for clearance of the CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell Kit as an aid in the monitoring of patients with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Immunicon announced that it had successfully met the primary endpoint associated with its pivotal clinical trial in metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer in January 2007. The primary endpoint required demonstrating that circulating tumor cells (CTC) levels three-to-five weeks after the initiation of chemotherapy predict overall survival.
The study results which were presented by Jose Moreno, MD, clinical associate professor of Urology at Thomas Jefferson University at the 43rd Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June also showed that CTC levels predict overall survival at each of the additional monthly time points tested.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pierre Fabre Provide Update On Vinflunine ...
PRINCETON, N.J., and PARIS, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bristol- Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY - News) and Pierre Fabre Medicament reported today that they are terminating their license agreement for the development of vinflunine, a chemotherapy agent under investigation for the treatment of advanced or metastatic bladder cancer and other tumor types. Vinflunine was developed by Pierre Fabre Medicament and licensed to Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2004 for specific territories. Based on a review of the clinical development program and the decision not to file a new drug application for bladder cancer in the United States, coupled with an analysis of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Research & Development priorities, the companies have jointly decided that all rights licensed to Bristol-Myers Squibb for vinflunine will be returned to Pierre Fabre Medicament.
Green tea may help fight Parkinson's
Corresponding and senior author Dr. Baolu Zhao, of the Institute of Biophysics, Academia Sinica in Beijing said previous research has indicated that green tea possesses neuroprotective effects.
Zhao and colleagues discovered that green tea polyphenols protect dopamine neurons and the effect increases with the amount consumed. The researchers also show that this protective effect is mediated by inhibition of the ROS-NO pathway -- a pathway that may contribute to cell death in Parkinson's.
Zhao said he hoped eventually "green tea polyphenols may be developed into a safe and easily administrable drug for Parkinson's disease."
The findings are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
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Love for God, country is ultimate
The founding fathers did not want a government-run religion, as in the Church of England, where people could not worship freely. Therefore, a separation was intended to protect government from control by religion and to protect religion from control by government, not to build a confrontational wall to keep government and religion separated. The Constitution, therefore, states freedom of religion, but according to liberal Democrats, it might as well be freedom from religion. Even Christmas is under attack because of its ties to Christianity. Department stores have directed their employees to say "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas." "Christmas vacation" has been replaced by "winter recess" on the public-school calendar. Christmas trees are being referred as "holiday trees," and last year, Sen.
Obesity conceals cancer
The most common blood test for prostate cancer often fails to catch early signs of the disease in obese men because they have more blood than other patients, according to a new study.
The research suggests that levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, might appear lower in obese men, thus delaying diagnosis and treatment of the cancer.
"When we get to the point when PSA is elevated in obese men, we find cancer that's more advanced," said Dr. Alan W. Partin, chairman of urology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and co-author of the study. "When cancer is detected in a later stage, it has much worse outcomes, and it's harder to cure."
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