Breath test could be possible for drugs and disease
Testing for drug use and disease in humans could soon be much simpler, thanks to new Swedish research. Whereas drug tests currently rely on blood or urine samples, researchers from the University of Gothenburg have identified a method for drug testing by analysing various compounds in exhaled breath. Reporting their results today in the Journal of Breath Research, they demonstrate how collecting and analysing externally-produced compounds in the lining fluid of the airways allows for non-invasive testing and monitoring.
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Immune-boosting antibody combination could improve lymphoma survival
Combining two different immunotherapy treatments could dramatically improve lymphoma survival, according to a Cancer Research UK funded study published in Cancer Cell today. Researchers from the University of Southampton tested different combinations of antibodies in the lab to see how they interact with each other and what effect this has on how the immune system fights cancer.
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Gastric cancer: A new strategy used by Helicobacter pylori to target mitochondria
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen that colonizes the stomach of approximately half of the world's population. Infection with H. pylori is acquired in childhood and lasts for decades. H. pylori is the main risk factor for gastric cancer and is linked to more than 80% of cases. Gastric cancer, the third most common cause of cancer-related death, is often associated with a poor prognosis because it tends to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. It is responsible for about 800,000 deaths each year worldwide.
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Diabetes and obesity together responsible for nearly 800,000 cancers worldwide
For the first time researchers have quantified the number of cancers likely to be caused by diabetes and high body mass index (BMI) worldwide. The study, led by Imperial College London, found that nearly six per cent of new worldwide cancer cases in 2012 were caused by the combined effects of diabetes and being overweight (BMI of over 25 kg/m2) or obese (BMI of over 30 kg/m2). For the 12 cancers types studied, diabetes and high BMI combined were responsible for nearly 800,000 new cancer cases.
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Garlic can fight chronic infections
An active sulphurous compound found in garlic can be used to fight robust bacteria in patients with chronic infections, a new study from the University of Copenhagen indicates. Here the researchers show that the garlic compound is able to destroy important components in the bacteria's communication systems, which involve regulatory RNA molecules.
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Antimalarial drugs could support existing cancer treatments in two-pronged attack
Antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could find another use as cancer treatments, according to a new clinical study published in ecancermedicalscience. Researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and USA-based GlobalCures, say there is evidence to include these drugs in further clinical investigations.
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Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent rheumatoid arthritis
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, research led by the University of Birmingham has discovered. The research also found that while Vitamin D can be effective at preventing the onset of inflammation, it is less effective once inflammatory disease is established because diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis leads to vitamin D insensitivity.
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