Researchers challenge new guidelines on aspirin in primary prevention
The most recent guidelines for primary prevention recommend aspirin use for individuals ages 40 to 70 years who are at higher risk of a first cardiovascular event, but not for those over 70. Yet, people over 70 are at increasingly higher risks of cardiovascular events than those under 70.
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Double success for University drug resistance research
Swansea University research into the threat posed by antifungal drug resistance has been highlighted in two prestigious international journals. Fungal disease now kills more people than malaria or TB and the Centre for Disease Control in the USA recognises emergence of multi-drug resistance in fungi as a high level threat.
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Personalized cancer vaccines
Therapeutic cancer vaccines were first developed 100 years ago and have remained broadly ineffective to date. Before tangible results can be achieved, two major obstacles must be overcome. Firstly, since tumor mutations are unique to each patient, cancer cell antigens must be targeted extremely precisely, which is very hard to achieve.
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Coronavirus outbreak raises question: Why are bat viruses so deadly?
It's no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years - SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus - originated in bats. A new University of California, Berkeley, study finds that bats' fierce immune response to viruses could drive viruses to replicate faster, so that when they jump to mammals with average immune systems, such as humans, the viruses wreak deadly havoc.
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Botanical drug is shown to help patients with head and neck cancers
In a UCLA-led phase I clinical trial, a new plant-based drug called APG-157 showed signs of helping patients fight oral and oropharyngeal cancers. These cancers are located in the head and the neck. APG-157 is made up of multiple compounds produced by plants, including curcumin. UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that treatment with this botanical drug resulted in
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Targeting the cancer microenvironment
The recognition of bacterial infections or foreign substances is mediated and controlled by the human immune system. This innate and adaptive immune system comprises the most important metabolic and cellulare processes to fight against infections and other diseases. Paradoxically, this immune system is also involved in the development of systemic diseases and cancer. Therefore it is of utmost importance to
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If cancer were easy, every cell would do it
A new Scientific Reports paper puts an evolutionary twist on a classic question. Instead of asking why we get cancer, Leonardo Oña of Osnabrück University and Michael Lachmann of the Santa Fe Institute use signaling theory to explore how our bodies have evolved to keep us from getting more cancer.
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