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NEWS:
Ground-Breaking New Method For Multi-Cancer Early Detection
When cancer is detected at an early stage, the rates of survival increase drastically, but today only a few cancer types are screened for. An international study led by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that a new, previously untested method can easily find multiple types of newly formed cancers at the same time – including cancer types that are difficult to detect with comparable methods.
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world and is more difficult to cure when detected at a late stage.
Finding effective methods for early detection of several types of cancer at the same time, so-called Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED), is an emerging research area. Today's established screening tests are cancer type-specific, which means that patients need to be tested for each cancer type separately. Emerging MCED tests under development are usually ba
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Study Identifies Features That May Make Motor Neurons Vulnerable To ALS
New research offers clues about the biology of cells in the spinal cord that die off in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. A team of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health found evidence linking motor neurons’ large cell size and supporting structure with the genes that underlie their vulnerability to degeneration in ALS. Findings appeared in Neuron.
The study resulted in a catalog or “atlas” characterizing the diverse community of cell types within the human spinal cord. By examining gene expression at the single-cell level, the researchers identified dozens of cell types in the spinal cord and analyzed their molecular profiles. They demonstrated the usefulness of the atlas by looking closely at motor neurons, which provide voluntary movement and motor control. Motor neurons, which degenerate and die in ALS, are large cells wi
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Toxic Protein Linked To Muscular Dystrophy And Arhinia
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues have found that a toxic protein made by the body called DUX4 may be the cause of two very different rare genetic disorders. For patients who have facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), or a rare facial malformation called arhinia, this research discovery may eventually lead to therapies that can help people with these rare diseases.
FSHD type 2 (FSHD2) is an inherited form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive muscle weakness. Arhinia is an extremely rare yet severe disorder that prevents the development of an external nose and the olfactory bulbs and tracts. Both diseases are caused by mutations in the SMCHD1 gene. In patients with FSHD2, there is overproduction of DUX4 which kills the muscle cells, and this leads to the progressive weakening of the muscles.
“It has been known for some time that DUX4
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Adopting Pediatric Readiness Standards Improves Survival In Hospital Emergency Departments
Emergency departments that have the highest levels of coordination of health care, personnel, procedures and medical equipment needed to care for ill and injured children have far higher rates of survival than hospitals with low readiness, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found that more than 1,400 children’s deaths may have been prevented if hospital emergency departments had adopted national pediatric care readiness standards as laid out by the National Pediatric Readiness Project. The six-year study of 983 emergency departments in 11 states followed nearly 800,000 children.
The National Pediatric Readiness Project was established to ensure that all emergency departments have the coordination of health care, personnel, procedures and medical equipment needed to care for ill and injured children. According to the project’s checklist(link is
