Cancer Cliches to Avoid: I'm Not 'Brave'

Fighter, warrior, hero - some of the terms you might see used to describe people with cancer. But according to a new survey, for some with the illness the words are seen as inappropriate rather than uplifting. The UK poll by Macmillan Cancer Support of 2,000 people who have or had cancer found "cancer-stricken" and "victim" were also among the least-liked terms. The charity said...

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Gene Modified Chickens 'Lay Medicines'

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute have genetically modified chickens to produce human proteins in their eggs. They hope the project will one day lead to lifesaving drugs that are much cheaper to make. The team modified the genomes of the chickens so their eggs contain large amounts of high quality proteins. Just three eggs contain a clinically significant...

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Video: Preventing Shingles

If you've had chickenpox, you're at risk for getting shingles, a very painful and potentially debilitating disease. Nearly one in three Americans will get shingles, and older adults are more at risk. But adults age 50 and older can get protection from shingles simply by getting the shingles vaccine. Watch this public service announcement below to learn more. Brought to you by the...

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Two Dead After Pigeon Dropping Infection at Hospital

Two patients have died after contracting a fungal infection caused by pigeon droppings at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said an elderly patient died but from an unrelated cause. Another infected patient has also died but the factors contributing to the death are still being investigated. A non-public room, thought to contain machinery, was...

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IVF Dad 'Floored' Over Baby He Did Not Consent To

A father, whose ex-partner forged his signature to conceive a child via an IVF clinic, said he was "absolutely floored" when he found out. The man, who can only be identified as ARB, sued IVF Hammersmith for damages for the cost of bringing up the girl. Although judges found the clinic was in breach of contract, they rejected his claim for damages. The clinic said it had "reinforced"...

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Lupus Research Alliance Announces Research Awards to Accelerate Development of New Therapies

Can "borrowed" drugs for treating other diseases protect the skin in patients with lupus? Can researchers coax the body to weed out harmful immune cells that drive tissue destruction in lupus? Those are just two of the innovative approaches for lupus therapies recognized by the Lupus Research Alliance with the latest round of its Target Identification in Lupus (TIL) grants. Seven outstanding...

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New Potential Immunotherapy Target in Pancreatic Cancer Identified

Researchers have identified a new potential immunotherapy target in pancreatic cancer, which so far has been notoriously resistant to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade drugs effective against a variety of other cancers. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center research team found overexpression of the immune checkpoint VISTA on immune cells, especially macrophages, that infiltrated...

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What is the Right Age to Lose Your Virginity?

Having sex too soon is the biggest regret of young people losing their virginity, a survey of British sexual behaviour suggests. More than a third of women and a quarter of men in their teens and early 20s admitted it had not been "the right time" when they first had sex. People must be 16 or over to legally consent to sex. The latest National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles...

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Could Pomegranates Offer the Key to New IBD Treatments?

Studies of pomegranates, "the fruit of the gods," are increasingly revealing why they are so beneficial. Urolithin A, derived from pomegranates, and its synthetic equivalent could help treat inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study. Pomegranates may contain the secret to better gut health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that around 3 million adults...

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King's Researchers Receive £1.25 Million To Investigate Fatal Eating Disorder

A multidisciplinary team, led by Dr Marietta Stadler from the School of Life Course Sciences, has been awarded £1.25 million by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to investigate an eating disorder where people with type 1 diabetes deliberately take too little insulin to try and control their weight. Dr Stadler, awarded one of only five NIHR Clinician Scientist Fellowships...

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Common Pain Relievers May Worsen C. Difficile Infection

A study finds that certain pain relievers may promote Clostridium difficile infection. The results may help improve the management of the condition and its symptoms. Clostridium difficile infection is relatively common and can be serious. Clostridium difficile, also called C. difficile or C. diff, is a bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon. This health condition commonly affects...

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Researchers Examine Benefits of Oral Supplement For Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease

Fight for Sight and the Thyroid Eye Disease Charitable Trust are funding research to establish the benefits of using a type of oral supplement for UK patients with thyroid eye disease, which affects around 300,000 people in the UK. Researchers from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust will recruit 110 patients with the condition who will be randomly selected to receive selenium tablets...

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Quadruple Amputee Given Double Hand Transplant

A woman from Renfrewshire who had been waiting for a double hand transplant for five years has successfully undergone the surgery. Quadruple amputee Corinne Hutton, from Lochwinnoch, went through a 12-hour procedure at Leeds General Infirmary. The news was announced by the charity Finding Your Feet, which the 47-year-old set up. The campaigner lost her hands and feet in 2013 after...

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Some HRT Tablets 'Linked to Higher Blood Clot Risk'

Women taking certain types of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) tablets could be more at risk from serious blood clots - although the overall risk is low, BMJ research suggests. It found tablets containing equine oestrogen were linked with a slightly higher risk than other tablets. And patches and gels for HRT were the safest but were underused. GPs' leaders said HRT treatments were...

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What is an Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) Blood Test?

The liver makes several enzymes, including alanine aminotransferase, or ALT. These enzymes help break down proteins so that the body can digest them. Besides helping the liver break down proteins, ALT helps the liver perform its basic functions. Some of these include: * filtering toxins from the blood * storing nutrients and iron * producing bile, which aids digestion Most ALT...

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Sponge offers Hope of 'Less Toxic' Chemotherapy

Scientists believe they may have found a way to make cancer chemotherapy treatment less toxic to the body. They have begun testing a tiny sponge that sits inside a vein and removes excess chemo drugs from the blood once they have attacked the target tumour. Experts say the early work, in the journal ACS Central Science, offers hope of avoiding treatment side-effects, such as hair loss and...

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3 Common Drugs Can Reduce Severe Mental Health Symptoms

A new study revealed that three common drugs normally used to treat cardiovascular problems or diabetes could also aid in the treatment of some serious mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. Could we repurpose common drugs to treat mental health conditions? Scientists at University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and the...

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What to Know About the Adam's Apple

The Adam's apple is a lump of cartilage that sticks out from the throat. It is more prominent in males, and it serves no specific function. A person can remove or change the size of their Adam's apple with surgery. Adam's apples develop during puberty and are not present in prepubescent children. They are often more prominent in males, who tend to develop larger larynxes than females....

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