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A new study may lead to new forms of treatment following a better understanding of how amyloid-beta found in cerebral plaques, typically present in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, may lead to neurodegeneration.

New research has found that beta blockers, a class of drugs used to prevent the progression of heart failure and manage arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and hypertension (high blood pressure), are underused in heart failure patients who receive implantable cardiac devices. Failure to take beta blockers prior to implanting a cardiac device can affect the patient’s overall outcome and survival rate.

Liver transplantation specialists recently convened to address U.S. guidelines for allocation of organs for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, liver cancer). Representatives from more than 130 U.S. transplant centers were invited to the conference and participants included 180 leaders in liver transplantation (LT) from the 50 most active centers. Full details of the recommendations developed at the conference are published in the March issue of Liver Transplantation.

According to estimates from the American Cancer Society, melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, was responsible for an estimated 8,650 deaths in the United States in 2009. Of growing concern among dermatologists is the fact that melanoma is now the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old. Early diagnosis is the key to curing this potentially deadly disease, and diagnostic tools are playing a crucial role in aiding dermatologists to spot melanomas at earlier — and more curable — stages.

An imaging technique combining ultrasound and specially modified contrast agents may allow researchers to noninvasively detect cancer and show its progression. The technique enables researchers to visualize tumor activity at the molecular level.

Cognitive impairment is common in transient ischemic attack and minor ischemic stroke patients. Cognitive impairment in these patients can be detected with tests that evaluate the brain’s “executive functions” — but not with another commonly used screening designed to test for Alzheimer’s dementia.

A ground-breaking study found an astonishing 59 percent of study subjects had too little vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies of this important vitamin. Since vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue.

Nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers, according to new research.

Postmenopausal women, including those over 70 years old, who have been newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast have higher cancer detection rates when the other breast is scanned for tumors with MRI, compared to premenopausal women, say researchers.

Men who visit a radiation oncologist appear more likely to receive radiation therapy for prostate cancer, whereas men who consult with a urologist with or without a medical oncologist are treated more frequently with hormone therapy, watchful waiting or a radical prostatectomy, according to a new study.

African-American and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure appear less likely to receive hospice care than white patients with the same condition, according to a new study.

Can a drug that has been used to treat malaria for years possibly be used to treat breast cancer before it becomes invasive? That’s what researchers are now trying to prove.

In an eye-opening editorial, a leading expert urges the medical community to use ultrasound instead of computed tomography as the first-line imaging test for better diagnosis capability in the evaluation of acute female pelvic and lower abdominal conditions.

Researchers have discovered a new method for predicting — with up to 99 percent accuracy — the fate of stem cells. Using advanced computer vision technology to detect subtle cell movements that are impossible to discern with the human eye, scientists can successfully forecast how a stem cell will split and what key characteristics the daughter cells will exhibit.

Breast cancer patients with early stage disease that has spread to only one lymph node may not benefit from radiation after mastectomy, because of the low present-day risk of recurrence following modern surgery and systemic therapy, a finding that could one day change the course of treatment for thousands of women diagnosed each year, according to researchers.

Do we need a revision of current recommendations for breast cancer screening? According to a recent study, this appears advisable at least for young women carrying an increased risk of breast cancer. The results of the EVA trial confirm once more that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is substantially more accurate for early diagnosis of breast cancer than digital mammography or breast ultrasound: MRI is three times more sensitive for breast cancer than digital mammography.

A significant number of people with heart disease will benefit from less invasive transcatheter heart valve replacements in future, finds a review of updated practices.

Prostate-specific dietary supplements should not be taken during radiation therapy treatments because they have been shown to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, leading to normal tissue complications, according to a new study.

Another weapon in the arsenal against cancer: nanoparticles that identify, target and kill specific cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.

There is a link between repeated anesthesia in children and memory impairment, though physical activity can help to form new cells that improve memory, reveals new research.

It’s time to re-think how patients are selected for cardiac catheterization, say doctors, after reporting in a new study that the invasive procedure found no significant coronary artery disease in nearly 60 percent of chest pain patients with no prior heart disease.

The secret world of inflammation is slowly being revealed by the application of advanced techniques in microscopy, as shown in a new study. Researchers used 2-photon microscopy to identify how killer T lymphocytes behaved when they enter sites of inflammation caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani, and which infected cells they were able to recognize.

In one of the first such studies involving human patients with schizophrenia, researchers have provided evidence that deficits in a brain chemical may be responsible for some of the debilitating cognitive deficits — poor attention, memory and problem-solving abilities — that accompany the delusions and hallucinations that are the hallmarks of the disorder.

Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study has found.

Nanocages that efficiently convert light to heat are the basis for a targeted form of phototherapy that would destroy tumors without making cancer patients sick.

Aided by ultrasound guidance, treating tumors with extreme heat or moderate heat may provide a possible therapeutic option, according to early research.

Entirely different signal paths and parts of the brain are involved when you try to remember something and when you just happen to remember something, prompted by a smell, a picture, or a word, for instance.

To grow larger, solid tumors require a network of blood vessels to nourish them. Chemotherapy exploits these vessels to deliver toxic drugs, but is inefficient if the drugs cannot pass quickly enough from the bloodstream into the tumor. A new study describes a way of transiently making the tumor blood vessels leakier, allowing more efficient drug uptake. This work may ultimately enhance delivery of chemotherapies into tumor tissue.

Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers who tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold.

Obese teenage girls with a greater ratio of visceral fat (fat around internal organs) to subcutaneous fat (fat found just beneath the skin) are likely to have lower bone density than peers with a lower ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat, according to a new study.

Researchers hope they have begun paving a new pathway in the fight against drug dependence. Their hypothesis — that increasing the normally occurring process of making nerve cells might prevent addiction — is based on a rodent study demonstrating that blocking new growth of specific brain nerve cells increases vulnerability for cocaine addiction and relapse.

The CREST trial that compared traditional surgery with less-invasive stenting to clear dangerously clogged carotid arteries in the neck is being called “seminal and robust.”

Office-based, surgeon-performed, ultrasound-guided, fine needle aspiration (FNA) of head and neck lesions yields a statistically significant higher diagnostic rate compared to the standard palpation technique, indicates new research.

A large academic medical center has found that a significant percentage of outpatient referrals they receive from primary care physicians for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies are inappropriate (based upon evidence-based appropriateness criteria developed by a radiology benefits management company), according to a new study.

Embedding clinical images to accompany findings described in a radiology text report enhances radiologists’ communication with referring physicians and can improve patient care, according to a new study.

Just as with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, the growth rate among non-radiologists who own or lease positron emission tomography equipment is also on the rise, contributing significantly to the ongoing issues surrounding self-referral and unnecessary utilization of imaging in the United States, according to a new study.

A new tool can help physicians predict the likelihood of death or readmission to hospital for patients within 30 days of discharge from hospital.

Whether a women gets pregnant the “traditional” way or by assisted reproduction has no effect on the birthing process itself or the baby, researchers in Norway have found.

A comparison of two types of minimally invasive surgery to repair kidney blockages that prevent urine from draining normally to the bladder found that robot-assisted surgery was faster and resulted in less blood loss and shorter hospital stays.

The longer women wait for radiotherapy after breast cancer surgery, the more chance there is of local recurrence, concludes a new study. The authors suggest that starting radiotherapy as soon as possible will minimize this risk.

Researchers have found that non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good diagnostic tool for the evaluation and staging of testicular cancer and may improve patient care by sparing some men unnecessary surgery.

A low-carbohydrate diet, a low-fat diet and the Mediterranean diet were equally effective in helping obese people to reverse carotid atherosclerosis after losing moderate amounts of weight and improving their blood pressure, in a new study.

Activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been associated with risk factors for alcohol use disorders in adolescents. A new study has used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine ACC activity among adults. The increased ACC activation found during a working-memory task among alcohol-dependent participants may be an indicator of less control over alcohol-consuming behavior.

Older women who have had breast cancer surgery have a greater risk of the cancer returning if they delay their post-surgical radiation treatment.

Robotic surgical technology with its three-dimensional, high-definition view gives surgeons the sensation of touch, even as they operate from a remote console. A new study describes the phenomenon, called intersensory integration, and reports that surgical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery using minimally invasive robotic technology compare favorably with traditional invasive surgery.

A research team from China investigated the afferent and efferent veins of different types of gastric varices (GV) according to their location, with multidetector computed tomography portal venography (MDCTPV). Their results indicated that MDCTPV could display the collateral circulation of GV. It could provide a valuable reference for the treatment of GV bleeding.

Time taken to detect brain tumors could soon be significantly reduced, thanks to researchers in the UK who are developing the technology for next generation SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging that is set to revolutionize the medical imaging process improving future diagnosis of cancer .

Researchers are a step closer to helping solve a complex problem in nanotechnology: the impact nanoparticles have on human health and the environment. They have developed a methodology to measure various aspects of nanoparticles in the blood stream of chicken embryos.

Current use of prenatal ultrasounds in women with singleton pregnancies is 55 percent greater than in 1996, even in low-risk pregnancies. More than one-third (37 percent) of pregnant women now receive three or more ultrasound tests in the second and third trimesters of a given pregnancy, according to a new study.

Image-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a minimally invasive cancer treatment which can be performed in the outpatient setting, significantly reduced the level of pain experienced by cancer patients with bone (osseous) metastases, limiting the need for strong narcotic pain management, and supporting improved patient frame of mind, according to new results.