Studies and Analyses

Reviparin is simple, effective therapy for heart attack patients worldwide

A major Canadian-led global study has found that an inexpensive anti-blood-clotting drug significantly reduces death and repeat heart attacks without increasing the risk of stroke. The study is of significance to patients in all countries, including developing countries where access to high-tech treatments for cardiovascular problems may be limited.

The CREATE randomized trial was initiated and c

A new study shows that an enzyme that normally alters the activity of other protein molecules in cells may also help prevent cancer.

The enzyme is known as PTPRO (for “protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-type O”). When the gene responsible for producing PTPRO is silenced, as can happen in lung cancer, for example, the amount of the enzyme drops, allowing the cells to grow when they shouldn’t.

The research, led by investigators at The Ohio State University Comprehensive

USC study shows brachytherapy holds promise as treatment for once-debilitating cancers

Brachytherapy, the administration of radiation therapy locally through radioactive seeds, holds promise as part of a limb-sparing treatment program for patients with soft-tissue sarcomas, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. After five years, 83 percent of patients in a trial incorporating brachytherapy into the treatment plan had survi

Loyola University Health System begins today the national clinical trial using PolyHeme®, an investigational oxygen-carrying blood substitute designed to increase survival of critically injured and bleeding trauma patients at the scene of injury. Loyola has been involved in extensive public education, staff education and paramedic training since its Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Research Subjects (IRB) approved the clinical trial in May. Loyola is one of 20-25 Level

Results differ from adult patients, underscore need for more research

A new study has shown for the first time that transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) from sibling donors may be more harmful than bone marrow in pediatric leukemia patients.

Researchers from the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) found that patients undergoing PBSC transplants were more likely to die of transplant-related causes than those who underwent bone marrow tr

Risk of dying from experimental cancer treatment drops by 90 percent over 12 years

The chance that patients participating in early-stage cancer research studies will die from the experimental treatments has dropped dramatically over the past decade, according to a study from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In an analysis of more than 200 Phase 1 research trials from 1991 through 2002, the researchers found