The immune system is a vital part of our defenses against pathogens, but it can also attack host tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease. The antigens that induce destructive immune reactions can now be identified directly - without any prior knowledge of their possible structure.
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The Path to Personalized Cancer Treatment
In the largest study of its kind, researchers have profiled genetic changes in cancer with drug sensitivity in order to develop a personalised approach to cancer treatments. The study is published in Nature on Thursday 29 March 2012.
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Using Measurements of 100,000 Molecules Taken from a Single Patient
The Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) routinely runs such tests on samples sent in from all over Spain. But analysing genes is just the first step towards a truly personalised medicine. And researchers are exploring new ways to analyse what goes on in each organism at a molecular scale:
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Biomarkers: New Tools of Modern Medicine
Over the last few decades there has been an explosion in the discovery of biomarkers for diagnosis, disease monitoring, and prognostic evaluation. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "Biomarkers: New Tools of Modern Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores the promise and challenges of biomarker discovery and highlights the latest advances in the use of biomarkers in various diseases.
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Web-Based Support Helps Women with Breast Cancer
Every day 18 Swedish women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Although there is a real need for support and information, many women struggle and get lost in the deluge of information. In a study of 227 women, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a web-based programme to guide patients all the way from diagnosis to rehabilitation.
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EEG Shows How Brain Tracts are Formed
In the past few years, researchers at the University of Helsinki have made several breakthroughs in discovering how the brain of preterm babies work, in developing treatments to protect the brain, and in developing research methods suitable for hospital use.
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New Method Makes it Easier to Treat Prostate and Pancreatic Cancer
Laser light in combination with certain drugs - known as photodynamic therapy - can destroy cancer tumours, but is today used mostly to cure skin cancer. The reason that internal tumours are not treated with the method is that the technology does not exist to check that the precise amount of light is administered.
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