The official MedZine Blog

“Please governments, keep on investing in basic science”, Paul Stoffels, Chief Science Officer of Johnson & Johnson, implored at the inaugural symposium of the Janssen Prevention Center (JPC) of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies. The new research centre was established early 2015 and organised its first symposium titled “Reaching for immorbidity” on June 4th at the EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam. Continue reading

Treatment with antibiotics is often sufficient for curing acute appendicitis, scientists of the Amsterdam Medical Centre write in Surgery. In a small prospective cohort study, the researchers monitored the clinical course of simple appendicitis in children treated with antibiotics instead of appendectomy. Continue reading

With the theme Illumination & Innovation this year’s congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology promises a lot of new developments and insights in the field of cancer. One of the progresses to keep an eye on is immunotherapy. This treatment strategy is rapidly gaining ground and will be discussed in numerous sessions at the 2015 Annual ASCO Meeting. Continue reading

In practice, methylprednisolon (MP) is administered intravenously in MS patients suffering from relapses. In a recent phase-IV clinical trial, however, Spanish scientists show that the drug has the same mode of action when taken orally. This route of administration would be more convenient for patients and has lower costs, the researchers write in Multiple Sclerose Journal. Continue reading

After years of discussion, scientists finally seem to have found the answer to what determines our behaviour: genetics or environmental factors. Apparently, no clear distinction can be made between the two, because both contribute equally. This simultaneously implies that every trait is hereditary, in contrast to previous assumptions. The VU Amsterdam and the University of Queensland, Brisbane, presented the results of the largest twin study yet in Nature Genetics. Continue reading

The accumulation of amyloid in brain tissue is an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. An elaborate study from the VUmc Alzheimer Centre and the University Medical Centre of Maastricht has now identified these plaques in ten percent of healthy fifty year-olds. Furthermore, the protein accumulations seem to occur more frequent in people with a higher education. These results were published in JAMA. Continue reading

Scientists from the Cambridge University have recorded the action of cytotoxic T cells with high-resolution 4D imaging. With the help of these microscopic images the researchers were able to analyse the different steps leading to the killing of suspicious cells. Continue reading

Sepsis is a life threatening condition that requires immediate treatment with antibiotics. However, the accompanying clinical presentation may also occur with other causes, leading to a possible delay in diagnosis and treatment. The expression pattern of eleven genes may help to distinguish between these conditions more efficiently, scientists of the Stanford University Medical School, California, write in Science. Continue reading

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Union organisation in charge of evaluating human drugs, has started a review procedure concerning the risks of inhaling corticosteroids in COPD. Patients suffering from this disease have a greater chance of developing pneumonia when they use this type of medication. Continue reading

Vaccination against measles has led to a worldwide reduction of child death. However, the observed decrease cannot entirely be explained by elimination of the measles virus. Scientists from the Princeton University in New York and the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam presume that the measles vaccine prevents weakening of the immune system after a measles infection, as was published in Science. Continue reading