The official MedZine Blog

Sulforaphane, a compound present as a precursor in broccoli, may improve symptoms of disorders in the autism spectrum. This is demonstrated by researchers of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Results of this research were published in the medical scientific journal PNAS. Continue reading

This year, the Dutch Medicines Days 2014 (DMD) were predominated by the subject of personalised medicine. Medical doctors, researchers and delegates from insurance providers and pharmaceutical companies discussed implementation and innovative treatment methods considering this subject. The DMD is a congress on innovative drug research, hosted by the Federation for Innovative Drug Research in the Netherlands (FIGON). Continue reading

A team of researchers led by Shih-Chin Cheng, recently published proof for the controversial hypothesis of trained immunity in Science Magazine. The theory that the aspecific immune system can be influenced by external factors is still a hot item in the field of immunology. The researchers demonstrated the ability of the aspecific immune system to adapt through epigenetic changes in a glucose metabolism-regulating gene. Continue reading

Results have been presented on a new treatment for an aggressive breast cancer form at the annual congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Definitive results of the CLEOPATRA study show a median overall survival of over fifteen months. That is promising news for patients suffering from this aggressive form of cancer, that accounts for nearly a quarter of all breast cancers. Continue reading

There might be an association between the use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and venous thromboembolism. This is concluded by a research group at the Bassett Medical Center and the Columbia University College in New York (USA). Results of their review have been published recently in Rheumatology. Continue reading

Scientists of the Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston (USA) have tested a new method to let surgeons distinguish healthy tissue from cancer tissue in the breast. The results were positive. The publication can be read in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Continue reading

The pneumonia causing bacteria Streptococcus pneumonae is able to migrate to the heart. There it can cause cell death in the heart tissue. A study published on September 18th in PLOS Pathogens demonstrates that S. Pneumonae can migrate from the lungs to the heart in mice and rhesus macaques. Continue reading

Caffeine administration to neonates suffering from apnea of prematurity does not affect sleep quality or quantity at school-age. Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia drew this conclusion from their research. Results were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Continue reading

A study shows it’s possible to transmit a thought from one person to another, without having to speak or write. The research team consisted of members from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School (HMC), Starlab Barcelona in Spain, and Axilum Robotics in Strasbourg in France. The findings were published in PLOS ONE. Continue reading

The glucose derivative methylglyxal (MG) was found to destabilize HDL cholesterol which causes it to lose its positive characteristics. That was concluded by scientists of the University of Warwick in their recently published study in Nutrition and Diabetes. Continue reading