The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) develops when an arterial oxygenation deficiency occurs due to intra-pulmonary vascular dilatations that are often associated with severe hepatic disease. HPS occurs in 15-20% of patients with liver cirrhosis undergoing evaluation for orthotopic liver transplantation. Recent studies support that the presence of HPS significantly increases mortality in cirrhosis, particularly in those with decompensated liver disease. [click link for full article]

A special education school which has been in the news for inappropriate use of electric shock treatment has been allowed to continue using shock treatment for the most dangerous and self-destructive behaviors. In such cases the shock treatment must lead to a diminution in the undesirable actions. The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) has to prove that these treatments really work. The one-year reauthorization contrasts with previous ones which lasted two years each time. [click link for full article]

Enhancing interoperability during European civil protection operations is the objective of an ESA project named Decision. In the context of this project, field trials were held in Chartres, France, focusing on satellite solutions to improve cooperation between civil protection agencies in crisis theatres - whether they occur in Europe or outside. [click link for full article]

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has completed patient enrolment in its Phase Ia/Ib U.K. clinical trial investigating the intratumoural delivery of REOLYSIN® in combination with radiation to treat patients with advanced cancers. A total of 23 patients received a range of two to six intratumoural doses of REOLYSIN® at escalating dosages up to a maximum of 1×1010 TCID50 with a constant localized radiation dose of either 20 Gy or 36 Gy. [click link for full article]

Treatment with bevacizumab plus interferon improves progression-free survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma compared with interferon alone, and will provide a new first-line treatment option for patients with renal cancer, according to an Article in this week’s issue of The Lancet.There are 120 000 new cases of renal cell carcinoma in Europe and the USA every year, and it causes 60 000 deaths. [click link for full article]

Boots the chemist is warning that Britain is in the grip of a cold snap, but rather than indicating the onset of a traditional white Christmas, Boots are cautioning that Brits are facing the worst spell of colds and flu to hit the country this year. According to Boots, the run up to Christmas is the snottiest one of the year, with two thirds of the country set to be laid up and reaching for the tissues. [click link for full article]

Only a third of patients with breast cancer discussed breast reconstruction options with their surgeon before their initial surgery, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. What’s more, women who did discuss reconstruction up front were four times more likely to have a mastectomy compared to those women who did not discuss reconstruction. [click link for full article]

Researchers from the Universities of Warwick, Edinburgh, Dundee and the Czech Republic’s Institute of Biophysics have discovered a new light-activated platinum-based compound that is up to 80 times more powerful than other platinum-based anti-cancer drugs and which can use “light activation” to kill cancer cells in much more targeted way than similar treatments. [click link for full article]

UroToday.com- This article evaluates three different urinary markers for the detection and staging of non invasive bladder cancer; Cathepsin B and L and NMP-22. Cathepsin B and L and NMP22 were determined in the urine specimens of 188 consecutive subjects with a history of treated urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, 31 with noncancerous urological conditions, and 10 healthy subjects. [click link for full article]

UroToday.com - This is a basic research work, where we analyzed the direct effect of BCG on transitional cancer cells (TCC) murine (MB49) and human (T24) cells lines. BCG induce apoptosis more than necrosis. It is important because its has been propose that tumor cell death by apoptosis could be a better inducer of immunity than death by necrosis. [click link for full article]