FDA Approves Blood Test That Helps Detect Ovarian Cancer
Medscape Medical News
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel blood test (OVA1, Vermillion Inc and Quest Diagnostics) to help detect ovarian cancer in adult women with pelvic tumors that are known to need surgery. The test consolidates immunoassay results for 5 proteins known to change with ovarian cancer, rating the likelihood of malignancy on a scale of one to 10.More

Alzheimer's Disease And Dementia Set to Grow Rapidly Worldwide
Medical News Today
By 2010, 35.6 million people are expected to be living with Alzheimer's disease globally, according to Alzheimer's Disease International. The total will probably double every couple of decades and reach approximately 65.7 million by 2030, and 115.4 million twenty years after that, the organization estimates.More

Flow Cytometry Can Diagnose Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma in Lymph Nodes With High Sensitivity and Specificity
American Journal of Clinical Pathology via Medscape Medical News
The diagnosis of classical Hodgkin lymphoma has been made in tissue sections as attempts to identify neoplastic Hodgkinand Reed Sternberg cells in lymph nodes by flow cytometry have been unsuccessful. However, we have recently demonstratedthat HRS cells can be identified by FC, often present as T-cell–HRS-cell rosettes.More

Prostate Cancer Screening's Toll
The Washington Post
One of the most controversial issues in men's health is whether a blood test commonly used to screen for prostate cancer is being overused. Well, there's new evidence out this week that the test has led to a lot of men getting unnecessary treatment. The test, known as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, measures a protein in the blood produced by the prostate gland. Doctors started using it routinely around 1987 to spot men with prostate cancer early.More

Universal PCR Screening for MRSA May Cut Costs, Reduce Infection
Medscape Medical News
Universal screening using rapid polymerase chain reaction analysis for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas in hospitals appears to be a cost-effective way to reduce the incidence of the disease and cut costs. That was the finding of a study presented here at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. But some scientists say the issue of whether screening with PCR analysis is really useful or cost-effective is far from settled.More

Green Tea Component May Help Preserve Stored Platelets, Skin Tissues
Daily India
A major component in green tea, called epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), could help prolong the preservation of both stored blood platelets and cryopreserved skin tissues, according to two separate studies in Japan.More

New Blood Tests Promise Simple Cancer Detection
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Two new blood tests could help doctors detect colon and stomach cancers simply, cheaply and early without the need for invasive procedures or unpleasant examinations, researchers said. The tests, one developed by the Belgian biotech firm OncoMethylome and another by scientists in Germany, use blood samples to detect specific genetic signals of the disease and could help predict whether it is likely to spread.More

CDC Updates Guidelines on Management of 2009 H1N1 Influenza
Medscape Medical News
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated its guidelines on the reporting and management of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus, according to a media briefing. Topics covered include characteristics of 2009 H1N1 influenza based on ongoing surveillance and guidance regarding use of antiviral agents for 2009 H1N1 influenza and seasonal influenza. More

NIH Moves Forward with Expanded Funding for Stem Cell Research
Los Angeles Times
The National Institutes of Health moved closer today to fulfilling President Obama's pledge to expand the number of stem cell lines eligible for use in federally funded research projects. Dr. Francis Collins, the NIH's new director, named members of a working group that will vet applications from researchers who want to add specific lines of human embryonic stem cells to the agency’s official stem cell registry.More

Calves Dying from Mystery Disease
BBC
Veterinary scientists are investigating a mystery disease which is killing young cattle across Scotland. There have been 25 confirmed cases of Bleeding Calf Syndrome, which attacks animals less than one month old.More