XMRV, a retrovirus linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome, may be inhibited by drugs used against HIV, according to researchers at Emory University and the University of Utah. XMRV was discovered in 2006 and has been detected in a majority of chronic fatigue syndrome patients as well as in some tumor biopsies from prostate cancer patients.
“Not all studies that have looked for XMRV have been able to detect it in prostate cancers or in samples from chronic fatigue syndrome,” says Ila Singh, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology …

Menveo, a new meningitis vaccine, is available in Europe for the first time. The vaccine protects against four major strains of the disease and could be used as a travel vaccine to protect people who travel in sub-Saharan Africa.
Menveo can protect people who have not been vaccinated and will offer longer lasting protection against the disease.  According to Dr. Jane Zukerman at the University College London Medical School: “Travellers should consider visiting a specialist travel health centre where they can be advised and provided with expert knowledge on the diseases …

Breast cancer patients who undergo radiation treatment after mastectomy lower their risk of the cancer coming back in the chest wall or surrounding areas to as low as 10% and the overall survival is improved, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“A substantial number of breast cancer patients are being under-treated. One in five women with strong indications for radiation after mastectomy failed to receive it.  Radiation can be a life-saving treatment,” says study author Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil, assistant professor of …

Diabetic patients who undergo cancer surgery have a 50% higher risk of death in the month following their operations than those who have cancer but not diabetes, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University.
The higher risk of death could be linked to infection or cardiovascular compromise, because is well known that diabetes is a risk factor for infection as well as a strong predicator of heart attack and death from cardiovascular disease.
The researchers, led by Hsin-Chieh “Jessica” Yeh, reviewed and analyzed 15 previously published medical studies and found that patients …

South Korean researchers found that a salty diet may increase the risk of gastric cancer (stomach cancer), after studying more than 2 million adults aged 30 to 80 years old.
During the research 2.2 million South Korean adults provided information on their lifestyle and diet and had health checkups between 1996 and 1997.  Over the course of seven years, 2773 women and 9620 man developed gastric cancer. According to researchers the risk of developing gastric cancer was 10% higher in people who preferred salty diets.
Although it’s unclear how the salt may …