UI Researchers Studying Novel Therapy For Prostate Cancer
A team of University of Iowa Health Care researchers has launched an important clinical trial of a novel therapeutic that may eventually lead to new treatments for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The Ad5-TRAIL gene therapy for prostate cancer research trial is a Phase I study designed to test the optimal dosage at which the therapeutic agent can safely be given to patients.
The clinical study is being co-led by Thomas Griffith, Ph.D., (photo, left) an associate professor in the Department of Urology, and Richard Williams, M.D., the Rubin H. Flocks Chair in Urology and professor and head of the UI Department of Urology.
Research holds promise for herpes vaccine
A study by a Montana State University researcher suggests a new avenue for developing a vaccine against genital herpes and other diseases caused by herpes simplex viruses.
In a study published earlier this year in the Virology Journal, MSU virologist William Halford showed that mice vaccinated with a live, genetically-modified herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) showed no signs of disease 30 days after being exposed to a particularly lethal “wild-type” strain of the virus.
Arthritis Self-Management Does Not Reduce Pain Levels Or GP Visits
Self-management programmes for people with osteoarthritis do not reduce pain, or the number of visits patients make to their GP, a new study reveals today.
Osteoarthritis affects around five million people in the UK (8% of the population). Patient-centred arthritis self-management programmes tested on volunteers in the USA indicated a beneficial effect on pain, depression, exercise taken, communication with doctors and participants’ self-perception about their capacity to manage their condition
Researchers from London undertook one of the largest trials to measure the effects of arthritis self-management programmes on patients. The findings showed that whilst these programmes helped to reduce levels of anxiety for arthritis patients, they did little to reduce physical pain. The authors say their findings suggest that more research needs to be done to support the roll-out of the government’s Expert Patient Programme – a generic self-management programme for arthritis and other chronic diseases.
Public has preconceived ideas on psychiatric therapy
Most people believe depression and schizophrenia warrant treatment with drugs and other “biological” approaches, but such care is less widely accepted for people with substance abuse problems, a new study shows.
The more likely people were to think that a mental health or substance abuse problem had biological roots—for example, genetic susceptibility or chemical imbalance—the more likely they were to support biological treatment for it, the researchers found.
“Further research is needed regarding why the US public does not endorse, overall, more formal, biologically oriented treatment options, and, specifically, medication,” Drs. Sara Kuppin of Columbia University in New York and Richard M. Carpiano of the University of Wisconsin at Madison conclude.
