An office-based immunochemical fecal occult blood test (IFOBT) is significantly more accurate in screening for colorectal cancer compared with a test for pyruvate kinase isoenzyme Type M2 (M2-PK), according to a study carried out by researchers in Germany and published in the June issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Reuters Health Information
An investigational in vitro tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha assay may be useful in predicting treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are starting methotrexate therapy. Reuters Health Information
Quarterly updates of the table by the US Food and Drug Administration should help keep clinicians and patients informed about potential drug response and risk for adverse reactions. Medscape Medical News
Scientists have successfully generated pluripotent stem cells using biopsied skin from an 82-year old patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), from which they produced motor neurons and glia. Reuters Health Information
A study shows that the plasma glucose concentration at 1 hour during the oral glucose tolerance test is a strong predictor of the risk for type 2 diabetes. Medscape Medical News
Researchers have shown in a mouse model of osteoporosis that low-dose aspirin can inhibit osteoclasts and activate osteoblasts, according to research published online in the open access journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) One. Reuters Health Information
Among patients with active, refractory systemic lupus erythematosus, clinical responses to B cell depletion therapy (BCDT) were shorter in those had an expanded autoantibody profile and elevated B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) levels at baseline, researchers from the US and UK report in the July issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Reuters Health Information
There appears to be no strong association between the apolipoprotein epsilon 4 (APOE-e4) allele and concussion, according to a prospective study of 318 varsity collegiate athletes. Reuters Health Information
In newborns with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, there is an association between viral load on dried blood spot cards and sensorineural hearing loss, according to UK researchers. Reuters Health Information
Older men with depressive symptoms who are also positive for the APOE epsilon-4 allele are at "markedly" higher risk of dementia, researchers report in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Reuters Health Information
