Insidermedicine In 60 - December 2, 2011

From London, researchers have identified and validated a series of objective assessment tools for monitoring the progression of Huntington's disease. Though not impacting the disease directly, the new measures offer an improved assessment of treatments in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, and greatly advance the development of future treatments.

From Boston, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer institute have discovered that an immune system stimulant can, in small doses, act as an immune system suppressant. These findings identify a possible treatment course for patients with active, chronic graft-versus-host disease, a common side-effect arising from stem cell or bone marrow transplantation.

And finally, from Washington, levels of health disparity are on the rise, in particular among young American adults. Researchers found that, in particular, Americans born since 1980 exhibit a large gap in perceived health. The data also suggests that the disparity between the healthiest and least healthy will continue over the next 1-2 decades.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• huntington's disease
• stem cell transplantation
• health disparity