Newswise NEW YORK, MARCH 14, 2012 Researchers have identified a set of genetic abnormalities in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) that doctors can use to more accurately predict patients prognoses and select treatments that are most likely to benefit them. The study, led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, will be published in the March 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Our study shows that genetic profiling makes it possible to more precisely categorize which patients are most likely to have their leukemia return after treatment, says the studys lead author Ross Levine, MD, a member of Memorial Sloan-Ketterings Human Oncology Pathogenesis Program. We also want to use existing therapies more intelligently. It helps a great deal to know which subset of patients will actually benefit from intensive therapies, such as a higher dose of chemotherapy or a bone marrow transplant, adds Dr. Levine, who is also a medical oncologist on the Leukemia Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. At present, clinicians rely on only a handful of known genetic biomarkers (early markers of disease) to predict outcome in leukemia patients, and these biomarkers provide useful information for only a subset of patients. For most people diagnosed … Continue reading →

EDMONDS, Wash., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Washington Center for Pain Management is participating in a nationwide FDA-cleared adult stem cell study testing novel treatment for chronic low back pain and has enrolled its first patient. The study will test the use of Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) adult stem cells derived from bone marrow that will be directly injected into the lumbar disc. The minimally invasive procedure may offer an alternative to back surgery for eligible patients with chronic pain from degenerative discs. An estimated 30 million people in the United States suffer from back pain. Degenerative disc disease is the most common cause of low-back pain, which develops with the gradual loss of a material called proteoglycan, which cushions the bones of the spine and enables normal motion. Most patients with low-back pain respond to physical therapy and medications, but in advanced cases, artificial disc replacement or spinal fusion -- removal of the degenerated discs and the fusion of the bones of the spine -- is necessary. However, these surgeries often are not entirely effective. "Millions of Americans are debilitated by chronic low back pain," says Dr Hyun Joong Hong MD, the lead investigator at The Washington Center for Pain … Continue reading →

EDMONDS, Wash., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Washington Center for Pain Management is participating in a nationwide FDA-cleared adult stem cell study testing novel treatment for chronic low back pain and has enrolled its first patient. The study will test the use of Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) adult stem cells derived from bone marrow that will be directly injected into the lumbar disc. The minimally invasive procedure may offer an alternative to back surgery for eligible patients with chronic pain from degenerative discs. An estimated 30 million people in the United States suffer from back pain. Degenerative disc disease is the most common cause of low-back pain, which develops with the gradual loss of a material called proteoglycan, which cushions the bones of the spine and enables normal motion. Most patients with low-back pain respond to physical therapy and medications, but in advanced cases, artificial disc replacement or spinal fusion -- removal of the degenerated discs and the fusion of the bones of the spine -- is necessary. However, these surgeries often are not entirely effective. "Millions of Americans are debilitated by chronic low back pain," says Dr Hyun Joong Hong MD, the lead investigator at The Washington Center for Pain … Continue reading →