Health News

Losing Sight with AMD
As we age, most people both expect and accept that they will not be able to do 100% of the things they could as young bucks. But sadly for many, loss of vision with age is an unwelcome and harsh reality. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss among aging adults and a frequent issue for people over 50. However, with new therapies and research, the tide could be turning for treating this disease. Fine Points According to the National Eye Institute ( NEI ), AMD causes loss of vision by slowly deteriorating the macula, a very sensitive part o...
Cancer Drug Reaffirmed for Macular Degeneration
A second trial has affirmed that cancer drug Avastin ( bevacizumab ) is an effective cost efficient treatment for patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which can lead to blindness.
IV Drugs Equal for Treating Macular Degeneration
Two medications commonly used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have been found to provide equal treatment benefit in the first long-term study comparing the drugs.  Injectable drugs Avastin ( bevacizumab ), an off-label cancer medication most frequently used to treat AMD, and Lucentis ( ranibizumab ), approved to treat AMD by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006, both provided similar vision improvements at two years. Get regular vision exams to pinpoint vision loss early. Maureen Maguire, PhD, corresponding author and director of the Center for Preventi...
Chemotherapy not Effective in Seniors?
Cancer treatment has come a long way in the last few decades, and further refinement is a constant process. New research shows that the age of the patient may influence the best drug treatment option.
Eye Drug Better than Surgery
Patients with a persistent form of diabetic macular edema, which causes swelling of the retina, appear to do better with a prescribed drug over laser therapy, the long-preferred treatment for the eye condition.
Possible new Lung Cancer Chemo Combo
Scientists continue to search for next-step treatment options for people living with lung cancer. A combination of chemotherapy agents may be an alternative for some folks.
Cancer Supply Side Economics
Cancer tumors survive and grow in part because of a network of blood vessels they build. This is called angiogenesis . Scientists can't fully explain the process, but are beginning to understand its origins. Previously, a series of experimental results published from New York and Italy showed evidence that the blood vessel growth in the brain cancer glioblastoma was cancer-based growth, rather than normal blood vessels growing to feed tumors. Angiogenesis inhibitors such as Avastin ( bevacizumab ) would only be effective against normal blood vessels, and researchers believed that t...
Taking Bulls-eye Aim Against Two Cancer Targets
The capacity of cancer to outsmart its opponents is legendary. That's why therapies have to be multifaceted. New research shows that going after two targets hits the bulls-eye in knocking the lights out of tumors.
Fake Cancer Drugs Discovered
As if the drug shortages hitting the cancer world aren't bad enough, there are now reports of fake drugs on the market!
Roche Drug Receives New European Union Approval
Roche announced that the European Commission has approved Avastin ( bevacizumab ) in combination with standard chemotherapy ( carboplatin and paclitaxel ) as a front-line (first-line following surgery) treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer.