This week in health: Prostate cancer and stem cell breakthroughs, snoozing and headaches


Canada.com Health takes a look at a few stories you may have missed this week.

A new study may suggest a re-think is in order in the way we treat prostate cancer. Dr. Julia Hayes, at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, led a study that has found observation to be a reasonable alternative to initial treatment for the 70 percent of men who are diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer.

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At the same time, research continues at Dana-Farber to identify additional biomarkers that can aid in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as well as to find genetic abnormalities in prostate cancer cells that might indicate how they would respond to certain treatments.

More information on the study can be found here.

PHOTO: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images A scientist conducts research on stem cells at a laboratory in Bangalore, India.

A new study shows it may be possible to reverse aging in muscles.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a possible explanation for why muscles take longer to heal in older bodies: the stem cells within muscle tissues that are supposed to repair damage become less able over time to generate new fibres and self-renew.

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But the research team, led by Dr. Helen Blau, also claim to have discovered a way to rejuvenate these older muscle stem cells so that they function like younger cells. The results of their study has been published in Nature Medicine.

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This week in health: Prostate cancer and stem cell breakthroughs, snoozing and headaches

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