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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has limited systemic therapy options when discovered at an advanced stage. Thus, there is a need for accessible and minimally invasive biomarkers of response to guide the selection of patients for treatment. Researchers investigated the biomarker value of plasma growth hormone (GH) level as a potential biomarker to predict outcome in unresectable HCC patients treated with current standard therapy, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atezo/Bev). "The present study was designed to investigate the association between GH levels and overall survivals (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in HCC patients treated with current standard, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab," the researchers explain....

It started as one of Spain’s typical grand passing rondos, it grew over 90 minutes and then 120 into one of the biggest mountains of possession amassed since World Cup records began, and by the end it felt like this great generation of players had run out of fresh ideas. This was the remnants of the great world champions of 2010 passing the ball 1,114 times in a match but unable to score more goals than a Russia team who refused to be passed to death in the way that so many opponents have in the past. By the end...

Brain plaques may have been seeded by contaminated hormone extracts from cadavers. Only a decade ago, the idea that Alzheimer’s disease might be transmissible between people would have been laughed off the stage. But scientists have since shown that tissues can transmit symptoms of the disease between animals — and new results imply that humans, at least in one unusual circumstance, may not be an exception. The findings, published in this issue of Nature, emerged during autopsy studies of the brains of eight people who had died of the rare but deadly Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD; Z. Jaunmuktane et al. Nature...

A new book about New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez's use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career includes revelations about another sports superstar: Tiger Woods. Released Tuesday, Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis and the Quest to End Baseball’s Steroid Era, co-authored by Tim Elfrink of the Miami New Times and Gus-Garcia Roberts of Newsday, claims that the Canadian sports doctor Anthony Galea who treated Rodriguez also visited Woods 14 times between January and August 2009 and charged Woods a total of $76,012 as he recovered from knee surgery following his 2008 U.S. Open victory. Previous reports had identified only...

A Canadian sports doctor whose high-profile clients have included Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to bringing unapproved drugs, including human growth hormone, into the United States to unlawfully treat pro athletes. Dr. Anthony Galea, a healing specialist from Toronto who was sought out by the biggest names in sports, was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on charges that he smuggled human growth hormone and other substances into the United States and lied to border agents to avoid getting caught. He faces similar charges in Canada.

A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches tall and was recognized as the world's tallest female died early Wednesday, a friend said. She was 53. Sandy Allen, who used her height to inspire schoolchildren to accept those who are different, died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, family friend Rita Rose said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Giving one million dairy cows a growth hormone makes them produce more milk would cut greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 400,000 cars off the road, a US study found. Large scale cow milk production requires the use of huge amounts of land, water and feed resources, noted Judith Capper, a researcher at Cornell University in New York. But using rbST -- the first biotech product used on US farms which has been in farm use for about 15 years -- can help reduce the "carbon hoofprint" while still meeting dairy demand, she explained. Known as either...

A number of studies have shown that restricting calories increases the lifespan of animals, but the biological basis for this has remained elusive. A new report hints that growth hormone, as well as insulin, are key factors in the life-extending effects of calorie restriction. "The implication ... for pharmaceutical development would be that the signaling pathways of growth hormone and insulin may be logical targets for development of anti-aging medicine," Dr. Andrezej Bartke from Southern Illinois University in Springfield told Reuters Health. "Although it would be irresponsible to recommend that healthy people start using anti-diabetic drugs," said Bartke, "it is...

Sammy Sosa has turned down the modest offer of the Nationals, which is just as well. There is a noticeable stench emanating from his 588 career home runs, just as there is with the numbers of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. The three are forever linked because of their eclipsing Roger Maris, who lost several heads' worth of hair because of the stress associated with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Or so it goes with each retelling. We only can imagine the potential physical damage to the three hulks who transformed their upper bodies with suspicious...

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian biotech group Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said on Monday a clinical trial showed its new weight-loss drug was effective and free of side effects, sending its shares soaring 28 percent. The drug, one of dozens that companies are developing to fight an obesity epidemic in the West, faces wider testing next year and is only expected to hit the market in 2008 at the earliest, but investors took Metabolic's shares up to a record A$2.50. The shares had eased back to A$2.16 by 10:43 p.m. EST -- still around double where they started the year. Metabolic said...

<p>In a society where most kids view towering NBA stars as heroes, the craving to be bigger and taller is only natural. Now, their dreams of gaining a few extra inches may soon come true.</p> <p>A recent controversial FDA decision will allow doctors to prescribe a supplemental growth hormone to short patients with completely normal hormone levels.</p>

The dwarf mouse, otherwise known as GHR-KO 11C, died Jan. 8 after living the equivalent of 180 to 200 human years, said Andrzej Bartke, a physiologist who worked with the mouse.