Matter of Survival: Keeping Up with Medical Breakthroughs.

WEBSITES; COMPUTER network resources; ELECTRONIC information resources; MEDICAL technology; MEDICAL innovations; MEDICAL research; CLINICAL trials

This article features Web sites that provide up-to-the-minute information on medical breakthroughs. Amedeo, the Medical Literature Guide, allows users to register for free weekly summaries of research articles published in 93 topics, including Infectious Diseases, and, of course, Oncology, with the subtopic CNS cancer. Amedeo is supported by grants from pharmaceutical companies such as Amgen, Novartis, and Pfizer. For decades, scientists have been working very hard to outsmart cancer. They have made terrific progress on certain cancers, but brain cancer remains intractable. No matter what your serious disease, you may want to look into participating in clinical trials for new treatments. Often, information about clinical trials appears listed on the Web site of the institution or pharmaceutical company doing the research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides this searchable database of information about federally and privately supported clinical research. Search by condition and geographical location. In contrast to the NIH government-sponsored database, this one lists research being done mostly by private firms. Find listings for research for life-threatening conditions as well as nuisance conditions such as sinusitis. Centerwatch also provides information on the results of clinical trials and lists drugs newly approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. INSET: Spit in Its Eye.