A new study has revealed that researchers may be able to make improvements in outcomes for women with triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that disproportionately affects younger women.

Researchers studied the addition of other drugs - carboplatin and/or bevacizumab - to the standard treatment regimen to see if they could increase response rates. More than 440 women from cancer centers across the country enrolled in this randomized clinical trial.

William M. Sikov, a medical oncologist in the Breast Health Center and associate director for clinical research in the Program in Women's Oncology at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, said that adding either of these medications significantly increased the percentage of women who achieved a pCR with the preoperative treatment. They hope that this means fewer women will relapse and die of their cancer, though the study is not large enough to prove this conclusively. Of the two agents they studied, we are more encouraged by the results from the addition of carboplatin, since it was associated with fewer and less concerning additional side effects than bevacizumab.

Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for 15 to 20 percent of invasive breast cancers diagnosed in the United States each year, and is more common in younger women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and BRCA1-mutation carriers. With no identified characteristic molecular abnormalities that can be targeted with medication, the current standard of treatment is chemotherapy.

The scientists said that the overall prognosis for women with this type of breast cancer remains inferior to that of other breast cancer subtypes, with higher risk of early relapse.

The study was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa is racing ahead of efforts to control it and at least $600 million is needed to get the unprecedented epidemic under control, UN health officials said Wednesday.

"This Ebola epidemic is the largest, most severe and most complex we have ever seen in the nearly 40-year history of this disease," Xinhua quoted Director-General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Margaret Chan as saying here.

The outbreaks are racing ahead of the control efforts in West African countries, Chan said.

The WHO chief noted that there have been about 3,500 confirmed or probable Ebola cases and more than 1,900 deaths from the deadly disease.

David Nabarro, Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola, estimated that at least $600 million is needed to get the necessary support to the countries to get the outbreak under control.

Nabarro warned of "a serious economic downturn" in the affected West African nations as a result of Ebola outbreak, which would complicate international efforts to contain the disease.

The WHO officials said they were working with commercial airlines to bring their services back to Ebola-stricken countries as cancellation of flights were hurting international efforts to contain the outbreak.

Chan also emphasised that it is uncalled for to refer to Ebola epidemic as an "African disease", warning that this stigmatisation makes the coordinated global response much more difficult.

A new study has revealed that increase in obesity cases has also contributed in boosting the prevalence of diabetes.

An increase in body mass index (BMI) over time is the most important factor contributing to the observed increase in diabetes prevalence since 1976.

Diabetes has been one of the most common and costly chronic disorders in the United States. Researchers analyzed data from five National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to determine the extent to which the increase in diabetes prevalence was explained by changing distributions of race/ethnicity, age, and obesity prevalence in U.S. adults.

They found that the prevalence of diabetes nearly doubled from 1976 to 1980 and also from 1999 to 2004. During both time periods, diabetes prevalence increased more in men than in women. The increase of certain risk factors, including BMI, race and ethnicity, and age, coincided with an increased incidence of diabetes, with BMI being the greatest contributor among the three covariates.

The researchers suggest that public health efforts should focus on interventions that address obesity. The increased prevalence of diabetes among men could not be explained by an increased BMI in men. Researchers suggest that future research should investigate what additional factors may contribute to the faster rise in diabetes in men than in women.

The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Japan today agreed to work with India in inventing treatment to the Sickle Cell Anaemia after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought help for finding remedy to the deadly disease commonly found among tribals in India.

Modi, who has been keenly looking for a remedy to the disease since his days as Chief Minister of Gujarat, discussed the issue with Nobel Prize winner for Medicine (2012) S Yamanaka when he visited the Kyoto University.

The Prime Minister, on the second day of his tour, raised the issue during his visit to the Stem Cell Research facility and discussed whether Japan could be of help in this regard.

The Prime Minister discussed the possibility of cooperation in finding a treatment for the disease, said External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

Sources said the Japanese side said it would work with India in jointly finding the treatment.

The sources said Modi, since his days as Gujarat Chief Minister, has been trying to see if any solution could be found to the disease but has been helpless as no cure has been invented yet.

Sickle Cell Disease is a serious disorder in which the body makes sickle-shaped red blood cells. "Sickle-shaped" means that the red blood cells are shaped like a crescent.

Normal red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They move easily through blood vessels. Red blood cells contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.