EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health

Prevention experts urge modification to 2009 H1N1 guidance for health care workers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) Three leading scientific organizations specializing in infectious diseases prevention issued a letter to President Obama today expressing their significant concern with current federal guidance concerning the use of personal protective equipment by health care workers in treating suspected or confirmed cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza.

Society of Interventional Radiology hosts oncology therapies Webinar, offers resources

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Society of Interventional Radiology) Registration is now open for the Society of Interventional Radiology's "Image-guided Interventional Oncology Therapies" Webinar, which will provide the latest updates on percutaneous and transcatheter treatment of liver tumors, kidney tumor ablation and lung tumor ablation. SIR is a national organization of physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving public health through pioneering advances in image-guided therapy.

PET imaging response a prognostic factor after thoracic radiation therapy for lung cancer

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Thomas Jefferson University) A rapid decline in metabolic activity on a PET scan after radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer is correlated with good local tumor control, according to a study presented by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting.

New finding suggests prostate biopsy is not always necessary

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center) Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that some elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body, and are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy.

Monell Center joins with CAS to host Beijing meeting on taste and smell research

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Monell Chemical Senses Center) The Monell Center and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) are co-hosts of the Beijing International Meeting on Taste and Smell Research. Organized by Monell in collaboration with the CAS, the meeting will be the first international meeting on taste and smell to be held in China. The historic meeting will be held Nov. 15-17 at the Beijing Marriot Hotel City Wall.

Researchers find new way to attack inflammation in Graves' eye disease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Michigan Health System) A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms -- and improved vision -- following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.

Less than 1 in 3 Toronto bystanders who witness a cardiac arrest try to help: Study

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(St. Michael's Hospital) Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital working in conjunction with EMS services, paramedics and fire services across Ontario found that a bystander who attempts CPR can quadruple the survival rate to over 50 percent. But Dr. Laurie Morrison and the research team at Rescu have found only 30 percent of bystanders in Toronto are willing to help, one of the lowest rates of bystanders helping others in the developed world.

Possible help in fight against muscle-wasting disease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oregon) A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease. A five-member team of researchers from University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry report that pentamidine might be adapted to counter genetic splicing defects in RNA that lead to type 1 myotonic dystrophy.

NHLBI stops enrollment in study on resuscitation methods for cardiac arrest

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) Enrollment has ended early in a large, multi-center clinical trial comparing two distinct resuscitation strategies delivered by emergency medical service (EMS) providers to increase blood flow during cardiac arrest. The study's independent monitoring board and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the lead sponsor of the study, stopped enrollment based on preliminary data suggesting that neither strategy significantly improved survival

Local health investigation sheds light on gastroschisis birth defect

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Nevada, Reno) Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007-April 2008. Subsequent review of medical records since the study's conclusion indicates that while the rate is still elevated, the cluster appears to have subsided.

Can stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation help CHD patients prevent future heart attacks?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Maharishi University of Management) The National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will fund a $1 million collaborative study by the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management Research Institute and Columbia University Medical Center to determine whether the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique can help patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) prevent future heart attacks, strokes and death.

Psychiatric impact of torture could be amplified by head injury

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Massachusetts General Hospital) Depression and other emotional symptoms in survivors of torture and other traumatic experiences may be exacerbated by the effects of head injuries, according to a study from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, based at Massachusetts General Hospital. The researchers found structural changes in the brains of former South Vietnamese political detainees who had suffered head injuries and clearly linked those changes to psychiatric symptoms often seen in survivors of torture.

Babies with an accent

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) Newborns cry differently depending on their mother tongue.

Pathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Virginia Tech) Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.

Poll: Many parents, high-priority adults who tried to get H1N1 vaccine unable to get it

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Harvard School of Public Health) A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so.

Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Carnegie Mellon University) A new Web site, www.DeathriskRankings.com, developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon allows users to explore differences in the probability of dying across European countries and the US states for men and women of different ages and races.

Vein Clinics of America announces $150,000 grant to American College of Phlebology Foundation

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Edelman Public Relations) Vein Clinics of America announced today its commitment of $150,000 to the American College of Phlebology Foundation over the next five years. VCA's support will be used to advance research, education and growth in the field of phlebology and represents one of the largest contributions made to the ACP Foundation by a vein practice network.

Brown professor to lead $6-million NIH grant to study rare brain disease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Brown University) Walter Atwood, professor of medical science, will lead research efforts to determine how the JC virus, which can cause a rare brain disease known as PML, attaches to host cells. He will collaborate with research teams at Dartmouth College and the University of Tübingen in Germany.

Blood test identifies women at risk from Alzheimer's

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Gothenburg) Middle-aged women with high levels of a specific amino acid in their blood are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's many years later, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. This discovery this could lead to a new and simple way of determining who is at risk long before there are any signs of the illness.

We spend more on products with detailed nutritional information

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) People would be willing to pay more for products that carry detailed nutritional information than for the so-called light items. Thus it has been confirmed by researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Center for Agro-Food Research and Technology of Aragón (CITA) in a new study on the nutritional labeling of breakfast biscuits.

SNM applauds House action to build medical isotopes reactor in the US

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) SNM applauds the US House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3276 -- the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009.

Higher carotid arterial stenting rates associated with poorer clinical outcomes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Among eligible Medicare beneficiaries, increased use of carotid arterial stenting procedures to treat carotid stenosis -- the narrowing of the carotid artery -- is associated with higher rates of mortality and adverse clinical outcomes, including heart attack and stroke, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Institute of Physics) The future for magentic nanoparticles (mNPs) appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. mNPs could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries.

DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL)) Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history.

New statement outlines ATS positions on research, education, advocacy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Thoracic Society) The ATS has issued an official statement that outlines the Society's position on research, training, education, patient care and advocacy. The statement, which appears in the Nov. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also makes specific recommendations on how elements of the organization can make these policies a part of new and ongoing projects.