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Nurses use ineffective strategy for adapting circadian clocks to night-time schedule

As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses go without sleep for at least 24 hours in order to adjust to working on the night shift, which is the least effective strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.

15 Apr 2011

AAN, PDF honor Boston researcher with Clinician Scientist Development Award

A clinician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is receiving $240,000 to further his research into how stem cells may be used to treat Parkinson's disease through the American Academy of Neurology Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson's Disease Research.

15 Apr 2011

New MRI device can make deep brain stimulation effective for patients

A new MRI device that guides surgeons as they implant electrodes into the brains of people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders could change the way this surgery, called deep brain stimulation, is performed at medical centers across the country, according to a group of doctors at University of California, San Francisco.

15 Apr 2011

Obama administration unveils new initiative to reduce medical errors

The new, $1 billion patient-safety program comes on the heels of a recent study that found one in three Americans admitted to hospitals will experience some type of medical error or accident.

15 Apr 2011

High rates of induction, C-section do not improve infant outcomes in low-risk women

In low-risk pregnant women, high induction and first-cesarean delivery rates do not lead to improved outcomes for newborns, according to new research published in the April issue of The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

15 Apr 2011

Signs of failure, difficulties evident in nation's mental health system

The Boston Globe reports on new federal government findings regarding a "crisis" in the New Hampshire state mental health system. Meanwhile, KHN reports on how mentally ill patients sometimes are left to languish in hospital emergency departments.

15 Apr 2011

Study finds minimally invasive thyroid surgery effective in pediatric patients

Surgical approaches that reduce incision size and recovery time from thyroid surgery work well in children, physician-scientists report.

15 Apr 2011

Deadly infections at Veterans Affairs hospitals drop

The New York Times: Study Finds Drop In Deadly VA Hospital Infections.

15 Apr 2011

Brain damage starts decade earlier in Alzheimer’s patients

A new study published in the journal Neurology has shown that the brains of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease start shrinking up to a decade before symptoms appear. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston did brain imaging tests on older adults with no signs of memory loss.

15 Apr 2011

Experts to discuss about intracranial haemorrhage at EANS-4th WORLD ICH 2011

Brain haemorrhage is the most devastating form of stroke with 40% mortality and 50% serious morbidity rates. Few patients make a good recovery. Surgical removal of the clot has not been confirmed as effective despite the fact that there are thousands of neurosurgeons who believe that there is a role for operation.

15 Apr 2011

Experts suggest Fukushima clean-up workers store blood cells for future use

As Japan still reels with the after effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and radiation exposure, plant workers are working to control the radiation leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Experts note that the work there will take years, posing a risk of accidental exposure.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new test for premature babies

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have pioneered a new needle-free test to take the sting out of medicine testing in premature babies. The research will not only lead to greater accuracy in prescribing, but will also significantly reduce the trauma of such tests for newborn infants and their families.

15 Apr 2011

New study shows neurophysiological impacts of psychotherapy

The use of cognitive-behavioural therapy to treat tics in Tourette syndrome may be as effective as and even superior to medication in certain cases.

15 Apr 2011

Klotho hormone can protect kidney from renal fibrosis

A natural hormone known to inhibit aging can also protect kidneys against renal fibrosis, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have demonstrated.

15 Apr 2011

Brain starts shrinking in Alzheimer’s disease a decade earlier: Study

According to American researchers, brain scans of healthy people showed signs that the brain was shrinking in Alzheimer's-affected areas nearly a decade before the disease was diagnosed. This comes in the latest issue of the journal Neurology and it may offer a new way to detect the disease early, an advance that could help in the development of effective treatments for Alzheimer's, a brain-wasting disease that affects up to 26 million people globally.

13 Apr 2011

Obesity and smoking linked to stillbirths: Report

According to experts, excessive weight, smoking and late maternal age over 35 are contributing to thousands of stillbirths each year in high-income countries, including Australia, and the trend looks set to continue. These figures were published in the Lancet medical journal.

13 Apr 2011

Obama’s next target - medical error reduction for patient safety

Finally serious efforts are being made to ensure patient safety. The Obama administration announced this Tuesday an aggressive approach called ‘The 'Partnership for Patients Program’ to reduce medical errors, partnering with private insurers, business leaders, hospitals and patient advocates to tackle a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year.

12 Apr 2011

Robotic prostatectomy speeds recovery

Robotic cancer surgery is being introduced into the public hospital system for the first time in Victoria. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne has been trialing the robotic key-hole surgery technology for the past six months.

12 Apr 2011

Echo awarded method patent for Symphony transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system

Echo Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing the Symphony™ tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring (tCGM) system and the Prelude™ SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery, today announced that it received a notice of allowance for U.S. Patent Application No.11/275,038, "System and Method for Continuous Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring," for the Symphony tCGM System.

12 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 12, 2011

Today's headlines include details of what made up the short-term budget deal's $38 billion in cuts and how President Obama's longer term budget vision may take shape.

12 Apr 2011