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KKH doctors develop novel DIVA System for blood pressure management

New trial results1 have shown that the world's first Double Intravenous Vasopressor Automated (DIVA) System affords superior control of maternal blood pressure in women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia, when compared with manually-administered medication to manage reduced blood pressure (vasopressor).

10 Feb 2014

Riverside lab’s video receives honorable mention in International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge

A video produced by the lab of Zhenbiao Yang, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside, has received an honorable mention in a challenge - the highly acclaimed International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge - given by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science.

10 Feb 2014

New cochlear implant requires no external hardware

Cochlear implants - medical devices that electrically stimulate the auditory nerve - have granted at least limited hearing to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who otherwise would be totally deaf.

9 Feb 2014

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes

Seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified in the largest study to date of the genetic basis of the disease.

9 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Penn Medicine launches program to improve health of LGBT individuals

Penn Medicine is the first academic medical center in Philadelphia - one among just a handful of academic medical centers in the U.S.—to launch a program across multiple professional schools and affiliated hospitals at Penn to improve the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

9 Feb 2014

Infection contributes to higher risk of stroke death among blacks

Infection is a stronger trigger of stroke death in African- Americans than in whites, a University of Michigan study shows.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers discover how 'entrance exam' set by womb determines if implantation of an embryo is successful

Researchers have discovered how an 'entrance exam' set by the womb determines if the implantation of an embryo is successful; potentially a milestone for advances in pregnancy treatments.

7 Feb 2014

SSOM to receive Moral Courage award from Faith in Public Life in recognition to accept qualified DACA

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) will receive the Moral Courage award from Faith in Public Life, a non-profit organization devoted to lifting up the voices of progressive faith leaders.

7 Feb 2014

Women with bipolar disorder shoulder heavy medication burden

Study findings highlight the frequent use of complex polypharmacy in patients with bipolar disorder, with women especially likely to be taking multiple medications.

6 Feb 2014

UTHealth unveils country's first Mobile Stroke Unit

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, in partnership with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has unveiled the country's first Mobile Stroke Unit.

6 Feb 2014

Surgeon general nominee faces skeptical senate GOP at hearing

Republicans questioned the bona fides of President Obama's choice for surgeon general, grilling him over his stance on gun control and the health law.

6 Feb 2014

AAMC presents Nickens award to Stritch School student

Ray Mendez, third-year medical student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, was named a 2013 Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship recipient.

6 Feb 2014

Researchers make first link between menopause, smoking and genetic variations in white women

New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause - in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average - in white women with certain genetic variations.

5 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 5, 2014

Today's headlines include stories detailing a new Congressional Budget Office report that found 2 million people who relied on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for a job because of new benefits from the health law.

5 Feb 2014

Study: Ipilimumab with VEGF inhibitors may be potential option for melanoma patients

Among patients with advanced melanoma, presence of higher levels of the protein vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in blood was associated with poor response to treatment with the immunotherapy ipilimumab, according to a study published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

5 Feb 2014

Scientists engineered microchip coated with blood vessel cells to study cardiovascular nanomedicine

Designing nanomedicine to combat diseases is a hot area of scientific research, primarily for treating cancer, but very little is known in the context of atherosclerotic disease.

5 Feb 2014

Findings expand treatment options for hormone-dependent breast cancer

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. For patients whose breast cancers are hormone-dependent, current treatment focuses on using drugs that block estrogen (a type of hormone) from attaching to estrogen receptors on tumor cells to prevent the cells from growing and spreading.

5 Feb 2014

Telemedicine used at nursing homes is a viable way to reduce avoidable hospitalizations

Telemedicine used at nursing homes during hours when doctors are not typically present is a viable way to reduce avoidable hospitalizations, according to research published in February's issue of Health Affairs.

5 Feb 2014

Study shows similarities in pathogenesis of neurological diseases and HIV virus

A new study by George Washington University (GW) researcher Michael Bukrinsky, M.D., Ph.D., shows similarities in the pathogenesis of prion disease — misfolded proteins that can lead to neurological diseases — and the HIV virus.

5 Feb 2014