Education News and Research

RSS

Ghrelin has potential to stimulate alcohol craving, study reveals

Ghrelin is a hormone released by the stomach and it stimulates appetite and food intake. Alcohol is commonly viewed as a psychoactive substance that primarily affects brain function, but it is also a highly caloric food.

30 Oct 2014

Prof. Mary-Claire King receives 2014 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science

At a ceremony held in New York City on September 19, 2014, leading geneticist and humanitarian Prof. Mary-Claire King, the American Cancer Society Professor of Genome Sciences and Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle and 2008 Honorary Doctor of Philosophy of Tel Aviv University, was awarded the 2014 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science.

30 Oct 2014

Frailty: A strong risk factor for dying prematurely after kidney transplant

Regardless of age, frailty is a strong risk factor for dying prematurely after a kidney transplant. The finding, which comes from a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation, suggests that patients should be screened for frailty prior to kidney transplantation, and that those who are identified as frail should be closely monitored after the procedure.

30 Oct 2014

New study pinpoints complex genetic origins for autoimmune diseases

Scores of autoimmune diseases afflicting one in 12 Americans — ranging from type 1 diabetes, to multiple sclerosis (MS), to rheumatoid arthritis, to asthma — mysteriously cause the immune system to harm tissues within our own bodies. Now, a new study pinpoints the complex genetic origins for many of these diseases, a discovery that may lead to better diagnosis and ultimately to improved treatments.

30 Oct 2014

UCLA scientists find link between gigaxonin protein and HPV-positive head and neck cancers

UCLA scientists have discovered for the first time that a protein usually linked to rare neurological disorders is also associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) positive head and neck cancers. The protein was also shown to help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments, laying the groundwork for the development of more specialized therapies.

30 Oct 2014

Study: Certain prostate cancer medications linked to cardiac death risk

A new study has found that certain prostate cancer medications are linked with an increased risk of dying from heart-related causes in men with congestive heart failure or prior heart attacks. Published in BJU International, the findings will help doctors and patients weigh the benefits and risks of the drugs.

30 Oct 2014

UCSD researchers validate EEG test to study, treat schizophrenia

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have validated an EEG test to study and treat schizophrenia. The findings, published in two separate studies, offer a clinical test that could be used to help diagnose persons at risk for developing mental illness later in life, as well as an approach for measuring the efficacies of different treatment options.

29 Oct 2014

Genetic differences contribute to risk for autism

Small differences in as many as a thousand genes contribute to risk for autism, according to a study led by Mount Sinai researchers and the Autism Sequencing Consortium, and published today in the journal Nature.

29 Oct 2014

Sleep apnea may affect peoples' ability to form new spatial memories

Sleep apnea may affect your ability to form new spatial memories, such as remembering where you parked your car, new research led by NYU Langone Medical Center sleep specialists suggests.

29 Oct 2014

Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon explains how scoliosis affects Baby Boomers

For many adults, the word scoliosis conjures up childhood memories of lining up in gym class for an examination by the school nurse. But scoliosis isn't just a pediatric condition. Curvature of the spine can develop in adults too, and the osteoporosis that can accompany menopause is a risk factor.

29 Oct 2014

New data demonstrates improved outcomes in psoriasis patients treated with Daivobet gel

Interim results from one of the largest and longest clinical trials ever conducted for a topical treatment in psoriasis showed that after eight weeks of treatment with calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate (Daivobet gel), the treatment was highly efficacious, preferred by patients and improved patients' and the physicians’ assessments of disease severity.

29 Oct 2014

UT Arlington researcher awarded NSF grant to help develop human-robot learning networks

A University of Texas at Arlington researcher has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to help develop a network that will lead to improvements for people with disabilities who depend on wheelchair mounted robotic arms.

29 Oct 2014

Dietary linoleic acid lowers risk of coronary heart disease

People who swap 5% of the calories they consume from saturated fat sources such as red meat and butter with foods containing linoleic acid—the main polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oil, nuts, and seeds—lowered their risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events by 9% and their risk of death from CHD by 13%, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

29 Oct 2014

Penn Medicine-developed drug gets FDA orphan status for PNH treatment

A Penn Medicine-developed drug has received orphan status from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare, life-threatening disease that causes anemia due to destruction of red blood cells and thrombosis.

28 Oct 2014

UCLA earns Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award

he UCLA Comprehensive Stroke Center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has received the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.

28 Oct 2014

Generic aromatase inhibitors increase breast cancer treatment adherence by 50%

Although oral hormonal therapy is known to substantially reduce breast cancer recurrence in women with hormone receptor-positive tumors, about one-half of patients fail to take their medications as directed. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers has found that the introduction of generic aromatase inhibitors (the most common type of hormone therapy), which are considerably less expensive than their brand name counterparts, increased treatment adherence by 50 percent.

28 Oct 2014

Influential colleagues convince doctors to try new therapies

Doctors are more likely to try a new therapy when they are persuaded to do so by an influential colleague, reports a new Northwestern University study whose findings on adopting innovations also have relevance for business, education and research.

28 Oct 2014

Ugandans lack knowledge about stroke

A study published in the journal International Scholarly Research Notices Stroke found that overall knowledge about stroke in Uganda was poor, although knowing what to do for a stroke – go to the hospital – was good.

28 Oct 2014

Patients who receive chest radiation for Wilms tumor face breast cancer risk later in life

A new study has found that patients who received chest radiation for Wilms tumor, a rare childhood cancer, face an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life due to their radiation exposure.

28 Oct 2014

Two Ugandan medical librarians receive award for reporting on health information activities in Africa

Two medical librarians from Uganda, Dr Alison Kinengyere and Ms Glorias Asiimwe, respectively Chair and Secretary of UG-AHILA, (the local country chapter of the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa) yesterday received a prestigious award for their report on health information activities in their country.

27 Oct 2014