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Neutrophils inhibit restenosis in patients with atherosclerosis after stent implantation

A research team led by LMU's Professor Christian Weber has now shown that a specific cell type called neutrophils, and molecules that they secrete, inhibit this life-threatening complication - which is observed in up to one-third of all stent implantations.

7 Oct 2011

'Bad' hospitals may treat larger proportion of poor patients, study finds

The nation's worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows. Now, these hospitals, mostly in the South, may be at higher risk of financial failure, too. That's because the nation's new health care law punishes bad care by withholding some money, says the lead author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.

7 Oct 2011

Roundup: Health alliances formed in Calif., Wash.; Mass. group seeks repeal of mandate there

One of Southern California's largest hospital systems is teaming up with hundreds of doctors in a new alliance designed to better manage patient care, improve medical outcomes and reduce costs. Under the partnership with Providence Health & Services of Southern California, doctors will share and analyze data about diabetes, congestive heart failure and other conditions to identify effective practices and eliminate inefficiencies that drive up expenses.

7 Oct 2011

Poor dental care leads to health problems, costs

Meanwhile, a survey finds that Americans are open to new options for dental care to help address the high costs and shortage issues.

7 Oct 2011

New WPI smart-phone app can measure heart rhythm, respiration and pulse rate

An iPhone app that measures the user's heart rate is not only a popular feature with consumers, but it sparked an idea for a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher who is now turning smart phones, and eventually tablet devices, into sophisticated medical monitors able to capture and transmit vital physiological data.

7 Oct 2011

Study shows Sox2 expression in many adult stem cells

Investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have found that Sox2 - one of the transcription factors used in the conversion of adult stem cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) - is expressed in many adult tissues where it had not been previously observed.

7 Oct 2011

Strain echocardiography can help physicians detect early signs of cardiac toxicity in cancer patients

There is good news for cancer patients whose medical treatments put them at risk for future cardiac problems: using strain echocardiography can help physicians detect early signs of cardiac toxicity.

7 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Jobs and 'Obamacare;' jurisdictional barriers to health law challenges; reforming provider payment

By most of the usual measures, President Obama has no business being reelected. Here's why he might be anyway. On Wednesday morning, as Senate Democratic leaders were scrambling to find a way to enact part of Obama's jobs bill, a dozen Republican lawmakers assembled outside the Capitol to complain about ... health-care reform.

7 Oct 2011

Herceptin chemo combination could mean longer survival and lower side effects in breast cancer patients: Study

A new study released this Wednesday revealed that breast cancer that is highly aggressive but caught early could be best treated with a combination of Herceptin and chemotherapy.

6 Oct 2011

Vitamin D deficiency might be common in fair skinned people: Study

The British study suggests that pale people tend to be deficient in the “sunshine” vitamin and that without supplements they're unlikely to get their levels up without getting sunburned. That can put them at risk for bone loss, heart disease, and poorer survival from breast cancer, according to the study's authors.

5 Oct 2011

Overweight and blood pressure risk in kids: Study

According to a new study kids who are overweight are nearly three times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to their peers. The study, published in the journal Hypertension, followed 1,111 school-aged children in Indiana for an average of four years.

5 Oct 2011

New NIH grant to continue exploration of Fusobacterium nucleatum-associated Beta-Defensin Inducer

Research from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine to study an isolated agent from common oral bacteria may hold the answer as to how human beta defensins (HBDs)-nature's way of keeping oral microbes from entering the body and wreaking havoc with our health-can be used to create new treatments to block bacteria from entering through the epithelial linings on and in the body.

4 Oct 2011

Karo Bio initiates patient recruitment in eprotirome phase III trial for HeFH

The first patient has now been included in Karo Bio's phase III trial with eprotirome. A total of 630 patients with the hereditary condition HeFH will be studied for safety, and to confirm the beneficial effects on LDL-cholesterol that has been shown previously.

4 Oct 2011

Hospital Punta Pacifica receives official JCI accreditation

Hospital Punta Pacifica (HPP) in Panama City, Panama, has been awarded the official accreditation of Joint Commission International.

4 Oct 2011

Telestroke improves care and reduces costs

The use of long-distance video and data hookups to link remote community hospitals with stroke neurologists in large centres provides the same level of care as having everyone in the same room, according to a new study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

4 Oct 2011

Complete Genomics, Scripps collaborate to unlock genetic secrets of lifelong health

Complete Genomics Inc., the whole human genome sequencing company, and the not-for-profit Scripps Health system today announced a major collaboration that will help further the Wellderly Study, a landmark scientific research initiative aimed at unlocking the genetic secrets of lifelong health.

4 Oct 2011

Largest prospective study of MRI in patients with implanted devices

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), an important diagnostic test, has traditionally been off limits to more than 2 million people in the United States who have an implanted pacemaker to regulate heart rhythms or an implanted defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death.

4 Oct 2011

Quick injection of cortisone can prevent PTSD

As soldiers return home from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, America must cope with the toll that war takes on mental health. But the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming increasingly expensive, and promises to escalate as yet another generation of veterans tries to heal its psychological wounds.

4 Oct 2011

Stroke more prevalent among Metis than other Manitobans

The stroke rate among Manitoba Metis is nearly 25 percent higher than for other Manitobans, according to a study by the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

4 Oct 2011