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Innovative program benefits incapacitated patients with no family or friends

A Regenstrief Institute and Eskenazi Health study reports on an innovative program that trains and supervises volunteers who act as advocates for adults and seniors who are unable to make their own decisions due to conditions like Alzheimer's disease or coma, but have no family or friends to help them.

11 Nov 2014

Common drug could become the future standard of care for HE patients

A common drug used to clean a person's bowels before a colonoscopy could become the future standard of care for patients with acute hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a mental disorientation problem that affects up to one in two cirrhosis patients.

4 Nov 2014

Anesthetics can cause long-term memory loss, reveal University of Toronto researchers

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine have shown why anesthetics can cause long-term memory loss, a discovery that can have serious implications for post-operative patients.

4 Nov 2014

Researchers identify compounds that could lead to discovery of new drugs for African sleeping sickness

In early drug discovery, you need a starting point, says Northeastern University associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology Michael Pollastri.

27 Oct 2014

University of Leicester researchers uncover new insights into day-length measurement in flies

Researchers from the University of Leicester have for the first time provided experimental evidence for a genetic link between two major timing mechanisms, the circadian clock and the seasonal timer.

5 Sep 2014

Loyola burn patient boasts 0 handicap, helps other burn patients to lead normal life

Once told he would never golf again, burn victim Jamie Nieto, now head pro at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, is leading the ninth annual Burn Awareness Golf Outing and silent auction there on Friday, August 29.

22 Jul 2014

Study reveals how brain navigates from unconscious to conscious state

One of the great mysteries of anesthesia is how patients can be temporarily rendered completely unresponsive during surgery and then wake up again, with their memories and skills intact.

19 Jun 2014

Patient, technology groups push to expand digital care

Various groups see telemedicine as a potential boon for people with complex chronic diseases who have difficulty getting to the doctor. But there are hurdles from Medicare payment rules to state licensing restrictions.

14 May 2014

PET scan can identify vegetative patients who have potential for long-term recovery

A functional brain imaging technique known as positron emission tomography (PET) is a promising tool for determining which severely brain damaged individuals in vegetative states have the potential to recover consciousness, according to new research published in The Lancet.

18 Apr 2014

Isansys awarded two SBRI Healthcare contracts to improve patient monitoring services

Isansys Lifecare Limited, the provider of complete real-time physiological patient status services and systems, today announces that it has won two SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) Healthcare contracts.

From Isansys Lifecare Ltd. 15 Apr 2014

Researchers develop fluorescent sensor to identify presence of drug used to spike beverages

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed the world's first fluorescent sensor to identify the presence of a drug known as GHB that is commonly used to spike beverages. When the sensor is mixed with a sample of a beverage containing GHB, the mixture changes colour in less than 30 seconds, making detection of the drug fast and easy.

29 Mar 2014

Researchers develop fluorescent sensor to identify presence of drug in less than 30 seconds

27 Mar 2014

Sea lions exposed to toxin in algae develop form of epilepsy that is similar to humans

California sea lions exposed to a toxin in algae develop a form of epilepsy that is similar to one in humans, according to a new study led by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

19 Mar 2014

New study uses Lumosity games to detect subtle cognitive impairments in patients with cirrhosis

A new study from the University of Washington has found that performance on Lumosity games can distinguish between patients with cirrhosis of the liver, pre-cirrhotic patients, and healthy controls. The study used Lumosity games as psychometric tests to detect subtle cognitive impairments in patients with cirrhosis. The study is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

6 Mar 2014

Phase 2 trial results show GPB reduces hepatic encephalopathy episodes in patients with cirrhosis

Phase 2 trial results published in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggests the potential for Glycerol Phenylbutyrate (GPB) to reduce hepatic encephalopathy episodes in patients with cirrhosis, with a safety profile similar to placebo.

27 Feb 2014

Researchers examine new technique to help patients recover from coma even after several years

Researchers have shown that transcranial direct-current stimulation allows patients in a minimally conscious state to recover cognitive and motor skills. This simple, safe and relatively low-cost technique could offer clinicians a new way to help these patients recover, even several years after their coma. However, the positive effects appear to be temporary at this stage of research.

27 Feb 2014

Longer looks: Women's advantages in health law; health effects of the 'American Dream'

Every week reporter Ankita Rao selects interesting reading from around the Web.

14 Feb 2014

Selcia, University of Edinburgh collaborate to develop novel treatments for sleeping sickness

An initiative is under way to develop new drugs for a devastating tropical disease that threatens almost 70 million people in Africa.

4 Feb 2014

State highlights: Battle over jail medical care in Texas jails; Medicaid coverage for inmates; N.C. docs sue over Medicaid billing system

In November, David Conis Jr. sat in a Henderson County courtroom, vomiting repeatedly because of his vacillating blood-sugar levels, terrified that he was facing a diabetic coma. ... Henderson County state district Judge Carter Tarrance, concerned that the county jail was not providing adequate care, sent Conis to a local clinic and ordered the jail to follow the doctor's instructions (Grissom, 1/17).

20 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; possibility of Medicaid deal in virginia; a new name for brain death

For decades a common refrain was that the rapid rise in health spending hurt the competitiveness of American businesses and ate into workers' take-home pay. Businesses and politicians from both sides of the aisle agreed that something had to be done to slow the growth of health-care costs.

8 Jan 2014