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FDA grants accelerated approval to new treatment for children with Chagas disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to benznidazole for use in children ages 2 to 12 years old with Chagas disease. It is the first treatment approved in the United States for the treatment of Chagas disease.

29 Aug 2017

Small clinical trial shows promise for treating rare neurodegenerative disease

Results of a small clinical trial show promise for treating a rare neurodegenerative condition that typically kills those afflicted before they reach age 20.

11 Aug 2017

Studies show how endoscopic procedures can improve outcomes and care

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, features a study reporting that a simpler procedure for collecting biopsy specimens during various procedures can improve patient care, and a study showing how a relatively new procedure, POEM, has been adapted to help an additional set of patients with gastroparesis, a troubling stomach problem.

3 Aug 2017

Music therapy helps strengthen muscle activity in people with Parkinson's disease

Elizabeth Stegemöller arranged a circle of metal folding chairs around a piano as clients started arriving for a weekly music therapy class for people with Parkinson's disease.

2 Aug 2017

Wayne State researchers receive $1.9 million NIH grant to better understand rare genetic disorders

A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received a $1.9 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health to better understand leukodystrophies (LD) and genetic Leukoencephalopathies (gLE), rare genetic disorders affecting the white matter -- myelin -- in the central nervous system.

21 Jul 2017

Youngest person in U.S. receives full face transplant by Cleveland Clinic team

A team of surgeons and doctors at the Cleveland Clinic made history after operating upon a 21 year old woman for 31 hours to give her a full face transplant. The operation held in May this year was a successful one with the woman receiving a completely new face from a donor.

18 Jul 2017

New research offers crucial step towards understanding cause of myopathy

Pioneering research using the tropical zebrafish could provide new insights into the genetic basis of myopathy, a type of human muscle disease.

6 Jul 2017

Novel technique to monitor nerve function could transform the way doctors perform surgeries

In a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers have discovered a novel technique to monitor laryngeal and vagus nerve function while patients are under anesthesia during otolaryngology and neurosurgery procedures.

3 Jul 2017

New cranberry derivative could help patients dependent on tube feeding

Synesis, a University of Wisconsin-Madison spinoff developing a patented formula for liquid nutrition, is advancing a plant-based additive designed to reduce or eliminate severe side effects of tube feeding.

28 Jun 2017

Four-food elimination diet can resolve symptoms of eosinophilic esophagitis in children

Children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) – a chronic inflammatory disease that injures the esophagus – who temporarily eliminated cow's milk, wheat, egg and soy from their diet for eight weeks had their symptoms and esophageal swelling resolve, according to a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

27 Jun 2017

Neurofilaments can help in ALS diagnosis

Researchers at VIB, KU Leuven, and UZ Leuven, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Jena, have demonstrated that measuring neurofilaments provides reliable confirmation of an ALS diagnosis.

19 Jun 2017

MU otolaryngologist offers tips to prevent injuries from wire-bristle grill brushes

Wire-bristle grill brushes are used frequently for cleaning food residue from grill grates, but loose bristles can fall off the brush during cleaning and end up in the grilled food.

14 Jun 2017

New molecular compound improves balance and coordination in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at UCLA have developed a molecular compound that improves balance and coordination in mice with early stage Parkinson's disease.

13 Jun 2017

Decades-old drug used to treat malaria reduces toxic protein linked to ALS

A new study finds that a decades-old drug used to treat malaria lowers levels of a biomarker linked to the inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's Disease.

12 Jun 2017

Understanding stroke: Symptoms and treatment

A stroke is a "brain attack" and occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off. According to Kenneth A. Levin, M.D., Medical Director, The Valley Hospital Stroke Center, "Most strokes are caused by a blood clot that has built up on the wall of a brain artery or one that has traveled there from another part of the body (an embolic stroke or ischemic stroke).

1 Jun 2017

TSRI scientists discover potential new therapy to stop deadly botulinum neurotoxin

Botulinum neurotoxin is probably best known to Americans as BOTOX, a cosmetic medicine, rather than as a cause of potentially dangerous foodborne illnesses.

26 May 2017

Finding a cure for ALS

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease in which motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. As ALS progresses, neurons are unable to send impulses to muscles, making voluntary muscle movement difficult, including standing, walking and sitting, as well as speaking and swallowing.

22 May 2017

Crypto parasitic outbreaks related to swimming pools and water playgrounds, in the US, has doubled since 2014

According to preliminary data published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the outbreak of parasitic infection related to swimming pools and water playgrounds was doubled in 2016 compared with 2014.

19 May 2017

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals launches first of its kind laryngeal dystonia clinic in Yorkshire

PATIENTS living with a poorly understood chronic voice disorder which causes involuntary muscle spasms, impairing speech and swallowing, can now receive treatment nearer to home thanks to the launch of a specialist multidisciplinary clinic at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

12 May 2017

Scientists aim to revolutionize asthma treatment by replacing inhalers with new drug

A common treatment for asthma, which is the most prevalent chronic childhood disease, requires use of an inhaler. But a big problem with inhalers, used to deliver steroids and other drugs in an aerosol form, is that children often don't operate them properly.

10 May 2017