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People with mental health diagnoses receives poor quality of preventive mass screening

Dr Alex Mitchell, of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, led the study which has been published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. Dr Mitchell said preventive screening refers to population based medical tests such as mammography, colonoscopy, blood pressure testing or cholesterol levels to detect conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart conditions. These screening programmes are typically administered widely in order to help with early detection or prevention and have been credited with improving outcomes of several key medical conditions.

2 Dec 2010

Lipids react and change to bacterial stimulus, trigger cell's immune response

For the first time, scientists have described not only the identities and quantities of fat species in a living mammalian cell in this case, a mouse macrophage or white blood cell but they also report how these lipids react and change over time to a bacterial stimulus triggering the cell's immune response.

2 Dec 2010

Bone marrow stromal stem cells may aid in stroke recovery: Research

A research study from the Farber Institute for Neurosciences and the Department of Neuroscience at Thomas Jefferson University determines bone marrow stromal stem cells may aid in stroke recovery. The results can be found in Cell Transplantation, The Regenerative Medicine Journal, issue 19(9).

2 Dec 2010

Improved support may reduce health care cost in children with diabetes

Managing diabetes in a child requires a careful balance of insulin, diet, and exercise. Buying essential medical supplies, such as needles and testing strips, adds a financial burden to families. According to a new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics, the resulting food insecurity that arises from the financial burden of diabetes management increases a child's risk of being hospitalized due to complications from diabetes.

2 Dec 2010

Wake Forest University to begin clinical trial for low-grade gliomas

For patients with low-grade gliomas, or slow growing brain tumors, a shot in the arm might soon lead to a new treatment therapy. A groundbreaking, first in humans vaccine will be tested in an early phase clinical trial that will soon begin at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Eighteen patients will be the first in the world to receive it.

2 Dec 2010

LMO1 gene variation can increase neuroblastoma risk

Pediatric cancer researchers have identified variations in a gene as important contributors to neuroblastoma, the most common solid cancer of early childhood. The study team, led by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, found that common variants in the LMO1 gene increase the risk of developing an aggressive form of neuroblastoma, and also mark the gene for continuing to drive the cancer's progression once it forms.

2 Dec 2010

American-style diet plays a vital role in prostate cancer, researchers say

Elevated fat and cholesterol levels found in a typical American-style diet plays an important role in the growth and spread of prostate cancer, say researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center.

2 Dec 2010

Medical groups weigh in on health reform, pay freeze

News outlets report on how new treatment models impact care, as well as political developments and positions among medical organizations.

2 Dec 2010

Oramed announces publication of GLP-1 analog formulation in Journal of Diabetes

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. a developer of oral drug delivery solutions, announces a publication in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology's November issue describing evaluation of the company's glucagon-like peptide- (GLP-1) analog formulation (ORMD-0901) in regulating glucose excursions in animal models.

2 Dec 2010

Worm eggs may heal ulcerative colitis: Research

A new study involving a man who swallowed worm eggs to relieve symptoms of ulcerative colitis sheds light on how worms promote healing in the intestine. The study, published today in Science Translational Medicine, also identifies potential targets for more conventional ways of treating colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.

2 Dec 2010

Noncancerous cells from primary site appear to facilitate tumor growth: Study

The process of metastasis requires that cancer cells traveling from a primary tumor find a hospitable environment in which to implant themselves and grow. A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers finds that circulating tumor cells prepare this environment by bringing along from their original site noncancerous cells that support tumor growth. The report has been published online in PNAS Early Edition.

1 Dec 2010

Toshiba showcases new Vantage Titan 3T open bore MR at RSNA 2010

For many patients, claustrophobia and acoustic noise can make MR imaging uncomfortable. Understanding this challenge, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. developed a 3T MR system designed to improve patient compliance and comfort while offering advanced radiology capabilities for healthcare facilities.

1 Dec 2010

ASH to host annual meeting for blood disorders at Orange Convention Center

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will host its 52nd annual meeting at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, December 4-7. More than 20,000 attendees are expected for this event, which will highlight emerging research trends in the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of blood disorders.

1 Dec 2010

CRN says increased DRI for vitamin D a step in right direction, but still falls short

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today called the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's (IOM) newly released report on the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) levels for vitamin D "a modest step in the right direction that fell short of truly capturing the extensive and positive research that has consistently supported the need for people to significantly raise their vitamin D levels."

1 Dec 2010

Penicillamine challenge ineffective for detecting Wilson's disease in asymptomatic children

An Italian research team confirmed that the scoring system for Wilson's disease (WD) provides good diagnostic accuracy with 93% positive and 92% negative predictive values, respectively in children with mild liver disease. In asymptomatic children, a urinary copper excretion above 40 μg/24 hours was suggestive of WD, however the penicillamine challenge test (PCT) did not provide an accurate diagnosis in this patient subset.

1 Dec 2010

OraSure supports rapid HIV testing initiatives to recognize World AIDS Day

OraSure Technologies, Inc., the market leader in oral fluid diagnostics, today announced its support of more than 150 rapid HIV testing initiatives taking place in more than 25 states in the U.S. and numerous countries globally, in recognition of World AIDS Day, commemorated annually on December 1st.

1 Dec 2010

IBD patients with hospital-acquired infections experience increased risk of inpatient mortality

Death and length of stay are increased among hospitalized inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients who develop hospital-acquired infections, according to a study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

1 Dec 2010

New findings on folic acid supplementation reveal causes of low birth weight

Groundbreaking work by a team of UK scientists has identified, for the first time, a link between changes in the DNA of newborn babies, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, and birth weight.

1 Dec 2010

Diabetes plays a vital role in regulating brain cholesterol: Research

The brain contains more cholesterol than any other organ in the body, has to produce its own cholesterol and won't function normally if it doesn't churn out enough. Defects in cholesterol metabolism have been linked with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Now researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that diabetes can affect how much cholesterol the brain can make.

1 Dec 2010

IDEA clinical study seeks to promote weight loss among young adults

Obesity It's a national epidemic and on the rise in young adults. Using technology to combat this problem, the University of Pittsburgh Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center will offer the IDEA (Innovative Approaches to Diet, Exercise, and Activity) study, one of seven clinical trials to be funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

1 Dec 2010