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Scientists develop new micropump for hand-held medical devices

In an advance toward analyzing blood and urine instantly at a patient's bedside instead of waiting for results from a central laboratory, scientists are reporting development of a new micropump capable of producing pressures almost 500 times higher than the pressure in a car tire. Described in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, the pumps are for futuristic "labs-on-a-chip," which reduce entire laboratories to the size of a postage stamp.

1 Nov 2012

Ischemic stroke: an interview with Dr Gregory Ford

A stroke is a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients. Approximately two millions brain cells die each minute during a stroke. This can lead to brain damage, physical and mental disability and death.

1 Nov 2012

Exosomes alone could protect infants' lungs from dangerous inflammation

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have found that microscopic particles containing proteins and nucleic acids called exosomes could potentially protect the fragile lungs of premature babies from serious lung diseases and chronic lung injury caused by inflammation.

1 Nov 2012

Study finds how effective healthcare can reduce toll from major diseases like stroke, cancer

Wide differences in death rates from disease still persist throughout England - but effective healthcare can help to reduce these inequalities, a new study has discovered.

1 Nov 2012

Microbiologists confirm existence of new tick disease in Switzerland

Until now, we knew that ticks primarily transmit two pathogens to humans in Switzerland: the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi - which causes borreliosis - and the early-summer-meningoencephalitis virus, which can cause cerebral inflammation. Now, microbiologists from the University of Zurich confirm the existence of another tick disease in Switzerland - neoehrlichiosis.

1 Nov 2012

Recurrence risk can be identified before hepatectomy

Patients who are likely to experience disease recurrence after undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma can be identified by factors that are available preoperatively, indicate the results of a Hong Kong study.

31 Oct 2012

Regional anesthesia reduces transfusion risk in knee replacement surgery

Regional anesthesia, compared with general anesthesia, reduces the need for blood transfusions in patients undergoing bilateral total knee replacement, research suggests.

31 Oct 2012

Biomarker discovery offers hope for lung cancer blood test

Blood levels of a variant form of the nuclear matrix protein Ciz1 are significantly higher in individuals with early- and late-stage lung cancer than in lung cancer-free individuals, researchers report.

31 Oct 2012

Intraoperative cardiac arrest most likely following heavy blood loss

Study results show that although intraoperative cardiac arrest is rare during noncardiac surgery, patients who receive intraoperative blood transfusion are at increased risk for the event.

31 Oct 2012

African American women coinfected with HIV and HCV less likely to die from liver disease than Caucasian or Hispanic women

A new study shows that African American women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are less likely to die from liver disease than Caucasian or Hispanic women.

31 Oct 2012

Vitamin D and multiple sclerosis: an interview with Ellen Mowry

Vitamin D is actually a hormone. For the most part, humans obtain vitamin D through sun exposure. Ultraviolet light from the sun promotes the conversion of a compound in the skin to pre-vitamin D.

31 Oct 2012

Substantial number of cancer survivors experience poor mental or physical health years after cancer

Survivors of many common cancers enjoy a mental and physical health-related quality of life equal to that of adults who have not had cancer, but survivors of other cancers are in poorer health, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

31 Oct 2012

Powered exoskeleton provides more independence to people with severe spinal cord injuries

The dream of regaining the ability to stand up and walk has come closer to reality for people paralyzed below the waist who thought they would never take another step.

31 Oct 2012

Cost of searching for fountain of youth exceeds cost for medications to treat chronic disease

The cost of searching for the fountain of youth has become increasingly expensive and now exceeds the cost for medications used to treat chronic disease, according to new research released today at the American Public Health Association's 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

31 Oct 2012

Study explores incidence of UK women having Multiple Repeat Caesarean Sections

The risk of maternal complications and preterm deliveries is significantly higher for women undergoing their fifth or more caesarean section, finds a new study published today (31 October) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

31 Oct 2012

Hormone therapy increases risk of heart attack or dying in women with metabolic syndrome

A new analysis of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trials show that women who had metabolic syndrome before they started hormone therapy had a greatly increased risk of heart attack or dying of heart disease. Women who didn't have metabolic syndrome beforehand showed no increased risk.

31 Oct 2012

Oily fish consumption may reduce risk of stroke

Eating at least two servings of oily fish a week is moderately but significantly associated with a reduced risk of stroke, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

31 Oct 2012

High vitamin D levels associated with protection against bladder cancer

High levels of vitamin D are associated with protection against bladder cancer, according to a multidisciplinary study coordinated by molecular biologists and epidemiologists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), the conclusions of which are being published today in the Journal of National Cancer Institute (JNCI) .

31 Oct 2012

More than one third of U.S. cancer survivors report poor physical or mental health

Beating cancer is just the first step. More than one third of the 12.6 million cancer survivors in the United States have physical or mental problems that put their overall health in jeopardy, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

31 Oct 2012

Technology creates 3-D map of stresses linked to malformed structures

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found a way to create three-dimensional maps of the stress that circulating blood places on the developing heart in an animal model - a key to understanding triggers of heart defects.

31 Oct 2012