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Breast brachytherapy with strut-based applicator effective for women with DCIS

Breast brachytherapy with a strut-based applicator appears to be an effective treatment for women who have ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast, according to a groundbreaking study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, held in Phoenix May 2-4.

8 May 2012

LAA occlusion effectively reduces risk of stroke in patients with A-fib

Patients with atrial fibrillation (A-fib) who cannot take blood thinners now have an alternative to reduce their risk of stroke, which is five times more common in people with the rhythm disorder. The non-surgical procedure works by tying off the left atrial appendage (LAA), the source of most blood clots leading to stroke in patients with A-fib. Northwestern Medicine- heart rhythm specialists from the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute were the first to perform this procedure in Illinois.

8 May 2012

Researchers discover potential way to develop universal flu vaccines

University of British Columbia researchers have found a potential way to develop universal flu vaccines and eliminate the need for seasonal flu vaccinations.

8 May 2012

Metformin blocks uveitis in laboratory rats

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered that a drug already prescribed to millions of people with diabetes could also have another important use: treating one of the world's leading causes of blindness.

8 May 2012

Viewpoints: Diabetes, future health ills & the GOP; Debate on FDA OTC plan; Sen. Brown's daughter's health insurance

A study of diabetes in overweight and obese youngsters bears an ominous warning about future health care trends in this country. It found that Type 2 diabetes, a new scourge among young people, progresses faster and is harder to treat in youngsters than in adults. ... Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are bent on dismantling health care reforms that could greatly assist in curbing the obesity epidemic.

8 May 2012

Meningitis B vaccine on the horizon

Meningitis B is particularly dangerous for children, leading to 120 deaths in the UK every year. There are around 1,200 new cases of meningitis B every year. Around 1 in 10 victims die and another 15 per cent are left with permanent disabilities - often limbs have to be amputated due to blood poisoning. The infection causes inflammation of the membranes surrounding the spinal cord and brain. Symptoms include a severe headache, vomiting, a rash, sensitivity to light and a stiff neck.

8 May 2012

New information about biological outcomes and commuting distance

As populations move even further away from urban centers, more people spend longer hours behind the wheel on their way to and from work. While sedentary behavior is known to have adverse effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health, the impact of long commutes by automobile are less understood. A new study has found that greater commuting distances are associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), increased weight, and other indicators of metabolic risk.

8 May 2012

Mini-Lecture Series from ARUP Laboratories

ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory, is pleased to announce its Mini-Lecture Series during the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society in Honolulu.

8 May 2012

T2M cells play a crucial role in treatment-resistant asthma

For most people with asthma, a couple of puffs from an inhaler filled with steroids makes breathing easy. But if their lungs become resistant to the calming effect of that medicine, they live in fear of severe asthma attacks that could send them to the hospital - or worse. Now, new research from the University of Michigan Health System may help explain what's going on in the lungs of these steroid-resistant individuals. The findings could aid the development of new treatment options, and of better ways to identify people at risk of becoming steroid-resistant.

8 May 2012

Declining biodiversity may contribute to rise in asthma, allergies

Declining biodiversity may be contributing to the rise of asthma, allergies, and other chronic inflammatory diseases among people living in cities worldwide, a Finnish study suggests. Emerging evidence indicates that commensal microbes inhabiting the skin, airway, and gut protect against inflammatory disorders. However, little is known about the environmental determinants of the microbiome.

8 May 2012

Health Canada announces labelling update for Cipralex

Health Canada is informing Canadians of a labelling update for the prescription drug Cipralex (the brand name of the drug escitalopram) regarding a dose-related risk of abnormal heart rhythms. Cipralex is used to treat depression and belongs to a family of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

7 May 2012

Various combinations of biomarkers are required to unequivocally diagnose specific disease

With a range of diseases, doctors need unique features which they can use to unequivocally identify a patient's illness for an appropriate diagnosis. Scientists therefore search for the biomarkers for an illness or a combination of biomarkers, known as biosignatures, which are as easy as possible to measure.

7 May 2012

Healthy newborns should not be over-protected against natural exposure of gut flora

Infants whose gut is colonised by E. coli bacteria early in life have a higher number of memory B cells in their blood, reveals a study of infants carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

7 May 2012

Satellite-guided plan to effectively control tsetse fly

For the first time, scientists have created a satellite-guided plan to effectively control the tsetse fly - an African killer that spreads "sleeping sickness" disease among humans and animals and wipes out $4.5 billion in livestock every year.

7 May 2012

Children's vaccine for pneumococcal disease does not offer full protection

The vaccine given to children to immunise against serious pneumococcal disease does not offer full protection, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, finding that the number of cases diagnosed has tripled over the past 50 years.

7 May 2012

Positive long-term outcome data for chronic ITP patients treated with rituxamab

A new analysis concludes that rituximab, a drug commonly used to treat blood cancers, leads to treatment responses lasting at least five years in approximately one quarter of patients with low platelet counts and a risk of bleeding due to chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

7 May 2012

CNV in prostate cancer tumors may accurately predict relapse

While active monitoring of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in men over 50 has greatly improved early detection of prostate cancer, prediction of clinical outcomes after diagnosis remains a major challenge.

7 May 2012

Screening for diabetic retinopathy once every two years maybe safe, cost-effective

Research carried out at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), University of Exeter, has concluded that it would be a safe and cost-effective strategy to screen people with type 2 diabetes who have not yet developed diabetic retinopathy, for the disease once every two years instead of annually.

7 May 2012

Researchers discover how diabetes affects specific brain area leading to memory loss

Badly controlled diabetes are known to affect the brain causing memory and learning problems and even an increased incidence of dementia, although how this occurs is not clear.

7 May 2012

Brain networks may avoid traffic jams by communicating on different frequencies

Brain networks may avoid traffic jams at their busiest intersections by communicating on different frequencies, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University Medical Center at Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University of T-bingen have learned.

7 May 2012