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Blankenships receive $6 million compensation for infant son's death due to medical negligence

A couple who alleged that Saint Louis University failed to diagnose and treat a bacterial infection that led to their 6-month-old son’s death were awarded $6 million by a St. Louis jury on Aug. 17. The parents were represented by attorneys David M. Zevan and Kevin J. Davidson of St. Louis-based Zevan & Davidson.

20 Aug 2009

Cyanide toxicity in smoke inhalation victims

"If commercial flying had as many civilian fatalities as those relating to smoke and fire, there would be a public revolt," said Rob Schnepp, CPTC president and assistant chief of special operations for the Alameda County Fire Department in California. "The numbers aren't going down, and this tells me that we aren't addressing the problem adequately.

18 Aug 2009

Sleep apnea increases chances of dying

Nightly bouts of interrupted, oxygen-deprived sleep from a collapsed airway in the upper neck raises the chances of dying in middle-aged to elderly people by as much as 46 percent in the most severe cases, according to a landmark study on sleep apnea by lung experts at Johns Hopkins and six other U.S. medical centers.

18 Aug 2009

Tiotropium - corticosteroid combination improves lung disease survival

Sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a greater chance of survival when treated with a combination of drugs that includes tiotropium, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

12 Aug 2009

New tool for virtual surgery simulates blood flow - helps plan child's delicate heart surgery

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, collaborating with pediatric cardiologists and surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have developed a tool for virtual surgery that allows heart surgeons to view the predicted effects of different surgical approaches. By manipulating three-dimensional cardiac magnetic resonance images of a patient's specific anatomy, physicians can compare how alternative approaches affect blood flow and expected outcomes, and can select the best approach for each patient before entering the operating room.

12 Aug 2009

Discovery of a genetic mutation underlying late-onset Leigh syndrome

Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have discovered a genetic mutation underlying late-onset Leigh syndrome, a rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by the degeneration of the central nervous system.

11 Aug 2009

Virtual heart surgery helps plan child's surgery

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, collaborating with pediatric cardiologists and surgeons at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, have developed a tool for virtual surgery that allows heart surgeons to view the predicted effects of different surgical approaches.

10 Aug 2009

New hope for sufferers of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Florida in Gainesville have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

10 Aug 2009

Scientists study affect of carbon nanoparticles on fruit flies

Carbon nanoparticles are widely used in medicine, electronics, optics, materials science and architecture, but their health and environmental impact is not fully understood.

7 Aug 2009

Covidien receives FDA clearance for new ventilator leak compensation software

Covidien has announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Leak Compensation software feature for the Puritan Bennett 840 ventilator system. This option provides continuous levels of mechanical ventilation to patients requiring respiratory support, regardless of the level of gas leakage that might occur in the circuit or past a patient interface device in the clinical setting.

6 Aug 2009

Tips to avoid heat stroke

The first sign of dangerous heat stroke can be just that – no sweat. As the temperature rises, your body’s natural cooling mechanism, sweat (or more kindly, perspiration), evaporates and helps to cool your body. But on those hot, humid cut-the-air-with-a knife days, evaporation is slowed and your body may not be able to keep itself cool.

5 Aug 2009

Workplace meditation and yoga lowers stress

Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests.

4 Aug 2009

Stem cell technology innovation could reduce the number of animal experiments

Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions such as motor neurone disease.

4 Aug 2009

Sleep heart health study

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep indicates that self-reported worsening in initiating and maintaining sleep over a five-year period was significantly associated with poorer mental quality of life, and increasing daytime sleepiness symptoms were associated with both poorer physical and mental quality of life.

3 Aug 2009

Sibling risk of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and adenotonsillar hypertrophy

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP indicates that children have an increased risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) if they have at least one sibling who has been diagnosed with the sleep disorder.

3 Aug 2009

New system may allow use of xenon to protect newborn brain

Breathing xenon gas can help protect the infant brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation, but the xenon's high cost and scarcity has precluded its widespread use.

27 Jul 2009

Peanut allergies could soon become a thing of the past

Research by a team at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge brings hope to children suffering nut allergies of leading a normal life following the success of a pioneering experimental therapy which has allowed the immune system to be 'retrained' to tolerate peanuts and patients with food allergies become desensitised to the food.

20 Jul 2009

Cystic fibrosis medicines that help to break down mucus in the lungs may carry an unexpected long-term benefit

Cystic fibrosis medicines that help to break down mucus in the lungs may carry an unexpected long-term benefit, a study suggests.

16 Jul 2009

FDA approves Onsolis pain reliever for cancer patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Onsolis, medication intended for certain patients with cancer to help manage breakthrough pain – severe flares of pain that break through regular pain medication.

16 Jul 2009

Healthcare reform gets boost from hospital groups

"In the face of mounting Republican opposition to its healthcare agenda, the Obama administration received a boost Wednesday, winning a preliminary agreement with leading hospital groups to cut federal payments to the industry over the next decade," The Los Angeles Times reports.

9 Jul 2009