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MicroCT-based virtual histology

Utah and Texas researchers combined miniature medical CT scans with high-tech computer methods to produce detailed three-dimensional images of mouse embryos - an efficient new method to test the safety of medicines and learn how mutant genes cause birth defects or cancer.

8 May 2006

Online infusion calculator and a computerized drug ordering system reduces medication errors in children

Two new studies from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center show that computerizing ordering of chemotherapy and other types of intravenous drug infusions for children greatly reduces the risk of potentially dangerous medical errors.

8 May 2006

New male contraceptive

Men and women have long been promised a male version of the female contraceptive pill. But the first new male contraceptive to market may not be hormonal at all.

8 May 2006

Mutated gene leads to JSRD

The research team, directed by Joseph Gleeson, M.D., Director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at the UCSD School of Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences, have identified a new gene that, when mutated, leads to JSRD. Their findings will be published on-line in advance of publication in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 May 2006

Bill Clinton takes the fizz out of schools

Bill Clinton has managed to persuade the giants of the U.S. beverage industry to agree to take an active part in the fight against childhood obesity.

3 May 2006

Pediatricians encouraged to refer patients to community resources for childhood aggression

Training pediatricians to recognize the signs of aggression and make a referral to an appropriate community organization may help prevent future violence.

3 May 2006

Researchers pinpoint autism's genetic roots

By deleting a gene in certain parts of the brain, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created mice that show deficits in social interaction that are reminiscent of humans with autism spectrum disorders.

3 May 2006

If jaundice is detected and treated properly children at no greater risk

Newborn babies who are diagnosed with and treated for jaundice are no more likely than other babies to suffer long-term developmental problems, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 May 2006

Gay men who are HIV-positive rarely regret revealing their health status to others

The study, the first of its kind, could be important for clinicians who work with HIV-positive men who are often uncertain whether to tell friends, family, co-workers or others about being diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS.

3 May 2006

A new fast-melting oral formulation of desmopressin

Vande Walle and colleagues performed this study to determine the pharmacodynamic properties as well as the safety and tolerability of a new oral lyophilisate formulation of desmopressin (in single doses of 30, 60, 120, 240, 360 or 480 µg) in children with known primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE).

3 May 2006

Underage and abusive drinkers very profitable for the alcohol industry

According to new research in the U.S. the underage drinking market is making the alcohol industry a neat $23 billion a year and that figure represents 17.5 percent of all money spent on alcohol in the U.S. annually.

3 May 2006

Scots get serious about underage smoking

In the next round in the fight against smoking the sale of cigarettes to people aged under 18 is expected to be banned in Scotland.

3 May 2006

Many children still exposed at home to tobacco smoke - exposure linked to behavioral problems

According to research in the U.S. even though most Americans are in agreement with smoking restrictions in public places, many adults still expose their children to significant health risks by smoking cigarettes at home.

3 May 2006

Antidepressant suicide risk up five times for seniors

According to Canadian researchers seniors who are prescribed antidepressants such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are almost five times more likely to commit suicide during the first month on the drugs than those given other medication to treat depression.

3 May 2006

Verbal medical order errors reduced to zero

Hospitals have spent millions of dollars on computerized physician order entry systems to reduce medical errors, but a simple change in the way verbal orders are entered in the system -- so simple that it cost nothing to implement -- has reduced errors to zero, according to a new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study.

3 May 2006

Exposure to cocaine before birth not linked to bad behavior in kids

Toddlers exposed to cocaine before birth exhibit no more behavioral problems than other children their age, despite early predictions that "crack babies" would grow up to be delinquents, University of Florida researchers say.

3 May 2006

Therapeutic gene suspected to cause cancer

One of the few gene therapy studies that had ever been successful was terminated in 2003, because several of the treated children had developed leukemia.

3 May 2006

MR cystography accurate and safe for vesicoureteral reflux screening

MR cystography provides excellent anatomic detail of the urinary system and is a potential screening examination for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), according to a new study by researchers from Changi General Hospital in Singapore and the University of California, San Francisco.

3 May 2006

DARPA grant supports research toward realizing tissue regeneration

While U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving injuries that in previous conflicts likely would have been fatal, the number of wounded with major tissue loss has never before been so high.

3 May 2006

Passive smoking associated with behavior problems in children and pre-teens

A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with behavior problems in children and pre-teens.

3 May 2006