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Nurses give evidence of the horrifying day in Dr. Jayant Patel’s surgery

The trial of Dr. Jayant Patel continues. In recent evidence at the court one of the operating theatre nurses revealed under oath to the Brisbane Supreme Court how staff had tried to deter former Bundaberg-based surgeon Jayant Patel from transferring an unstable patient from the theatre to ICU, where he died. There was earlier evidence that the man was bleeding uncontrollably and also allegations that Patel urged junior doctors not to tell anyone what happened.

12 May 2010

Drug-releasing stents do not result in fewer deaths or subsequent heart attacks after angioplasty

Drug-releasing stents are more effective than bare metal stents at keeping a blocked artery open after angioplasty, but the difference does not result in fewer deaths or subsequent heart attacks after the procedure, according to a review of recent studies.

12 May 2010

Wheat aleurone contains high levels of potentially healthpromoting compounds

Wheat aleurone is a novel wheat grain fraction with high levels of potentially healthpromoting compounds. New clinical trials with ready-to-eat cereals and bread containing wheat aleurone have been performed, and showed increased blood concentrations of tentatively beneficial compounds such as betaine, and decreased homocysteine and LDL-cholesterol which are both associated with heart disease risk.

12 May 2010

Mutation causing light chain amyloidosis identified

Light chain amyloidosis, a deadly protein misfolding disease, is caused by multiple mutations in cells that are intended to protect the body. Instead, the mutations send misfolded bundles of proteins through the bloodstream, potentially destroying the heart, kidneys, liver or other organs. Mayo Clinic researchers have identified one of these mutations and have shown that the molecule's shifting position is as important as its unique shape. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Structure.

12 May 2010

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is among the most common of childhood cancers and fortunately, some children will get better spontaneously. Yet for children with high-risk disease the outlook is poor: more than half will relapse despite chemotherapy.

12 May 2010

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

A new Mayo Clinic study has found that Gamma Knife™ stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe and effective option for selected children with arteriovenous malformations. This study was presented at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Philadelphia last week.

12 May 2010

Periodontal disease treatment reduces blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes patients

A study to be published in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library and led by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and supported by colleagues at the Peninsula Dental School, the University of Ottawa and UCL Eastman Dental Institute, suggests that the treatment of serious gum (periodontal) disease in diabetics with Type 2 diabetes may lower their blood sugar levels.

12 May 2010

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

An estimated one in 20 kids suffer from breath-holding spells, which come when they are upset, in pain or surprised. In some cases, the children twitch and jerk around involuntarily, as if they are having a seizure. Their faces sometimes turn blue or pale and they often faint.

12 May 2010

Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind smoking cessation effect

The tobacco addiction epidemic is a major public health problem worldwide. Professor Zhao Baolu and his group from the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences set out to tackle this problem. After 20 years of innovative research, they have developed a novel tea filter to treat cigarette addiction and have discovered the molecular mechanism behind the smoking cessation effect.

12 May 2010

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay examines the ongoing debate over whether Canada's G8 child and maternal health initiative should include abortions, which according to a 2006 Oxford University Press-World Bank report, are "one small chunk of a bigger puzzle. A much larger problem, in terms of the number of female lives affected, is the decidedly less headline-grabbing subject of hemorrhages - which include antepartun hemorrhages … and primary postpartum hemorrhages.

12 May 2010

Researchers develop anti-angiogenic molecule SR16388 for treatment of MM

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that researchers have developed an anti-angiogenic molecule SR16388 that has demonstrated preclinical antitumor activity against multiple myeloma.

12 May 2010

Japanese MHLW approves St. Jude Medical's AnalyST ICD with ST Monitoring device

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced regulatory approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of its AnalyST™ implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with ST Monitoring, a revolutionary device that not only provides life-saving therapy for dangerously fast heart rhythms, but also continuously monitors electrical changes (called ST segments) to help physicians monitor for cardiac problems.

12 May 2010

Angiogenesis inhibitors safe for cancer patients despite hypertension risk: Panel

A new class of cancer drugs can be used effectively while minimizing hypertensive side effects if patients' blood pressure is closely monitored and controlled, a clinical panel has determined.

12 May 2010

St. Jude Medical launches Promote Quadra CRT-D in Europe

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced the European launch of its Promote Quadra™ cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D). The Promote Quadra CRT-D is the industry's first quadripolar pacing system, which offers physicians the ability to more effectively and efficiently manage the ever-changing pacing needs of patients with heart failure.

12 May 2010

CHD mortality rate in Ontario decreased by 35%: Study

From 1994 to 2005 in Ontario, Canada, there was a 35 percent decrease in the rate of deaths from coronary heart disease, with about half of this reduction associated with improvements in traditional CHD risk factors such as total cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

12 May 2010

Colorectal cancer screening rates much lower among African Americans: Study

Among African Americans, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. With the proper screening, it has a 90 percent cure rate, yet screening rates are much lower among this group than other ethnic groups.

12 May 2010

Beike Biotechnology, Jiangsu government's CMC open world's largest stem cell management center

Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd., one of the world's leading biotechnology companies focusing on adult stem cell therapies, and the Jiangsu government's China Medical City (CMC) opened China's state-of-the-art stem cell storage and processing facility today. The 20,000 square-meter Stem Cell Regenerative Medicine Industrial Project of National Bio-Industry Base (NBPD) houses China's first comprehensive regenerative medicine technology center and its largest international stem cell bank.

12 May 2010

Anti-inflammatory drugs help block kidney destruction that occurs with hypertension: Researchers

Anti-inflammatory drugs appear to help block the rapid kidney destruction that can occur with hypertension, Medical College of Georgia researchers report.

12 May 2010

Study confirms Resveratrol's impact on cognitive processes of the brain

The subject of extensive studies across the world, Resveratrol is proving to be a major talking point in the scientific community. And as evidence comes to light of the continuing beneficial effects of this compound, a further study by the University of Northumbria in the UK has confirmed what many scientists already believe to be the case - that Resveratrol could have a significant impact on the cognitive processes of the human brain.

12 May 2010

Prenatal screening, genetic counseling essential for preventing alpha-thalassemia: Researchers

Researchers from Mahidol University have developed a rapid, high-throughput screening method for prevention and control of thalassemia. The related report by Munkongdee et al, "Rapid diagnosis of α-thalassemia by melting curve analysis," appears in the May 2010 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

12 May 2010

Blood News and Research

Nurses give evidence of the horrifying day in Dr. Jayant Patel’s surgery

Drug-releasing stents do not result in fewer deaths or subsequent heart attacks after angioplasty

Wheat aleurone contains high levels of potentially healthpromoting compounds

Mutation causing light chain amyloidosis identified

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

Periodontal disease treatment reduces blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes patients

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind smoking cessation effect

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

Researchers develop anti-angiogenic molecule SR16388 for treatment of MM

Japanese MHLW approves St. Jude Medical's AnalyST ICD with ST Monitoring device

Angiogenesis inhibitors safe for cancer patients despite hypertension risk: Panel

St. Jude Medical launches Promote Quadra CRT-D in Europe

CHD mortality rate in Ontario decreased by 35%: Study

Colorectal cancer screening rates much lower among African Americans: Study

Beike Biotechnology, Jiangsu government's CMC open world's largest stem cell management center

Anti-inflammatory drugs help block kidney destruction that occurs with hypertension: Researchers

Study confirms Resveratrol's impact on cognitive processes of the brain

Prenatal screening, genetic counseling essential for preventing alpha-thalassemia: Researchers

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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