Poisoning News and Research

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Long-term impacts of atomic bombs on Japanese cities not as severe as many believe, study suggests

The detonation of atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 resulted in horrific casualties and devastation. The long-term effects of radiation exposure also increased cancer rates in the survivors.

12 Aug 2016

Naturally-occurring protein controls shape and activity of white blood cells to combat sepsis

Boosting levels of a protein that controls the shape and activity of a crucial group of white blood cells improves survival and recovery chances during sepsis.

8 Aug 2016

Gasotransmitters in the body could potentially be used to develop new drugs

Gases once thought of only as environmental pollutants are now known to be produced by the body. They could potentially be used to develop drugs to treat diseases including heart failure and cancer.

8 Aug 2016

Lipopeptides released by staphylococci play key role in triggering septicemia

Septicemia or blood poisoning caused by Staphylococcus aureus leads to thousands of deaths each year in Germany alone. Just how the infection begins - and can lead to multiple organ failure - was little understood until now.

4 Aug 2016

Review highlights effects of mercury exposure in northern Canadian communities

Mercury exposure is common in communities in Canada's north, especially in indigenous peoples who consume fish and other wild food with high mercury content, yet current clinical guidelines are not adequate for this population.

20 Jul 2016

New technology can help in rapid diagnosis and treatment of sepsis

Sepsis patients can be diagnosed and treated earlier with the help of new technology available for hospitals and homecare settings.

14 Jul 2016

Study finds higher suicide rate among people with epilepsy than general population

The suicide rate among people with epilepsy is 22 percent higher than the general population, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in Epilepsy & Behavior.

12 Jul 2016

Researchers uncover sensing mechanism of food poisoning bacteria found in shellfish

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have uncovered a mechanism that a type of pathogenic bacteria found in shellfish use to sense when they are in the human gut, where they release toxins that cause food poisoning.

5 Jul 2016

New test strip can rapidly, cost-effectively detect disease pathogens

At present, bacteria, fungi or viruses can generally only be detected with certainty by way of elaborate laboratory tests or animal experiments. The food and pharmaceutical industries would like to have faster tests to check their products.

4 Jul 2016

Structures on surface of pneumococci determine bacteria’s ability to cause meningitis

Structures on the surface of pneumococci determine the ability of these bacteria to enter the brain and cause severe infections, according to a paper published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

29 Jun 2016

Laundry pods more likely to cause poisoning injuries in small children than nonpod detergents

Laundry pod detergents are far more likely to cause poisoning injuries in young children than are nonpod laundry detergents, and are four times more likely to lead to hospitalization, according to findings published today from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

28 Jun 2016

Study reveals distribution of toxic arsenic in cell nuclei of plants

Toxic arsenic initially accumulates in the nuclei of plants' cells. This has been revealed by an X-ray examination of the aquatic plant rigid hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) using DESY's X-ray source PETRA III.

25 Jun 2016

Study finds dramatic increase in nonmedical use of prescription opioids in the U.S.

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids more than doubled among adults in the United States from 2001-2002 to 2012-2013, based on a study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health. Nearly 10 million Americans, or 4.1 percent of the adult population, used opioid medications in 2012-2013 a class of drugs that includes OxyContin and Vicodin, without a prescription or not as prescribed (in greater amounts, more often, or longer than prescribed) in the past year.

23 Jun 2016

New study reveals high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels among U.S. children

Despite four decades of public health efforts to minimize children’s exposure to lead, high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels are still found in children in numerous regions of the United States, according to a new study by researchers at Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services.

From Quest Diagnostics 17 Jun 2016

New device may enable painless, effective diagnosis of Helicobacter in exhaled air

In the future, several illnesses can be quickly and painlessly diagnosed by the optical analysis of isotopes contained in exhaled air. VTT developed its first prototype for this purpose.

16 Jun 2016

New vaccine found safe, effective against Toxic Shock Syndrome

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a severe circulatory and organ failure caused by bacterial toxins, usually triggered by bacteria from the Staphylococcus group. Researchers from MedUni Vienna's Department of Clinical Pharmacology, in collaboration with the company Biomedizinische Forschungsgesellschaft mbH in Vienna, have now developed the world's first safe and effective vaccine against this disease and successfully tested it in a Phase I trial.

13 Jun 2016

Genes of healthy leanness could lead to new approach to treating obesity-related diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes could be helped by the discovery of a gene linked to leanness.

7 Jun 2016

Researcher proposes three-point plan to identify, eliminate lead exposure nationwide

The crisis of lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Mich., continues to make headlines—but it's just the most prominent example of an "ongoing and needless tragedy of childhood lead poisoning," according David E. Jacobs, PhD, CIH, a noted authority on childhood lead poisoning prevention.

28 May 2016

Nutrition, safety tips for grilling season

Cooking meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, with high-temperature methods such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame can increase exposure to chemicals that can cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

25 May 2016

US swimming pool inspections provide worrying statistics

A recent report by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that 80% of inspections of public aquatic venues in the United States found at least one violation of safety standards. Immediate closure is enforced on thousands of public pools, hot tubs, and water playgrounds in the US every year as a result of safety concerns.

20 May 2016