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Exposure to road traffic noise may increase risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance

The World Health Organization recently recognized environmental noise as harmful pollution, with adverse psychosocial and physiological effects on public health. A new study of noise pollution in Fulton County, Georgia, suggests that many residents are exposed to high noise levels that put them at risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance, which can have serious health consequences.

12 Sep 2012

Molecular beacons allow scientists to monitor gene expression during stem cell transformation

A novel set of custom-designed "molecular beacons" allows scientists to monitor gene expression in living populations of stem cells as they turn into a specific tissue in real-time. The technology, which Brown University researchers describe in a new study, provides tissue engineers with a potentially powerful tool to discover what it may take to make stem cells transform into desired tissue cells more often and more quickly.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers analyze cost-savings achieved by Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration

In an analysis of the cost-savings achieved by an earlier pilot program, the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration (PGPD), researchers found modest estimates of overall savings associated with the PGPD, but larger savings among the dually eligible patients (Medicare and Medicaid), with savings achieved in large part through reductions in hospitalizations, according to a study in the September 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Sep 2012

UB researchers receive NFL grant for sports-related medical research on concussion

After sustaining a concussion, when can an athlete safely return to play? That's the primary question for professional and amateur athletes alike. Now, University at Buffalo sports medicine researchers have been awarded $100,000 from NFL Charities to develop the most objective, scientific method of determining when an athlete who has had a concussion can safely return to play.

12 Sep 2012

Weill Cornell to establish new child care center

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it will create a child care center for up to 60 children of its faculty, students and staff near its campus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

12 Sep 2012

Gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with Bubble Boy disease

UCLA stem cell researchers have found that a gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with so-called "Bubble Boy" disease, a life threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within one to two years.

12 Sep 2012

Daily low-dose inhaled corticosteroids do not benefit asthmatics

For two decades, asthma treatment for millions of people with a milder form of the disease has consisted of daily inhaled steroid medicine to reduce inflammation. Now, a new study has found that asthmatics who take the low-dose medication as a daily routine do no better than those who turn to their inhalers only when they have symptoms.

12 Sep 2012

Exercise and health: An interview with Professor Karim Khan

I’ll quote from the ‘7 investments’ document (see below) as I don’t believe we need to reinvent the wheel to argue for the benefits of exercise. I am very keen to move to the issue of ‘how can we help people exercise’. But for the record:

12 Sep 2012

Serious gaming can enhance surgical skills

Serious gaming can be used to enhance surgical skills, but games developed or used to train medical professionals need to be validated before they are integrated into teaching methods, according to a paper in the October issue of the surgical journal BJS.

12 Sep 2012

Interventions can help prevent older people from falling

There is now strong evidence that some interventions can prevent falls in people over the age of 65 who are living in their own homes. However, the researchers who reached this conclusion say that care is needed when choosing interventions, as some have no effect. The full details are published this month in The Cochrane Library. This is an update of a previous report that contains data from 51 additional trials, enabling the authors to reach many more conclusions.

12 Sep 2012

Comic created to help busy medical staff on the benefits of tranexamic acid

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have created a comic influenced by the Japanese manga style to help busy medical staff who treat patients suffering from bleeding.

12 Sep 2012

Bioengineers design nanoparticles that can safely and predictably infiltrate deep into the brain

The brain is a notoriously difficult organ to treat, but Johns Hopkins researchers report they are one step closer to having a drug-delivery system flexible enough to overcome some key challenges posed by brain cancer and perhaps other maladies affecting that organ.

12 Sep 2012

Electronic jewelry for health

Bracelets and amulets are in the works at Dartmouth's Institute for Security, Technology, and Society (ISTS). Rather than items of mere adornment, the scientists and engineers are constructing personal mobile health (mHealth) devices-highly functional jewelry, as it were.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

As outbreaks of preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles increase in the United States, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine are investigating whether altruism, known to influence adults' decisions to immunize themselves, influences parental decisions to vaccinate their children.

12 Sep 2012

e-Therapeutics initiates second ETS2101 phase I trial in solid tumours

e-Therapeutics plc announces that it has started a second phase I clinical trial of its anti-cancer drug ETS2101. This trial will enrol up to 45 patients with a variety of solid tumours at two UK centres, St James's University Hospital in Leeds and the Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

12 Sep 2012

Health ambiguity strongly linked to depression among male stroke survivors

Post-stroke depression is a major issue affecting approximately 33% of stroke survivors. A new study published in the current issue of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation reports that the level to which survivors are uncertain about the outcome of their illness is strongly linked to depression. The relationship is more pronounced for men than for women.

12 Sep 2012

APS conference to explore potential mechanisms behind health benefits of exercise

The effects of physical inactivity are, literally, hazardous to your health. Although the detrimental effects of being inactive are generally thought to be associated with childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes, they have a significant impact on other illnesses. Physical inactivity contributed at least 25 percent to the prevalence of hip fractures, osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, and colon cancer according to recent data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

12 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's whiplash on health law; Clinton's mistaken argument about Medicare savings

At first glance, it looked like Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had once again altered his position on healthcare reform. "I'm not getting rid of all of healthcare reform," he said on "Meet the Press" over the weekend.

12 Sep 2012

HSS receives NFL grant for research into platelet-rich plasma and stem cells

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have been awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Football League (NFL) Charities to research the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cells as treatments for tendon injury and degeneration. For years, PRP has been used to improve healing in various sports injuries, but there is little evidence of its efficacy.

12 Sep 2012

New model reveals how immune system functions under conditions of neutropenia

Cancer chemotherapy can be a life-saver, but it is fraught with severe side effects, among them an increased risk of infection. Until now, the major criterion for assessing this risk has been the blood cell count: if the number of white blood cells falls below a critical threshold, the risk of infection is thought to be high.

12 Sep 2012

Medicine News and Research

Exposure to road traffic noise may increase risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance

Molecular beacons allow scientists to monitor gene expression during stem cell transformation

Researchers analyze cost-savings achieved by Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration

UB researchers receive NFL grant for sports-related medical research on concussion

Weill Cornell to establish new child care center

Gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with Bubble Boy disease

Daily low-dose inhaled corticosteroids do not benefit asthmatics

Exercise and health: An interview with Professor Karim Khan

Serious gaming can enhance surgical skills

Interventions can help prevent older people from falling

Comic created to help busy medical staff on the benefits of tranexamic acid

Bioengineers design nanoparticles that can safely and predictably infiltrate deep into the brain

Electronic jewelry for health

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

e-Therapeutics initiates second ETS2101 phase I trial in solid tumours

Health ambiguity strongly linked to depression among male stroke survivors

APS conference to explore potential mechanisms behind health benefits of exercise

Viewpoints: Romney's whiplash on health law; Clinton's mistaken argument about Medicare savings

HSS receives NFL grant for research into platelet-rich plasma and stem cells

New model reveals how immune system functions under conditions of neutropenia

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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