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ECMO can be used for treating carbon monoxide poisoning

Allison Morgan was in pretty bad shape when the medical helicopter touched down on the rooftop helipad of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.

12 Mar 2014

Patients who receive help from poison center have shorter hospital stays and lower medical costs

Patients who received help from a poison center had shorter hospital stays and lower hospital charges among those who are the most expensive to treat, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

11 Mar 2014

Scientists propose improved method of screening salmonella vaccines in small animal studies

An innovative vaccine technology makes use of reengineered salmonella to deliver protective immunity. If such recombinant attenuated salmonella vaccines or RASVs can be perfected, they hold the promise of safe, lost-cost, orally administered defenses against viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections.

19 Feb 2014

Experts sound alarm about the dangers of industrial chemicals on children’s health

In a Review published in The Lancet Neurology, two of the world’s leading experts on the link between environment and children’s health are sounding the alarm on the dangers of industrial chemicals. They are calling on countries to transform their chemical risk-assessment procedures in order to protect children from everyday toxins that may be causing a global “silent epidemic” of brain development disorders.

18 Feb 2014

Indoor exposure to radon gas may cause of lung cancer

Pointing to startling statistics on lung cancer risks, child health and other experts in Canada are ramping up calls for families nationwide to test their homes for radon gas contamination.

14 Feb 2014

New online resource centre helps to create better strategies for food risks and benefits

Food scare make authorities uneasy. In previous cases, national food safety agencies have not always known how to react, making the public wary. For example, in 2011, the German health authorities incorrectly linked the deadly E. coli outbreak to cucumbers from Spanish greenhouses.

11 Feb 2014

TV series House helps doctors diagnose Cobalt intoxication of patient with hip replacement

In today’s edition of The Lancet [Friday 7 February], doctors report the case of a patient with severe heart failure, who in May 2012 was referred to the Marburg University clinic in Germany.

10 Feb 2014

Vodka contributes to high death rates in Russia, new study confirms

The high and sharply fluctuating death rates in Russia are due mainly to alcohol, particularly vodka, a new prospective study of 151 000 adults confirms.

3 Feb 2014

Scientists to develop faster method for pathogen screening in food products

The regular appearance of food poisoning in the news, including a recent event that led to the recall of more than 33,000 pounds of chicken, drives home the need for better bacterial detection long before meats and produce make it to the dinner table.

30 Jan 2014

Researchers discover unusually large bacteriophage that infects anthrax bacterium

From a zebra carcass on the plains of Namibia in Southern Africa, an international team of researchers has discovered a new, unusually large virus (or bacteriophage) that infects the bacterium that causes anthrax.

28 Jan 2014

Scientists to decode intestinal disease bacteria using genome sequencing technologies

The University of Liverpool is to decipher the genomes of the UK's main bacterial cause of food poisoning which results in over 21,000 hospital admissions and 100 deaths each year.

22 Jan 2014

Quick tips to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning

Temperatures in the next few days are predicted to be the coldest of the winter so far, and people using space heaters to get some extra warmth into their living and working spaces need to be aware of a potential "silent killer" inside their homes and offices — carbon monoxide (CO).

8 Jan 2014

Protein responsible for excretion of copper in body cells utilizes unique transport mechanism

We are fundamentally dependent on the presence of copper in the cells of the body. Copper is actually part of the body's energy conversion and protective mechanisms against oxygen radicals, as well as part of the immune system, and it also has great importance for the formation of e.g. hormones and neurotransmitters.

28 Dec 2013

Researchers identify central switch by which HDL controls inflammatory response

High-density lipoprotein, known colloquially as "good cholesterol", protects against dangerous deposits in the arteries. An important function of HDL is its anti-inflammatory properties. An international research team at the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital of Bonn and the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn has identified a central switch by which HDL controls the inflammatory response. The results are presented in the current issue of "Nature Immunology".

9 Dec 2013

Scientists investigate factors that influence choice of abused drugs

Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic levels in the past 15 years. Scientists investigating why people favor one drug over another have found that oxycodone and hydrocodone are the drugs of choice for 75% of opioid-dependent individuals.

3 Dec 2013

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol may lead to more serious alcohol-related problems

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is riskier than just drinking alcohol alone, according to a new study that examines the impact of a growing trend among young adults.

3 Dec 2013

Nanosponge vaccine blocks adverse effects of alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA

Nanosponges that soak up a dangerous pore-forming toxin produced by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) could serve as a safe and effective vaccine against this toxin. This "nanosponge vaccine" enabled the immune systems of mice to block the adverse effects of the alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA-both within the bloodstream and on the skin. Nanoengineers from the University of California, San Diego described the safety and efficacy of this nanosponge vaccine in the December 1 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

2 Dec 2013