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Electrical stimulation of the brain offers hope for Parkinson's sufferers

Electrical stimulation of the brain -- a treatment in which a pacemaker-like device sends pulses to electrodes implanted in the brain -- is riskier than drug therapy but may hold significant benefits for those with Parkinson's disease who no longer respond well to medication alone.

14 Jan 2009

Economic burden of diabetes on U.S healthcare system

A new study published in Value in Health estimates the extent of hospital admissions for individuals with diabetes and its economic burden in the U.S.

14 Jan 2009

Smoking during pregnancy impacts thyroid function of mother and fetus

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with potentially harmful changes in both maternal and fetal thyroid function, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ( JCEM ).

14 Jan 2009

Women suffer more from rheumatoid arthritis

Tuulikki Sokka from the Jyvaskyla Central Hospital, Finland, along with other members of the Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Patients with RA (QUEST-RA) program, explored possible associations between gender and disease activity measures, treatments, and clinical characteristics in more than 6,000 RA patients from 70 sites in 25 countries.

13 Jan 2009

Vicks VapoRub may create respiratory distress in young children

New research out of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center suggests that Vicks® VapoRub®, the popular menthol compound used to relieve symptoms of cough and congestion, may instead create respiratory distress in infants and small children.

13 Jan 2009

Hospital diabetes care standards not met by US academic medical centers

A benchmarking study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine evaluated contemporary hospital glycemic management in United States academic medical centers, determining glucose control practices are suboptimal and do not meet current American Diabetes Association (ADA) hospital diabetes care standards.

13 Jan 2009

Certain fatty acids help neurodevelopment for preterm girls

Preterm infant girls who received a high amount of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; an omega-3 fatty acid) had higher measures of neurodevelopment than preterm girls who received a standard amount of DHA, but this effect was not seen among preterm boys, according to a study in the January 14 issue of JAMA.

13 Jan 2009

Researchers analyse photographs of faces to determine risk of developing sleep disorder

A team of researchers from the University of Sydney has developed an innovative new method to analyse digital photographs of faces in order to determine an individual's risk of developing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

13 Jan 2009

Researchers find molecular origin of blood stem cells

A research team led by Nancy Speck, PhD, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has identified the location and developmental timeline in which a majority of bone marrow stem cells form in the mouse embryo.

12 Jan 2009

Blood type - new weapon in battle against HIV infection

Researchers have discovered a potentially important new resistance factor in the battle against HIV: blood types.

12 Jan 2009

Relapses more frequent in patients diagnosed with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis

Patients who develop multiple sclerosis before age 18 appear to experience more relapses of symptoms than those diagnosed with the disease as adults, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Neurology.

12 Jan 2009

New insight and intervention ideas to help reduce the number of heart attacks

A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines.

12 Jan 2009

Epidurals and spinal anesthetics safer than previously reported

The largest ever prospective study [1,2] into the major complications [3] of epidurals and spinal anaesthetics published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia today (Monday 12 January 2009) concludes that previous studies have over-estimated the risks of severe complications of these procedures.

12 Jan 2009

New hope for transplant recipients and AIDS patients

A researcher from the Université de Montréal and the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital has discovered the mechanism that prevents the regeneration of CD4+ T lymphocytes, which are white cells that are required for the proper functioning of the immune system.

12 Jan 2009

Australian discovers gene for deadly Kawasaki disease

An Australian researcher has identified genes which could make some children more susceptible to the deadly Kawasaki disease - an inflammatory condition in young children that can damage blood vessels.

12 Jan 2009

U.S. patent for NanoLantern diagnostic technology

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has received a U.S. patent for a diagnostic technology that can rapidly and accurately screen for organisms such as bacteria and other infectious agents.

9 Jan 2009

Discovery of better treatment for bacterial pneumonia

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated a more effective treatment for bacterial pneumonia following influenza.

9 Jan 2009

Use of robot and VR system improves walking post-stroke

Patients who've had a stroke and were rehabilitated using a robot to navigate virtual reality environments walked faster and a greater distance following physical therapy compared to those trained with the robot alone, according to researchers at the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions.

9 Jan 2009

Mortality rates higher for heart disease patients in neighbourhoods with poor socioeconomics status

Heart disease patients living in poorer areas of B.C. are up to twice as likely to die from chronic diseases than patients living in better-off areas, a University of British Columbia study has found.

8 Jan 2009

Discovery of gene that increases susceptibility to Crohn's disease

Researchers at McGill University, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) and the McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre, along with colleagues at other Canadian and Belgian institutions, have discovered DNA variations in a gene that increases susceptibility to developing Crohn's disease.

8 Jan 2009