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Location technologies are improving NHS care

Some of the UK's leading experts in location technologies confirmed this week that applications such as RFID in hospitals are already improving the efficiency and quality of patient care. But they also warn that compatibility problems between hardware and software applications, and a lack of joined up thinking from technology companies mean that the NHS is not benefiting as much as it could.

6 May 2008

Superbug genome sequenced

The genome of a newly-emerging superbug, commonly known as Steno, has just been sequenced. The results reveal an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug resistance. The research was carried out by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and the University of Bristol.

6 May 2008

Autonomous robot surgery a step closer

The day may be getting a little closer when robots will perform surgery on patients in dangerous situations or in remote locations, such as on the battlefield or in space, with minimal human guidance.

6 May 2008

New insights help adolescents and younger children improve asthma control

Two studies that offer new insights to help adolescents and younger children improve their asthma control will be presented by researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center at this year's annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Society (PAS) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

6 May 2008

Researchers find way to make tumor cells more sensitive to hyperthermia-enhanced radiation therapy

Tumors have a unique vulnerability that can be exploited to make them more sensitive to heat and radiation, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

6 May 2008

New scanner opens up new possibilities for patients

Dolphins swimming underwater, jet planes whizzing overhead, and monkeys climbing up palm trees are just some of the images patients are now seeing at Strong Memorial Hospital as it introduces the region's first "open" high-field magnetic resonance (MRI) scanner.

6 May 2008

Biosimilar protein cooperation

A biosimilar protein that can be used to treat neutropenia (a side effect of cancer chemotherapy) is to be developed by Apotex Inc. of Canada in collaboration with Intas Biopharmaceuticals Limited (IBPL).

6 May 2008

Women lag in heart attack care, study finds

The gender gap is alive and unwell in heart disease, a new international study finds, with women differing from men on everything from symptoms to treatment in both heart attack and severe chest pain.

6 May 2008

Geron Corporation awarded UK grant funding for human embryonic stem cell research

Geron Corporation announced today two grant awards to the University of Edinburgh from the UK Stem Cell Foundation, with funding from the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise.

6 May 2008

Erythropoietin gene linked to severe diabetic eye, kidney diseases

Researchers at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and collaborative institutions have identified a gene called erythropoietin (EPO) that contributes to increased risk of severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases, called retinopathy and nephropathy.

6 May 2008

Breastfeeding makes for more intelligent children

While it has been recognised for decades that breastfeeding is better for both mothers and babies, scientists are now suggesting that it also benefits a child's intelligence.

6 May 2008

Better understanding of immune response to HIV infection

The "exhaustion" of immune cells that target HIV appears to result from chronic exposure to the virus, specifically exposure to the particular protein segments targeted by the pathogen-killing HIV-specific CD8 T cells.

6 May 2008

More than 25 percent of pediatric emergency visits could be conducted online

A community-wide study in upstate New York found that nearly 28 percent of all visits to the pediatric emergency department could have been replaced with a more cost-effective Internet doctor's "visit," or telemedicine, according to investigators from the University of Rochester Medical Center

6 May 2008

Impact of round-the-clock, rapid oral fluid HIV testing of women in labor

Can HIV transmission in pregnancy in low income settings be prevented with round the clock rapid testing in labor?

6 May 2008

Study identifies problems with diagnosis of bipolar disorder

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reports that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview--the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).

6 May 2008

New saliva-based HIV test gives results in 20 minutes!

The usual waiting period for the results of a HIV test can seem like an eternity, especially in emergency situations where results are needed immediately. Also it requires a blood sample, which is invasive and often painful. Recognizing the urgent need for a faster and less invasive diagnostic method, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, from Marina Klein's research team at the MUHC has just finished testing a new saliva-based test that gives results in approximately 20 minutes! She describes her findings in an article that will appear in the May 6th, 2008 issue of PLoS Medicine.

6 May 2008

Healthy San Francisco program prompts some companies to shift costs to consumers but appears effective

The Healthy San Francisco program has prompted some employers to increase prices and hire fewer new employees but also is "showing early signs of doing what it was intended to do: push employers to defray medical costs for more workers," the Wall Street Journal reports (Dvorak, Wall Street Journal, 5/5).

6 May 2008

CMS announces decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts, long-term acute care hospital reimbursements

CMS recently announced a decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts and a final rule on reimbursements for long-term acute care hospitals.

6 May 2008

MRSA spreading say American Society of Registered Nurses

Today the American Society of Registered Nurses announced that cases of MRSA also known as Methicillin - Resistant Staphylococcus aureus often called "Staph" are on the rise.

5 May 2008

Botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating cervical dystonia

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology confirm that the drug botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating cervical dystonia, a condition of involuntary head tilt or neck movement, spasticity and other forms of muscle overactivity that interfere with movement in adults and children with an upper motor neuron syndrome, and excessive sweating of the armpits and hands.

5 May 2008