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Pulse cooximeters help doctors determine patients' smoking status

Pulse cooximeters have long been used to identify and measure the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in the blood of patients or firefighters.

22 Oct 2007

New genetic and phenotypic data involved in autism released to researchers worldwide

The Autism Consortium, a group of researchers, clinicians and families dedicated to radically accelerating research and enhancing clinical care for autism, announced today that it has completed the first genome scan for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) through its Autism Gene Discovery Project and has released the reference data set to a database that autism researchers around the world can use.

22 Oct 2007

Six Sigma practices may provide significant benefits for hospitals

Although Six Sigma practices are widely used in the manufacturing industry, the performance improvement system also may provide significant benefits for hospitals, medical professionals, and patients.

22 Oct 2007

Comedy helps kids deal with pain for longer periods of time

Watching comedy shows helped children tolerate pain for longer periods of time, suggesting that humorous distraction could be used in clinical settings to help children and adolescents better handle painful procedures, according to a study which teamed UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center with the nonprofit organization Rx Laughter.

22 Oct 2007

Scientists find predisposition to bronchiolitis in some babies

Scientists have found that a large proportion of infants who suffer from bronchiolitis have an inherent pre-disposition to the disease.

22 Oct 2007

MDS Nordion signs 17-year contract with Rosenergoatom for cobalt-60

MDS Nordion, a leading provider of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, signed a 17-year contract for the supply of cobalt-60 with Rosenergoatom, the operating utility of Russia's nuclear power plants.

22 Oct 2007

Parents panic over MRSA

The death of a 17-year-old high school student in Virginia from the superbug MRSA has prompted the closure of 21 schools in the state for cleaning and has many parents worried.

22 Oct 2007

Canada leads in new heart valve replacement surgery

Canada is the world leader in a new surgical technique that is transforming the lives of patients too sick to undergo conventional treatment to replace diseased aortic valves.

22 Oct 2007

Exposure to sunlight may decrease risk of advanced breast cancer

A research team from the Northern California Cancer Center, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine has found that increased exposure to sunlight - which increases levels of vitamin D in the body - may decrease the risk of advanced breast cancer.

19 Oct 2007

Researcher identify specific cell that causes eye cancer, disproving long-held theory

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified the cell that gives rise to the eye cancer retinoblastoma, disproving a long-standing principle of nerve growth and development.

19 Oct 2007

Identifying psychiatric and behavioral problems in teens

Your teen is moody. He's not doing well in school. He wants to be left alone. Does he have a learning disability? Depression? Or maybe he's just a normal teen?

19 Oct 2007

Oral medication restores missing protein in boys with muscular dystrophy

PTC124, an oral medication that changes the way muscle cells interpret genetic information, holds promise as a treatment for some patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the Muscular Dystrophy Association ( http://www.mda.org/ ) announced today.

19 Oct 2007

Immune cells found to promote formation of new blood vessels - potential for endometriosis treatments

A discovery in mice of immune cells that promote the formation of new blood vessels could lead to new treatments for endometriosis, a painful condition associated with infertility that affects up to 15 percent of women of reproductive age.

19 Oct 2007

Early intervention dramatically improves outcomes for new dialysis patients

A program of education, close medical follow-up, and self-empowerment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) newly starting dialysis, reduces complications and improves outcomes - including significant reductions in mortality and hospitalization rates, reports a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

19 Oct 2007

Early intervention benefits women with acute coronary syndromes

Research will be reported at TCT 2007, the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), that demonstrates that early intervention saves lives in women who have a heart attack or unstable chest pain.

19 Oct 2007

19,000 Americans died in 2005 from MRSA

A new study that estimates nearly 19,000 Americans died in 2005 from a virulent, antibiotic-resistant infection acquired mostly in the hospital underscores the need for Congress to require public reporting of patient infection rates, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

19 Oct 2007