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World Economic Forum releases list of 'Important Technologies'

The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has just released its list of "Important Technologies" that will change the world in the years ahead. The list highlights technology trends most likely to impact on the state of the world in the near future and was developed by a cross section of experts from science, businesses, and public policy.

15 Feb 2012

UCSD opens lidocaine and amiodarone clinical trial to prevent SCA

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States. This form of heart attack kills 325,000 people every year, representing one death every two minutes. Almost all SCA victims die before they even reach a hospital. To identify a drug that paramedics can use in the field, UC San Diego Health System has opened a clinical trial to evaluate two medications to help restore the heart beat.

15 Feb 2012

Amoxicillin not effective for patients with acute rhinosinusitis

Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat this condition even though there is limited evidence supporting their effectiveness.

15 Feb 2012

Patient satisfaction not linked with health status

Newly released research has linked higher patient satisfaction scores with greater healthcare costs and increased risk of mortality. Despite the growing reliance on satisfaction scores as a tool for evaluating physician performance, "research suggests a tenuous link between patient satisfaction and healthcare quality and outcomes," according to the study published online Feb. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Feb 2012

Disrupted sleep may lead to build-up of amyloid plaques

The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

15 Feb 2012

Mass spectroscopy identifies total of 1,210 UCB proteins

Blood tests have been a mainstay of diagnostic medicine since the late 19th century, offering a wealth of information concerning health and disease. Nevertheless, blood derived from the human umbilical cord has yet to be fully mined for its vital health information, according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

15 Feb 2012

Tissues in SIV-infected monkeys can ramp up production of Tregs

Tissue in monkeys infected with a close relative of HIV can ramp up production of a type of T cell that actually weakens the body's attack against the invading virus. The discovery, in lymph nodes draining the intestinal tract, could help explain how the HIV virus evades the body's immune defenses.

15 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's budget, birth control choices; Planning hospital readmissions to save

In poll after poll, the public has made clear that it prefers the president's approach of rebuilding the economy now and tackling the deficit when the fundamentals are stronger. While Republicans have counted on voters blaming Mr. Obama for the hard times, some are beginning to worry that they will be blamed for their obstructionism.

15 Feb 2012

AMCHP honors LSUHSC's professor for excellence in maternal and child health care

Rebekah E. Gee MD MPH FACOG, Assistant Professor, LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Schools of Public Health and Medicine, has been chosen to receive a Recognition of Distinction for Excellence in State Maternal Child Health Leadership Award from the Association of Maternal & Child Health (MCH) Programs.

15 Feb 2012

Tetrahydrobiopterin plays a key role in arterial health of women

Researchers studying why arteries stiffen in postmenopausal women have found a specific chemical cofactor that dramatically improves vascular function.

15 Feb 2012

States' experiences with high-risk pools vary

One of the early provisions of the health law set up temporary insurance pools for people with medical conditions who couldn't buy insurance. Politico looks at what the varied state experiences in that program suggest about other aspects of the health overhaul.

15 Feb 2012

mRNA sequencing reveals transcriptomic landscape of breast cancer

GW Cancer Research Team in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, published a study that is the first of its kind to use mRNA sequencing to look at the expression of genome, at a unprecedented resolution at the current time, in three types of breast cancer.

15 Feb 2012

Moffitt receives patent for computerized system designed to improve clinical trial selection

A new patent has been issued to Moffitt Cancer Center for a computerized system that efficiently selects the right patient for the right clinical trial. The newly patented system matches the registered patient's own molecular profile - warehoused in a database of thousands of patient-donated biological tissue or tumor samples - to the molecular design of the drug aimed at targeting their disease at the molecular level, and does it quickly.

15 Feb 2012

Top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight

It's been more than one month since the new year and swimsuit season is lurking on the horizon - how are those weight-loss resolutions working out? "Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance," says Jessica Bartfield,MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at Loyola University Health System's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.

15 Feb 2012

First study to look at suicide ideation and self-harm in LGBT youths

What protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths from considering suicide and, conversely, what makes them most vulnerable to it? The question is of paramount concern because these youths are at least twice as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths, prompting the national "It Gets Better Project" with encouraging video messages from such public figures as Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama.

15 Feb 2012

U-M's first human embryonic stem cell line to be placed on the U.S.NIH registry

The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

15 Feb 2012

Curcumin prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with AD

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers. The study conducted at Link-ping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

15 Feb 2012

Mental health can also interfere with the heart

Mental state can play a crucial role in physical health - medical professionals have long known about the connection between anxiety and the immune system, for example. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that mental health can also interfere with the heart.

15 Feb 2012

New group of compounds may protect brain cells from inflammation

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a new group of compounds that may protect brain cells from inflammation linked to seizures and neurodegenerative diseases.

15 Feb 2012

New WSU model system focuses on causes of everyday MS symptoms

Annoying, frustrating symptoms like difficulty hearing or remembering things can complicate everyday living for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but most research to date has focused on the disease's less frequent but more debilitating consequences.

15 Feb 2012