Hospital News and Research

RSS

Recent shelving of a flagship PFI venture in West London may herald the end for the PFI healthcare experiment in the UK

Government enthusiasm for the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the health service - private sector investment in hospital building projects - may be dropping because of its high cost, says an editorial in this week's British Medical Journal.

9 Oct 2005

Gene variation may play fundamental role in the development and spread of cancer in the body

New research shows that a small gene variation that increases the risk of inherited cancer can also arise during the development of spontaneous, or non-inherited, tumors.

9 Oct 2005

RPL26 and nucleolin play critical roles in controlling the production of p53

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a previously unrecognized mechanism that controls a key protein linked to the cell's response to stress - a finding that holds promise for new ways to enhance cancer therapies or protect cells from dying after exposure to damaging chemicals or radiation.

9 Oct 2005

Tissue engineering used to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report using tissue engineering to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs, first using cells from the amniotic fluid to grow sections of cartilage tube, and then implanting these living grafts into the lambs while still in the womb.

9 Oct 2005

Day surgery rates continue to rise - still room for improvement

New figures published by Dr Foster in the British Medical Journal show that day surgery rates continue to rise, yet there is still considerable scope for improvement. These findings support a recent Healthcare Commission report showing that day surgery units are not being used to their maximum capacity.

9 Oct 2005

Particular versions of the TGFb1 gene are largely responsible for how badly the illness affects patients' lungs

Subtle differences in other genes -- besides the defective gene known to cause the illness cystic fibrosis -- can significantly modify the inherited disease's severity, a large new multi-center national study has concluded.

5 Oct 2005

Cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells

Using an animal model, a research team led by Yann Barrandon at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and the CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) has discovered that certain cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells, capable of developing into the many different cell types needed for hair growth and follicle replacement.

5 Oct 2005

Study looks at childrens end-of-life care preferences

Pediatric cancer patients as young as 10 years old who are aware that their disease is incurable have the ability to participate meaningfully in discussions of their own end-of-life care with family members and the health care team, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Sydney Children's Hospital.

5 Oct 2005

Many people continue to smoke after life threatening event

An international survey published today (Thursday 6 October) in Europe's leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal, reveals that fewer than half of the heart patients in the study who smoked quit after suffering their first coronary event, with one out of five continuing to smoke despite advice to stop.

5 Oct 2005

PACs should not be used routinely in patients in intensive care units with severe heart failure

The use of a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) -- a device used for more than 30 years to assess cardiovascular health and to help guide the treatment of critically ill patients -- does not appear to improve outcomes nor confer added risks to patients.

4 Oct 2005

Study shows hospitals can streamline procedures to reduce the time they take to treat heart attack patients

The NIH-sponsored study, published in the September Journal of the American College of Cardiology, reports methods for delivery of rapid care based on the experiences of top programs. Studies have found that while every minute counts, few hospitals are able to perform at levels recommended by national guidelines.

4 Oct 2005

Specific guidelines for treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis

A study published by the Cleveland Clinic and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) provides the medical community for the first time with specific guidelines for treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), a condition that affects approximately one in every 1,000 children.

4 Oct 2005

Hospitalized patients with severe congestive heart failure did not experience a benefit from use of pulmonary artery catheterization

Advances in medical therapy have improved outcomes for many ambulatory patients with heart failure and low ejection fraction (EF; a measure of how much blood the left ventricle of the heart pumps out with each contraction), according to background information in the article.

4 Oct 2005

Half of childhood asthma hospitalizations could be prevented with improved parent-physician communication

Each year, some 196,000 children are hospitalized in the United States with asthma attacks. In addition to the severe breathing problems that the children may experience, it also costs the health care system an estimated $835 million to treat them.

4 Oct 2005

Evaluation of the efficacy of buprenorphine hydrochloride and clonidine hydrochloride, in detoxification of opioid-dependent teenagers

In a comparison of two drugs prescribed to treat teenagers dependent on heroin and other opioids, the drug buprenorphine was more effective, especially in treatment retention, according to a study in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Oct 2005

Study paves the way for new therapeutic targets which can potentially improve heart disease in patients with end-stage kidney failure

Night-time hemodialysis patients may have a greater capacity to repair their hearts and blood vessels compared to those on conventional dialysis three times a week, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society.

4 Oct 2005

Gleevec's uses might expand even further

Gleevec (Imatinib) is a representative of the newest generation of cancer drugs. The substance conveys its potent anti-proliferative effect by selectively supressing the tyrosine kinase pathway. The Giessen lung researchers now issue a first report of this substance as a new target therapy for pulmonary hypertension

4 Oct 2005

Chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea

A new study conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to discover that a chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea. Cocoa beans contain a large amount of chemicals called flavonoids.

3 Oct 2005

Important developmental link between the cerebrum and the cerebellum

Higher cognitive functions, like language and visual processing, have long been thought to reside primarily in the brain's cerebrum. But a body of research in premature infants at Children's Hospital Boston is documenting an important role for the cerebellum

3 Oct 2005

Doctors should encourage teens to limit their intake of food prepared away from home and to eat family dinners together

New research shows that adolescents who eat large amounts of fried food away from home are heavier and more likely to have a poor-quality diet.

3 Oct 2005

Hospital News and Research

Recent shelving of a flagship PFI venture in West London may herald the end for the PFI healthcare experiment in the UK

Gene variation may play fundamental role in the development and spread of cancer in the body

RPL26 and nucleolin play critical roles in controlling the production of p53

Tissue engineering used to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs

Day surgery rates continue to rise - still room for improvement

Particular versions of the TGFb1 gene are largely responsible for how badly the illness affects patients' lungs

Cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells

Study looks at childrens end-of-life care preferences

Many people continue to smoke after life threatening event

PACs should not be used routinely in patients in intensive care units with severe heart failure

Study shows hospitals can streamline procedures to reduce the time they take to treat heart attack patients

Specific guidelines for treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Hospitalized patients with severe congestive heart failure did not experience a benefit from use of pulmonary artery catheterization

Half of childhood asthma hospitalizations could be prevented with improved parent-physician communication

Evaluation of the efficacy of buprenorphine hydrochloride and clonidine hydrochloride, in detoxification of opioid-dependent teenagers

Study paves the way for new therapeutic targets which can potentially improve heart disease in patients with end-stage kidney failure

Gleevec's uses might expand even further

Chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea

Important developmental link between the cerebrum and the cerebellum

Doctors should encourage teens to limit their intake of food prepared away from home and to eat family dinners together

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News