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Firefly stem cells may help doctors to heal damaged hearts: Research

Stem cells that glow like fireflies could someday help doctors heal damaged hearts without cutting into patients' chests.In his University of Central Florida lab, Steven Ebert engineered stem cells with the same enzyme that makes fireflies glow. The "firefly" stem cells glow brighter and brighter as they develop into healthy heart muscle, allowing doctors to track whether and where the stem cells are working.

29 Sep 2010

c-Met could be a potential personalized target for metastatic HCC

Targeting c-Met may be a promising personalized treatment method for approximately 45 percent of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have c-Met-positive tumors, according to study results presented at the Fourth AACR International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

29 Sep 2010

National survey shows 60% of U.S. adults not familiar with sepsis

Sixty percent of U.S. adults are not familiar with sepsis, despite the fact that more than 200,000 Americans die from it every year, making sepsis one of the leading causes of death in the nation. Lack of awareness is even higher among adults over age 65, who are at greater risk of sepsis, according to a new national survey sponsored by The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, NY, part of the North Shore–LIJ Health System.

28 Sep 2010

Study finds that 90% of EDs nationwide also offer preventive-care services

People go to emergency departments when they've broken a leg, been stabbed or otherwise need urgent care. But a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine finds that 90 percent of EDs nationwide also offer preventive-care services.

28 Sep 2010

LSU receives NIH grant to strengthen biomedical research infrastructure

LSU has received a $15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, or INBRE, program. The grant is centered in the School of Veterinary Medicine, or SVM, and the Department of Biological Science in the LSU College of Science. The purpose of this five-year grant is to strengthen the biomedical research infrastructure and work force within Louisiana.

28 Sep 2010

Portable humidifiers may reduce airborne influenza virus: Study

A new scientific study published in the open access, peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health indicates that the use of portable humidifiers in the home may reduce the survival of airborne influenza virus by controlling humidity indoors.

28 Sep 2010

Optogenetics helps to restore optimal movement in people with physical disabilities

Researchers at Stanford University were able to use light to induce normal patterns of muscle contraction, in a study involving bioengineered mice whose nerve-cell surfaces are coated with special light-sensitive proteins.

28 Sep 2010

Routine, short bouts of exercise can increase fitness levels

Trying to get fit but can't work it into your daily schedule? Incorporating even relatively short bouts of exercise into a daily commute appears to deliver significant rewards, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

28 Sep 2010

Children with food allergies experience bullying: Study

In the first ever study to assess the social impact of food allergies in children, Mount Sinai researchers have found that approximately 35 percent of children with food allergies, who are over the age of five, were reported to have experienced bullying, teasing, or harassment as a result of their allergies.

28 Sep 2010

Study indicates majority of children suffering from chronic headache may outgrow the condition

Most children who suffer from chronic daily headache may outgrow the disabling condition, according to research published in the July 15, 2009, online issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Sep 2010

VENT Study highlights endobronchial approaches to emphysema treatment

Pulmonx, an emerging leader in interventional pulmonology, announced today that the New England Journal of Medicine has published the results of the largest prospective, randomized, controlled study completed to date of endobronchial approaches to emphysema treatment, the VENT Study (Endobronchial Valve for Emphysema PalliatioN Trial).

28 Sep 2010

Tel Aviv researchers develop innovative software to analyze and manipulate diseased cells

About ten years ago, the discovery of microRNAs ― tiny cellular molecules that regulate our genetic code ― unlocked a world of scientific possibilities, including a deeper understanding of human disease. One new analytical technology is "deep sequencing," which gives scientists the ability to discover invaluable information about human diseases at a genetic level.

28 Sep 2010

No evidence sometimes needed to adopt new treatments; to give them up is another story

During the past decade, the New England Journal of Medicine twice published studies showing that in comparisons arthroscopic surgery and nothing were equally effective treatments for knee pain, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

28 Sep 2010

Scientific data, evidence reject vertebroplasty procedure

As a patient safety best practice and endorsement of evidence-based medicine, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board of Directors approved and released a clinical practice guideline, which found a strong recommendation against a popular procedure called vertebroplasty as a way to treat fractures in the spine. Clinical practice guidelines are one avenue the Academy uses to ensure that patients receive high quality care.

28 Sep 2010

Family members, friends are more sensitive to early signs of Alzheimer's dementia: Researchers

Family members and close friends are more sensitive to early signs of Alzheimer's dementia than traditional screening tests, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

28 Sep 2010

Many health plans offer only limited coverage - if at all - for alternative therapies

"Most individuals with private insurance have little, if any, coverage for alternative medicine." People with "employer-based insurance often have some coverage," but it is typically limited to only certain treatments "and comes with more stipulations — like higher deductibles and preauthorization — than traditional care.

28 Sep 2010

As they consolidate, hospitals get pricier

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports From their base in Baltimore, leaders of Johns Hopkins Medicine can see the future and it's at the hospital down the road.

28 Sep 2010

Onconova Therapeutics to present Ex-RAD radioprotectant data at RRS Annual Meeting

Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. is presenting new data in five posters and an oral presentation this week summarizing several studies with the company's radioprotectant Ex-RAD- at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society (RRS), September 25-29 in Maui, Hawaii.

28 Sep 2010

Scientists identify gene associated with common migraines

An international study led by scientists at Universit- de Montr-al and University of Oxford, has identified a gene associated with common migraines. Their findings show that a mutation in the KCNK18 gene inhibits the function of a protein called TRESK. TRESK normally plays a key role in nerve cell communication. Published today in Nature Medicine, this study may have implications for people who suffer from recurrent headaches, which include more than six million Canadians.

28 Sep 2010

C-CCNE receives grant to improve cancer treatment using nanotechnology

The National Cancer Institute has awarded a five-year, $13.6 million grant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (C-CCNE) based at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, for research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer through applying/using advances in nanotechnology.

28 Sep 2010