Medicine News and Research

RSS

Blood transfusions based on single low hematocrit measurement questioned

A comparison study of nearly 1,900 patients published in Perfusion, a peer-reviewed academic journal, questions the long-standing practice of basing blood transfusion decisions on a single low hematocrit measurement result. In the study, titled Is it the Patient or the Physician who Cannot Tolerate Anemia?, researchers showed that a single measure of hematocrit is not a reliable indicator of transfusion need and that lower-than-normal hemoglobin levels have no adverse impact on patients.

19 Feb 2010

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

19 Feb 2010

Mechanosensitive ion channels play a key role in pain sensation

Humans and animals are able to perceive even the slightest vibration and touch of the skin. Mechanosensitive ion channels play a crucial role in the mediation of these sensations. Ion channels are pores in the cell membrane which are highly responsive to external signals.

19 Feb 2010

Training birth attendants in essential newborn-care techniques reduce stillbirths by 30%: Study

New findings in a study led by the director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Neonatology show that that training birth attendants in essential newborn-care techniques reduced stillbirths by more than 30 percent - and potentially could save as many as 1 million lives worldwide each year.

19 Feb 2010

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists develop genome-based blood tests for cancer

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have used data from the whole genome sequencing of cancer patients to develop individualized blood tests they believe can help physicians tailor patients' treatments. The genome-based blood tests, believed to be the first of their kind, may be used to monitor tumor levels after therapy and determine cancer recurrence.

19 Feb 2010

Standard checklist for home palliative sedation

Can patients near death safely receive sedation at home, fully respecting their own and their families' wishes? This practice, which is on the rise, is coming under increasing scrutiny and debate by palliative care researchers and practitioners.

19 Feb 2010

Study finds nearly a quarter of prescriptions go unfilled

Many people whose doctors start them on medications for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure may never fill those prescriptions, a new study suggests. Researchers found that among more than 75,000 Massachusetts patients given drug prescriptions over one year, 22 percent of the prescriptions were never filled.

19 Feb 2010

BHRT for treatment of SAD in women

Patients Medical, a leading integrative and holistic medicine center in New York City, offers cutting-edge Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) to help women transition from winter to spring when hormonal modulations are especially high. Rashmi Gulati, MD, Medical Director of Patients Medical and a trained holistic physician with the American College for Advancement of Medicine, helps women gain relief from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) through individualized bioidentical hormone treatments.

19 Feb 2010

Socioeconomic status can affect life expectancy, says VCU researcher

People who live in areas with lower household incomes are much more likely to die because of their personal and household characteristics and their community surroundings, according to Steven H. Woolf, M.D., M.P.H., director of the VCU Center on Human Needs, professor in the Department of Family Medicine and lead author of the study.

19 Feb 2010

U.S. Patent and Trademark office issues Patent on Positron’s Tech-Assist

Positron Corporation a molecular imaging solutions company focused on Nuclear Cardiology, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark office has allowed for issuance a Patent on Positron’s Tech-Assist™. The Tech-Assist™, invented under the direction of John A. Zehner, a nuclear pharmacist, dramatically reduces exposure to the worker while injecting radiopharmaceuticals into patients when performing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging studies.

19 Feb 2010

Unusual compounds in pitcher plant could prove effective against human fungal infections

The moment insects like flies, ants and beetles fall into a pitcher, the plant's enzymes are activated and begin dissolving their new meal, obtaining nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen which are difficult to extract from certain soils.

19 Feb 2010

Researchers find gene mutations that may provide clues for treating AML patients

Although leukemia is one of the best studied cancers, the cause of some types is still poorly understood. Now, a newly found mutation in acute myeloid leukemia patients could account for half of the remaining cases of adult acute leukemia with an unknown origin.

19 Feb 2010

Poor prescription practices among doctors may increase antibiotic resistance

A new paper in the February 17th edition of the journal Molecular Cell describes how exposure to low levels of antibiotics increases mutations in E. coli and Staphylococcus bacteria hundreds of times more than normal, making the creation of drug-resistant strains more likely.

19 Feb 2010

FDA's proposed label changes for LABA asthma medications: GSK reviews

GlaxoSmithKline is reviewing label changes proposed today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for asthma medications containing long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs), such as GSK's Advair (salmeterol / fluticasone propionate). GSK and makers of the other affected medicines containing LABAs have 30 days to agree with the proposed changes or state why they are not warranted.

19 Feb 2010

University of Missouri to offer health literacy courses for health professionals

The cost of low health literacy - the difference between patients' abilities to understand health information and providers' abilities to effectively communicate complex medical information - is $106 billion to $238 billion annually, according to Pfizer, a leading biopharmaceutical company. To improve the health literacy of professionals and patients, the University of Missouri will offer a health literacy study emphasis beginning this fall.

19 Feb 2010

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute awarded $11.5M NIH grant for research into methods of targeting cancer stem cells

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute was awarded an $11.5 million Center Grant by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) today to study the best way to attack deadly cancer stem cells to enhance treatments for breast cancer. Other members of the team include Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

19 Feb 2010

Dartmouth Atlas analyses of hospital spending called 'flawed'

The New York Times reports that certain hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, are lauded "for delivering high-quality care at low costs" based on "a widely cited analysis called the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care."

18 Feb 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

The epic of health care evolution is complex and is worth reviewing over the last five decades. Having practiced medicine in the same community in Southeast Missouri for more than 30 years, I have seen changes in health care beyond the scope of imagination (Dr. S.D. Madduri, 2/18).

18 Feb 2010

Epeius Biotechnologies completes construction of VPU to manufacture targeted genetic medicines

Epeius Biotechnologies (www.epeiusbiotech.com) announces the completion of the design engineering and construction phase of a state-of-the-art Vector Production Unit (VPU) for the commercial manufacturing of its advanced targeted genetic medicines. In accordance with an FDA Critical Path initiative, which encourages innovation and the implementation of new technological advances in GMP, CMC, aseptic processing, and quality control, the Epeius VPU is poised to launch the large-scale production of targeted genetic medicine into the 21st century.

18 Feb 2010

Johns Hopkins Medicine acquires Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography for radiotracer research

Johns Hopkins Medicine has become the latest academic medical center to acquire the Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) scanner. The device will be utilized by Richard Wahl, M.D., F.A.C.R, Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in pre-clinical and translational research for the development of novel radiotracers.

18 Feb 2010

Medicine News and Research

Blood transfusions based on single low hematocrit measurement questioned

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Mechanosensitive ion channels play a key role in pain sensation

Training birth attendants in essential newborn-care techniques reduce stillbirths by 30%: Study

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists develop genome-based blood tests for cancer

Standard checklist for home palliative sedation

Study finds nearly a quarter of prescriptions go unfilled

BHRT for treatment of SAD in women

Socioeconomic status can affect life expectancy, says VCU researcher

U.S. Patent and Trademark office issues Patent on Positron’s Tech-Assist

Unusual compounds in pitcher plant could prove effective against human fungal infections

Researchers find gene mutations that may provide clues for treating AML patients

Poor prescription practices among doctors may increase antibiotic resistance

FDA's proposed label changes for LABA asthma medications: GSK reviews

University of Missouri to offer health literacy courses for health professionals

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute awarded $11.5M NIH grant for research into methods of targeting cancer stem cells

Dartmouth Atlas analyses of hospital spending called 'flawed'

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Epeius Biotechnologies completes construction of VPU to manufacture targeted genetic medicines

Johns Hopkins Medicine acquires Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography for radiotracer research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News