C section News and Research

RSS

Attenuated psychosis syndrome shows clinical significance

The community prevalence of attenuated psychosis syndrome is sufficient to make it a valid addition to the DSM-5, but only with revisions to the current criteria, findings from the BEAR Study show.

9 Jan 2014

Gastric bypass and cardiovascular disease risk: an interview with Dr. Brethauer, Cleveland Clinic

Gastric bypass surgery is a type of bariatric operation that results in weight loss and stimulates metabolic effects that treat diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.

9 Jan 2014

Trevena doses first patient in TRV027 Phase 2b trial for acute heart failure

Trevena, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of G-protein coupled receptor biased ligands, announced today initiation of dosing in BLAST-AHF, the Company's randomized, multi-center Phase 2b trial of TRV027 in patients with acute heart failure.

9 Jan 2014

Quality of life considerations are key when patients consider bariatric surgery

While weight loss surgery offers one of the best opportunities to improve health and reduce obesity related illnesses, the nearly 100,000 Americans who undergo bariatric surgery each year represent only a small fraction of people who are medically eligible for the procedure. Among those who have surgery, Caucasian Americans are twice as likely as African Americans to have weight loss surgery. On the surface, the data appear to signal racial disparity, but when researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center dug deeper to ask why this variation exists, the answer was more complicated.

7 Jan 2014

Reading can boost brain function, finds neuroscience research

Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers at Emory University have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel.

5 Jan 2014

Fear of childbirth puts women at higher risk of postpartum depression

Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression.

3 Jan 2014

Obesity is an expensive problem, says bariatric surgeon

As a preeminent expert in the field of obesity surgery, board-certified bariatric surgeon Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S, has personally seen the physical, emotional and financial toll that obesity takes on his patients.

31 Dec 2013

Binge drinking during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome

Recent data shows that more than 500,000 women in the U.S. report drinking during pregnancy, with about 20 percent of this population admitting to binge drinking.

31 Dec 2013

GRADE study evaluates four new medications for Type 2 diabetes

The GRADE study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a special visitor in November. Red suit. Black boots. White beard. Belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly. A V.I.E. (Very Important Elf) visited this national clinical trial for Type 2 diabetes.

31 Dec 2013

Penn researchers receive PCORI awards to develop, expand health data network for patients, researchers

Two teams led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been approved for funding awards by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

31 Dec 2013

Keeping teeth and gums healthy through interactive games

Learning about oral health can be informative and fun at the same time. The Pennsylvania Dental Association's (PDA) website features a section specifically designed for kids, and we encourage you to check it out. The Kids' Corner, www.padental.org/kidscorner, is an excellent resource for children of all ages and features the lovable Topher Tooth. It includes interactive games and activities, information on brushing and flossing, answers to frequently asked questions, nutritional information and more.

28 Dec 2013

Ancient Peru healers drilled holes in the cranium for treatment

Cranial surgery is tricky business, even under 21st-century conditions (think aseptic environment, specialized surgical instruments and copious amounts of pain medication both during and afterward).

28 Dec 2013

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent delays neuropathy progression, preserves quality of life

Among patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy, a lethal, genetic neurodegenerative disease, use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent diflunisal compared with placebo for 2 years reduced the rate of progression in neurological impairment and preserved quality of life, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

27 Dec 2013

Robert Wood Johnson Partners selected as new Accountable Care Organization

Robert Wood Johnson Partners has been selected as one of 123 new Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Medicare, providing approximately 1.5 million more Medicare beneficiaries with access to high-quality, coordinated care across the United States, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

27 Dec 2013

Transplanting self-donated Schwann cells aids hind limb functional recovery

A study carried out at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for "The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis" has found that transplanting self-donated Schwann cells (SCs, the principal ensheathing cells of the nervous system) that are elongated so as to bridge scar tissue in the injured spinal cord, aids hind limb functional recovery in rats modeled with spinal cord injury.

24 Dec 2013

Researchers report new gene delivery method that targets tumor blood vessels

Working in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report developing a gene delivery method long sought in the field of gene therapy: a deactivated virus carrying a gene of interest that can be injected into the bloodstream and make its way to the right cells.

24 Dec 2013

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition beneficial to cardiac regeneration

Cell-based therapies have been shown to enhance cardiac regeneration, but autologous (patient self-donated) cells have produced only "modest results." In an effort to improve myocardial regeneration through cell transplantation, a research team from Germany has taken epithelial cells from placenta (amniotic epithelial cells, or AECs) and converted them into mesenchymal cells. After transplanting the transitioned cells into mice modelling a myocardial infarction, the researchers found that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition was beneficial to cardiac regeneration by lowering infarct size.

24 Dec 2013

Research findings reveal how immune system responds to respiratory viral infections

An antibody that blocks a component of a key signaling pathway in the respiratory airways could help the immune system rid the body of the influenza virus, a new study suggests. The findings, from a team at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, not only offer a new approach to treating the flu, but also add new information about how the immune system responds to respiratory viral infections.

24 Dec 2013

Texas Children's Hospital recognized as first Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in Texas

Texas Children's Hospital is proud to be named the first Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in Texas by The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium. The Colloquium made the announcement following nearly a year of work and an in-depth onsite review on Dec. 16.

21 Dec 2013

Coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies more helpful in tackling addiction

Using a computational model of addiction, a literature review and an in silico experiment, theoretical computer scientist Yariv Levy and colleagues suggest in a new paper this week that rehabilitation strategies coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies are more helpful than drug-plus-talk therapy alone when helping people overcome addiction.

20 Dec 2013