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Mothers' high normal blood sugar levels place infants at risk for birth problems

Pregnant women with blood sugar levels in the higher range of normal - but not high enough to be considered diabetes - are more likely than women with lower blood sugar levels to give birth to babies at risk for many of the same problems seen in babies born to women with diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study funded in large part by the National Institutes of Health.

8 May 2008

Vitamin D linked to reduced mortality rate in chronic kidney disease

For patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease (CKD), treatment with activated vitamin D may reduce the risk of death by approximately one-fourth, suggests a study in the August Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

7 May 2008

Medical research is essential to improving the economy and bettering lives

Health care in the United States is expensive, but its funding is crucial because it also is a major contributor to the economy and can better lives, according to an essay appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because of the cost of health care, this is not time to shrink the budget at the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research that leads to potentially curative therapy.

7 May 2008

Erythropoietin gene linked to severe diabetic eye, kidney diseases

Researchers at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and collaborative institutions have identified a gene called erythropoietin (EPO) that contributes to increased risk of severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases, called retinopathy and nephropathy.

6 May 2008

Ibuprofen found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's

A large study by scientists in the U.S. has revealed that the long-term use of ibuprofen may reduce the risk of a person developing Alzheimer's disease.

6 May 2008

Forty-one percent of registered nurses find generics are less effective than name brand drugs say American Society of Registered Nurses

In a national online survey conducted by the American Society of Registered Nurses, 41% of the 781 Registered Nurses surveyed on April 28 reported that generic drugs are less effective than their equivalent brand-name counterparts.

5 May 2008

Simple, inexpensive telemedicine system

After launching a communications revolution, cell phones are talking up a potentially life-saving new role in telemedicine - the use of telecommunications technology to provide medical diagnosis and patient care when doctors and patients are hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

5 May 2008

Kidney disease substantially worsens in a fourth of African Americans despite therapy for hypertension

The best available treatment for chronic kidney disease from high blood pressure did not keep the disease from substantially worsening in about a fourth of African-Americans studied, according to long-term results of a National Institutes of Health study published April 28, 2008, in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

5 May 2008

Expert says solve kidney donor crisis by paying for organs

A senior medical specialist has caused controversy over his comments regarding organ donations.

5 May 2008

Breakthrough compound could lead to new class of antihypertensive drugs

University of Florida researchers have identified a drug compound that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and - in a remarkable finding - prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension

1 May 2008

Novel automated anesthetic technique

Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have performed the world's first totally automated administration of an anesthetic. Nicknamed "McSleepy," the new system developed by the researchers administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their separate effects completely automatically, with no manual intervention.

1 May 2008

Obesity and heart failure risk

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the body's blood-pumping organ.

1 May 2008

Intensive training for medical staff in Latin American hospitals reduces serious complication of pregnancy

An intensive educational program for physicians and midwives involving 19 hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay dramatically reduced the rate of postpartum hemorrhage, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

1 May 2008

TV injury coverage lacking, study finds

Nearly every night, on nearly every TV station in the country, the local newscast features news of the day's car crashes, fires and other injury-causing events.

1 May 2008

High blood pressure still sneaking past doctors, Stanford study shows

Despite the well-known dangers of high blood pressure, major shortfalls still exist in the screening, treatment and control of the disease even when patients are getting a doctor's care, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

1 May 2008

Scientists discover the double life of proteins

Scientists at The Australian National University are a step closer to understanding the rare Hartnup disorder after discovering a surprising link between blood pressure regulation and nutrition that could also help to shed light on intestinal and kidney function.

30 Apr 2008

Mothers and offspring can share cells throughout life - with positive and negative effects

Cutting the umbilical cord doesn't necessarily sever the physical link between mother and child. Many cells pass back and forth between the mother and fetus during pregnancy and can be detected in the tissues and organs of both even decades later. This mixing of cells from two genetically distinct individuals is called microchimerism. The phenomenon is the focus of an increasing number of scientists who wonder what role these cells play in the body.

30 Apr 2008

Ranibizumab therapy for diabetic eye disease shows promise

A JDRF collaboration between Johns Hopkins researchers and Genentech has shown that a drug for the treatment of diabetic eye disease has performed better in clinical trials than the current standard treatment using laser surgery.

29 Apr 2008

Abmormal behaviour of osteoglycin gene linked to heart and kidney problems

A gene that can cause the heart to become enlarged, greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, is identified today in a new study.

28 Apr 2008

UCLA study identifies factors leading to hospital admission for heart failure

Nearly two out of three patients have one or more precipitating factors that may contribute to hospital admissions nationwide for heart failure, according to a new UCLA study. Pneumonia, irregular heart beats, and obstructed blood flow to the heart are the most frequent factors.

28 Apr 2008