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Ingrown toenails the most common problem that results from high heels

High heels can cause a number of foot problems, yet most women aren't willing to give their shoes the boot, according to podiatrists at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). Ingrown toenails are among the most common problems that result from high heels. This condition, also known as onychocryptosis, occurs when the toes compress together making the big toenails grow into the skin.

27 Feb 2012

Study finds genetic variants that elevate risk for skin lesions in people exposed to arsenic

One of the first large-scale genomic studies conducted in a developing country has discovered genetic variants that elevate the risk for skin lesions in people chronically exposed to arsenic. Genetic changes found near the enzyme for metabolizing the chemical into a less toxic form can significantly increase an individual's risk for developing arsenic-related disease.

26 Feb 2012

New technique effective in jumpstarting defective immune systems against many diseases

In a study published in Nature Medicine, Loyola researchers report on a promising new technique that potentially could turn immune system killer T cells into more effective weapons against infections and possibly cancer.

26 Feb 2012

Skin cancer drug may prolong survival in advanced cases: Study

Researchers say 132 patients in the U.S. and Australia who were given the drug vemurafenib gained several extra months of life. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that those on the drug lived an average of 16 months, compared with nine months on conventional treatment.

26 Feb 2012

Governor of Illinois urges Medicaid cuts

Pat Quinn, the Democratic governor, underscored the need for cuts to Medicaid and the state worker pension system, but some critics said his proposals did not offer enough specifics about how to reduce the state's underfinanced liabilities.

24 Feb 2012

NYU Langone HJD first in the Metro NY area to launch J-tip needle-free anesthetic system

NYU Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases' Center for Children, part of the new Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, is the first pediatric hospital in the Metropolitan New York area to introduce the J-tip needle-free anesthetic system.

24 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 23, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of the health policy flashpoints during last night's GOP presidential primary debate.

23 Feb 2012

Real beauty and self-esteem begins from within, not from makeup

The Renfrew Center Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to advancing the education, prevention, research and treatment of eating disorders, today announced survey results which revealed that nearly half of all women have negative feelings about their image when not wearing makeup and associate a "bare face" with feeling unattractive and insecure.

23 Feb 2012

U-M Cardiovascular Center now offers Edwards aortic valve replacement

As the population ages, more Americans will be susceptible to aortic stenosis, but not all patients can tolerate surgery to treat it. Select U.S. hospitals are now performing minimally invasive procedures called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, to replace a patient's diseased aortic valve without heart bypass or open heart surgery.

From Medtronic 23 Feb 2012

Pediatricians should screen all children for vitamin D deficiency

As study after study shows the fundamental role vitamin D plays in disease and health, vitamin D deficiency — which often develops insidiously in childhood — should be on every parent's and pediatrician's radar, say physicians from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

23 Feb 2012

Vemurafenib nearly doubles survival for patients with metastatic melanoma

Investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) and 12 other centers in the United States and Australia have found that a new drug for patients with metastatic melanoma nearly doubled median overall survival.

23 Feb 2012

Insight into relationship between two types of suppressors in cancerous tumors

The University of Kentucky has announced that Dr. Daret St. Clair, the James Graham Brown Endowed Chair and professor of toxicology, has published the first comprehensive study that provides insight into the relationship between two types of suppressors in cancerous tumors. The results will enhance the understanding of transcriptional mechanisms in carcinogenesis.

23 Feb 2012

Candida albicans can sense immune status of host cells and evade them

Glen Palmer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, was part of an international research team led by Luigina Romani, MD, at the University of Perugia, that discovered opportunistic fungi like Candida albicans can sense the immune status of host cells and adapt, evading immune system defenses.

23 Feb 2012

IDRI launches LEISH-F3 + GLA-SE Phase 1 trial for kala-azar

The first clinical trial of a new vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been launched by the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based nonprofit that develops products to prevent, detect, and treat diseases of poverty. The Phase 1 trial is taking place in Washington State, with a companion Phase 1 trial planned in India, an epicenter of the disease.

23 Feb 2012

Chemists build light-controlled neural inhibitor

The notion of a pain switch is an alluring idea, but is it realistic? Well, chemists at LMU Munich, in collaboration with colleagues in Berkeley and Bordeaux, have now shown in laboratory experiments that it is possible to inhibit the activity of pain-sensitive neurons using an agent that acts as a photosensitive switch. For the LMU researchers, the method primarily represents a valuable tool for probing the neurobiology of pain.

23 Feb 2012

UMMS' iHeal project uses emerging technologies to detect drug cravings and intervene

Clinical researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) are combining an innovative constellation of technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphone programming, biosensors and wireless connectivity to develop a device designed to detect physiological stressors associated with drug cravings and respond with user-tailored behavioral interventions that prevent substance use.

22 Feb 2012

Key regulator of lens development also controls mechanosensory neuron development

A gene known to control lens development in mice and humans is also crucial for the development of neurons responsible for mechanosensory function, as neurobiologists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now discovered.

22 Feb 2012

DRG cells may hold potential for nerve transplants

The carnage evident in disasters like car wrecks or wartime battles is oftentimes mirrored within the bodies of the people involved. A severe wound can leave blood vessels and nerves severed, bones broken, and cellular wreckage strewn throughout the body - a debris field within the body itself.

22 Feb 2012

Birmingham dermatologist first to offer anti-cellulite Cellulaze procedure

Dr. Barry Ginsburg, a Birmingham, AL based Dermatologist today announced his practice is the first in the state to offer the Cellulaze by Cynosure, the world's first and only minimally invasive medical device designed to treat women who have struggled to eliminate cellulite through diet and exercise, or have tried the myriad of lotions and creams currently on the market.

20 Feb 2012

Researchers discover class of proteins that detect 'painful touch'

In two landmark papers in the journal Nature this week, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report that they have identified a class of proteins that detect "painful touch."

19 Feb 2012