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HbA1c equally useful across ethnic groups

Currently recommended clinical cutoff points for diabetes diagnosis using glycated hemoglobin should be interpreted similarly in Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, show findings from a US study.

25 Oct 2012

Sialendoscopy proves its worth in children

Sialendoscopy is a safe and effective technique for use in pediatric patients with salivary gland disorders including juvenile recurrent parotitis, which is the most common disorder in this population, say US researchers.

25 Oct 2012

Study confirms Elf5 protein as tumor suppressor of breast cancer

A protein that is necessary for lactation in mammals inhibits the critical cellular transition that is an early indicator of breast cancer and metastasis, according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo and Princeton University and highlighted as the cover paper in November issue of Nature Cell Biology.

25 Oct 2012

NIH conference to assess GDM screening and diagnostic approaches

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition in which women without previously diagnosed diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy (especially during the third trimester of pregnancy). It is defined as carbohydrate intolerance, which is the inability of the body to adequately process carbohydrates (sugars and starches) into energy for the body, that develops or is first recognized during pregnancy.

25 Oct 2012

Scientists develop new breast cancer screening method with less radiation

Scientists have developed a way to produce three-dimensional X-ray images of the breast at a radiation dose that is lower than the 2D radiography methods used in clinics today. The new method enables the production of 3D diagnostic computed tomography (CT) images with a spatial resolution 2-3 times higher than present hospital scanners, but with a radiation dose that is about 25 times lower.

25 Oct 2012

New method of testing for West Nile virus

While the United States has largely been spared the scourge of mosquito-borne diseases endemic to the developing world-including yellow fever, malaria and dengue fever-mosquito-related illnesses in the US are on the rise. One pathogen of increasing concern in the U.S. is an arbovirus known as West Nile.

24 Oct 2012

Rapid and point-of-care tests accurate, convenient for hepatitis C screening

Rapid and point-of-care screening tests for hepatitis C have a high accuracy and quick turnaround time, suggest results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

24 Oct 2012

Austrian researchers receive $7.4 million award to verify new breast cancer pathways

The innovator's award recognises Josef Penninger's work in identifying a key molecular pathway how hormone replacement therapies and contraceptive pills can lead to breast cancer. His team provided the first genetic proof that a protein called RANKL is the master regulator of bone loss, which has contributed to the development of a novel drug already approved for the treatment of osteoporosis and skeletal related events in multiple cancers.

23 Oct 2012

Advances in endoscopic technologies and techniques to be highlighted at ACG annual meeting

Advances in endoscopic technologies and techniques will be highlighted in clinical research presented at the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas, NV.

23 Oct 2012

Link between marijuana use and cannabinoid hyperemesis

Marijuana use-both natural and synthetic-may cause cannabinoid hyperemesis (CH) a little-known but costly effect that researchers suggest is a serious burden to the health care system as it often leads to expensive diagnostic tests and ineffective treatments in an effort to find the cause of a patient's symptoms and provide relief, according to two separate case reports unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas.

23 Oct 2012

Possible overlap exists between inflammatory bowel disease and IBS

Research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas suggests a possible overlap of symptoms of two prevalent GI disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and further suggests a possible link between subtle GI tract inflammation and IBS symptoms-a link that is also the focus of the first systemic review of the literature on this topic and an editorial both published in this month's American Journal of Gastroenterology.

23 Oct 2012

Methylation provides clues to gastric cancer subtypes

Research published in Science Translational Medicine shows that many gastric cancers are associated with significant epigenetic alterations along the DNA triggered by methylation.

22 Oct 2012

Potential biomarker diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia

Collaborators at Cottage Health System and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have identified biomarkers that may yield a revolutionary diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia, a complex and potentially life-threatening hypertensive condition affecting 5% of pregnancies worldwide.

22 Oct 2012

Lantheus Medical Imaging extends contract to supply molybdenum-99 to Nordion

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a global leader in developing, manufacturing and distributing innovative diagnostic imaging agents, today announced that it has extended its contract with Nordion to supply molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) for use in its TechneLite (Technetium Tc 99m Generator) generators. Mo-99 is the parent isotope of technetium-99m (Tc-99m), the medical radioisotope most widely used in nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging tests.

22 Oct 2012

New approach to prevention of breast cancer wins $7.4M award

A new approach to possible future prevention of breast cancer and slowing the spread of tumours has won Austrian researcher Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) in Vienna, a $7.4 million innovator's award to continue his research, from the USA's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.

22 Oct 2012

Ultrasound superior to mammography in evaluating women with breast cancer symptoms

The largest analysis to date comparing ultrasound and mammography to evaluate women ages 30 to 39 with symptoms of possible breast cancer concludes that ultrasound is a superior diagnostic tool and that U.S. clinical practice guidelines, which currently recommend mammography as the first evaluation in these women, should be reconsidered.

22 Oct 2012

Microgravity and prolonged space flight could give unique advantages to germs

The cabin of a spacecraft halfway to Mars would be the least convenient place -- one cannot say "on earth" -- for a Salmonella or Pneumococcus outbreak, but a wide-ranging new paper suggests that microgravity and prolonged space flight could give unique advantages to germs.

22 Oct 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Thursday published Issue 199 of its "Global Fund Observer."

20 Oct 2012

Study shows few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in hospital emergency department

Few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in the hospital emergency department, even when they complain of lower abdominal pain, or before they are exposed to radiation for tests or examinations, according to an abstract presented Friday, Oct. 19, at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

20 Oct 2012

Scientists build first atlas of white-matter microstructure in human brain

A European team of scientists have built the first atlas of white-matter microstructure in the human brain. The project's final results have the potential to change the face of neuroscience and medicine over the coming decade.

20 Oct 2012