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Israeli researchers establish novel optogenetic method for cardiac pacing and resynchronization

Israeli researchers have successfully established a new approach for pacing the heart and synchronizing its mechanical activity without the use of a conventional electrical pacemaker. This novel biologic strategy employs light-sensitive genes that can be injected into the heart and then activated by flashes of blue light.

23 Jun 2015

Roche unveils series of new diagnostic technologies at EuroMedLab

Today at the 21st annual meeting of the IFCC-EFLM European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicines in Paris, France, Roche unveiled a series of new diagnostic technologies.

23 Jun 2015

Clonazepam study supports European practice in status epilepticus

A study comparing outcomes among patients treated with first-line lorazepam, midazolam or clonazepam for status epilepticus finds that the three drugs are broadly equivalent.

22 Jun 2015

Readmission to same hospital for post-surgical complications improves survival

Patients rehospitalized with complications after major surgery are 26% more likely to survive if they return to the hospital where they had their operation compared to those readmitted to a different hospital, according to a national study involving over 9 million Medicare patients in the USA, published in The Lancet.

22 Jun 2015

Warming climate trend leads to smaller reductions in cold-related deaths

A study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health debunks the assumption that global warming will lead to a decline in the number of deaths in winter. Findings by Professor Patrick Kinney, ScD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences and director of the School's Climate and Health Program, showed that a warming climate trend led to much smaller reductions in cold-related mortality than some experts have anticipated.

19 Jun 2015

Australian researchers launch global search to discover antibiotics against superbug bacteria

Australian researchers from The University of Queensland have launched a global search to discover antibiotics capable of combating superbug bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics.

19 Jun 2015

Study shows 28% decline in prostate cancer diagnoses following USPSTF recommendation against PSA testing

A new study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators found new diagnoses of prostate cancer in the U.S. declined 28 percent in the year following the draft recommendation from the United States Preventive Services Task Force against routine PSA screening for men.

19 Jun 2015

Many people with type 2 diabetes also suffer from hypoglycaemia

Researchers from the University of Leicester and Leicester's Hospitals have discovered that many people suffering from type 2 diabetes also suffer from low blood sugar levels that can pose a significant risk to their health.

18 Jun 2015

Value of Colorectal Cancer therapeutics market expected to increase $9.4 billion by 2020

Analysis from business intelligence provider GBI Research - Colorectal Cancer Therapeutics in Major Developed Markets to 2020 - states that the Colorectal Cancer (CRC) treatment market value will increase at a moderate Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 1.8%, from $8.3 billion in 2013 to $9.4 billion by 2020.

18 Jun 2015

Autoantibodies play major role in IPF patients with acute exacerbations

Patients with acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis responded well to therapies similar to those used to treat autoimmune diseases, according to findings published today in PLOS ONE. The study suggests that autoantibodies — implicated in many autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus — also play an important role in patients with acute exacerbations of IPF, a devastating lung disease.

18 Jun 2015

Unsafe prescribing increases risk of life threatening asthma attacks

Last year’s National Review of Asthma Deaths highlighted prescribing errors in nearly half of asthma deaths in primary care (47%). Now new analysis from Asthma UK, based on data from over 500 UK GP practices, reveals evidence that over 22,000 people with asthma in the UK, including 2,000 children, have been prescribed medicines (long-acting reliever inhalers) in a way that is so unsafe they have a ‘black box warning’ in the USA due to the risk they pose to the lives of people with asthma.

18 Jun 2015

PAH diagnosis delayed for adult congenital heart disease patients

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is often not diagnosed in adult patients with congenital heart disease until 6 years or more after their symptoms first appear, research shows.

17 Jun 2015

JAMA: Extremely preterm infants enrolled in randomized clinical trials experience neither better nor worse outcomes

In a group of more than 5,000 extremely preterm infants, important in-hospital outcomes were neither better nor worse in infants enrolled in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) compared with eligible but nonenrolled infants, findings that may provide reassurance regarding concerns about performing RCTs in this vulnerable population, according to a study in the June 16 issue of JAMA.

17 Jun 2015

Completing sepsis resuscitation bundle in six hours after diagnosis

Blood poisoning, known as sepsis, is the most common cause of death in intensive care units, according to the National Institutes of Health. The body's immune response to fight the infection triggers inflammation that restricts blood flow and leads to multiple organ failure.

17 Jun 2015

Earthquake-ravaged Nepal faces 'very high' risk of hepatitis E outbreak

During the coming monsoon season, survivors of the recent earthquake that destroyed parts of Nepal face a "very high" risk of a hepatitis E outbreak that could be especially deadly to pregnant women, according to a consensus statement from a group of infectious disease experts from around the world.

17 Jun 2015

WSU researchers receive U.S. patent for new anesthesia monitoring system

A team of researchers from Wayne State University was recently issued a U.S. patent (# 8,998,808) on a technology that will offer anesthesiologists better methods for monitoring and managing patients in the operating room.

17 Jun 2015

New research looks at quickly expanding effort to equip law enforcement officers with naloxone

Opioid overdose is one of the leading causes of accidental death in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the epidemic accounts for some 25,000 deaths per year--or approximately 68 fatalities per day.

17 Jun 2015

Higher adenoma detection rates linked to lower lifetime colorectal cancer incidence and death

An analysis that included information from more than 57,000 screening colonoscopies suggests that higher adenoma detection rates may be associated with up to 50 percent to 60 percent lower lifetime colorectal cancer incidence and death without higher overall costs, despite a higher number of colonoscopies and potential complications, according to a study in the June 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Jun 2015

Improving air quality could prevent pollution-related deaths worldwide

Improving air quality -- in clean and dirty places -- could reduce pollution-related deaths worldwide by millions of people each year. That finding comes from a team of environmental engineering and public health researchers who developed a global model of how changes in outdoor air pollution could lead to changes in the rates of health problems such as heart attack, stroke and lung cancer.

16 Jun 2015