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Abnormal placental folds help identify autism risk in newborns

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant's risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder.

25 Apr 2013

New information on mitigating spread of infection from flu viruses

Pandemic flu continues to threaten public health, especially in the wake of the recent emergence of an H7N9 low pathogenic avian influenza strain in humans.

25 Apr 2013

Childhood bacterial meningitis influences educational, financial achievement

Research suggests that children who become infected with bacterial meningitis have a lower educational achievement and are less likely to be economically self-sufficient in adulthood than those who do not.

25 Apr 2013

Beta blockade aids select surgery patients

Research supports the use of perioperative beta blockade in patients with cardiovascular risk factors undergoing nonvascular procedures, finding this treatment to significantly improve short-term survival.

25 Apr 2013

Caliper test reliable for feet

Two-point discrimination using mechanical calipers is a reliable assessment for testing tactile acuity of the foot, demonstrates research published in Rheumatology.

25 Apr 2013

Sugary drink consumption impacts diabetes risk

Research shows that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks significantly increases a person’s risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

25 Apr 2013

Serum C-peptide levels predict cardiovascular death risk

Levels of C-peptide predict the risk for death from cardiovascular disease in nondiabetic adults, show data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

25 Apr 2013

Epstein–Barr virus linked to improved gastric cancer survival

Research shows that Epstein–Barr virus positivity in gastric tumor cells is associated with improved prognosis.

25 Apr 2013

Mechanism of tumor suppressor p53 inactivation described

Cancer cells are a problem for the body because they multiply recklessly, refuse to die and blithely metastasize to set up shop in places where they don’t belong. One protein that keeps healthy cells from behaving this way is a tumor suppressor named p53. This protein stops potentially precancerous cells from dividing and induces suicide in those that are damaged beyond repair. Not surprisingly, p53’s critical function is disrupted in most cancers.

25 Apr 2013

Living liver donors at risk from life-threatening “near-miss” events?

A study published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society, reports that donor mortality is about 1 in 500 donors with living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

25 Apr 2013

Research supports polygenic phenotype in schizophrenia

Cumulative genetic risk for schizophrenia has been linked to impaired prefrontal brain activity, in findings that support an additive genetic risk model for a polygenic phenotype.

25 Apr 2013

MRSA spotted on small US pig farms

Routine surveillance at small pig farms may be necessary, say researchers who identified both human and animal serum samples colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at such locations.

25 Apr 2013

Warning over US neurologist shortage

Neurologists are urging the US Congress to undertake policy changes that will encourage more medical residents to specialize in neurology to ensure patient access to care.

25 Apr 2013

Crohn’s permanent stoma rates plummet in post-biologic era

Permanent stoma creation in patients with extensive Crohn’s disease has fallen to a third of its previous rate following the advent of biologic therapy, research shows.

25 Apr 2013

Talk therapy improves PTSD, says Walter Reed National Military Medical Center chief

Cmdr. Russell B. Carr, M.D., acting chief of the psychiatry department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, stated that almost everyone seen at Walter Reed and in clinics throughout the Department of Defense is suicidal. He also estimates that the best PTSD treatments in use today do not work for 30 to 40 percent of patients.

25 Apr 2013

Thought Leaders Consortium discusses new vision for medicine in healthcare

Defining a new vision for medicine was the mission of the consortium of global leaders in healthcare who gathered in Seattle, Wash., April 12 - 14 for the first "Thought Leaders Consortium" hosted by the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute.

25 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 25, 2013

Today's headlines include health policy headlines from Capitol Hill and from the insurance markeplace.

25 Apr 2013

To avoid difficulties experienced during SARS epidemic, China must remain transparent in H7N9 efforts

"On this 10th anniversary of China's April 2003 admission that the SARS virus had spread across that country ... Beijing finds itself once again in a terrible position via-a-vis the microbial and geopolitical worlds," Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in a Foreign Policy opinion piece, noting the emergence of a new strain of bird flu, H7N9, in the country.

25 Apr 2013

Leuphana University Lueneburg project to study challenges, opportunities of progressive ageing

Leuphana University Lueneburg will apply for an EU Innovation Project, with an investment volume of up to EUR 1.6 billion - Big Data revolution in Healthcare through focused European collaboration in the most promising application areas - Strong partnerships with the University Medical Center Goettingen and the University of Zurich as well as the Republic of Malta, Sclavo Vaccines Association of Italy and ICHOM, among others.

25 Apr 2013

Three steps to eliminating NTDs

In a post on the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) editor-in-chief Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, reviews progress being made toward the elimination of NTDs through mass drug administration and other efforts.

25 Apr 2013