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Four important tips to stay safe and healthy during winter

Colder temperatures, inclement weather, changes in the amount of daylight, and the spread of cold and flu viruses can all have a significant impact on your winter well-being, making it more challenging for you to stay safe and healthy.

15 Nov 2019

Researchers decode molecular structure of cytochrome bd oxidase from E. coli

Both humans and many other creatures need oxygen for survival. In the conversion of nutrients into energy, the oxygen is converted to water, for which the enzyme oxidase is responsible. It represents the last step of the so-called respiratory chain.

14 Nov 2019

WPI researchers developing miniaturized device to measure baby's blood oxygen levels

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are developing a sensor the size of a Band-Aid that will measure a baby's blood oxygen levels, a vital indication of the lungs' effectiveness and whether the baby's tissue is receiving adequate oxygen supply.

14 Nov 2019

New type of bionic pacemaker

A new study published in the Journal of Physiology on November 14, 2019, reports the development of a radically different type of cardiac pacemaker which could change the prognosis of patients with heart failure.

14 Nov 2019

Climate change poses unprecedented threat to children's health

A report warns that climate change poses an unprecedented threat to children and will have lifelong impacts on human health.

14 Nov 2019

Opioid overdose treatment: intranasal vs intramuscular naloxone

Opioid addiction and dependency have become a common plague in many countries of the world. Accompanying these conditions, opioid overdose is being increasingly encountered in many emergency settings. The standard and highly effective antidote for this is naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist which has been in use for over 4 decades.

13 Nov 2019

The arts could benefit health finds landmark WHO report

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a Health Evidence Synthesis report this week that has gathered evidence from a wide range of studies showing arts being beneficial to health. The WHO report suggests that all forms of art including visual arts, performing arts, literature etc. could be helpful in providing support in treatment and prevention of non-communicable diseases, neurological conditions and mental illnesses.

13 Nov 2019

Experts urge all asthma patients to have a plan for an asthma attack

The tragic death of 13-year-old Broadway actress Laurel Griggs last week from a severe asthma attack highlights the need for effective asthma control and a plan for dealing with an asthma attack. Asthma is a serious disease that needs to be managed through a partnership of patient, health care provider and family.

12 Nov 2019

Researchers evaluate short- and long-term employment impacts to ICU patients

In recent years, national attention has been drawn to the plight of patients who have experienced the unintended side effects of prolonged ICU care, such as memory loss, muscle weakness and depression.

12 Nov 2019

Lung inflammation in a case of a 16-year-old linked to vaping

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned earlier last month about the possible risk of lung inflammation from the exposure to the fluid in e-cigarettes. Now a case of a 16-year-old boy was reported with life threatening lung inflammation leading to respiratory failure.

12 Nov 2019

Study could open new avenues for antibacterial treatments

Scientists have revealed how common respiratory bugs that cause serious infections in people with cystic fibrosis interact together, according to a new study in eLife.

12 Nov 2019

FIRS calls for an end to preventable deaths from pneumonia

In support of World Pneumonia Day, Nov. 12, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, of which the American Thoracic Society is a member, calls for an end to preventable pneumonia deaths, ensuring equitable access to interventions for prevention and control of pneumonia.

12 Nov 2019

Researchers propose new criteria for diagnosing COPD

Researchers at National Jewish Health and dozens of leading institutions around the nation have proposed new criteria for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

12 Nov 2019

Adult SMA patients treated with Nusinersen show improvement in motor function

A study published in the Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases presents the first evidence of mild improvement or stabilization of motor and respiratory function in adults with spinal muscular atrophy type 3 (SMA3) treated with Nusinersen, which was the case even in patients who have had the disease for 20 years or more.

11 Nov 2019

Artistic activities from a young age can reduce social inequalities, encourage healthy behaviors

Engaging in artistic activities such as singing and dancing from a young age can reduce social inequalities and encourage healthy behaviors, according to a new report from UCL and the World Health Organization.

11 Nov 2019

New point-of-care medical device rapidly and accurately detects viruses

The gene-editing tool CRISPR has been heralded as a scientific miracle destined to eradicate diseases from sickle-cell anemia to cancer, or decried as "the genetic scissors that tailor the human gene pool," an ethically risky technology driving us toward a designer babies.

11 Nov 2019

Climate change spreading deadly virus in marine mammals

A deadly virus that kills thousands of European harbour seals in the northern Atlantic Ocean has now begun affecting seals, otters and sea lions in the northern Pacific Ocean. This virus is called the phocine distemper virus (PDV) that affects animals alone and does not affect humans.

10 Nov 2019

New tool to assist in diagnosis and treatment of vaping-related lung injury

As lung injuries from vaping continue to rise across the United States, Rochester physicians and New York health leaders developed a new tool to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury.

10 Nov 2019

Best practice treatment guide to quickly detect, treat patients with vaping-associated lung injury

As the outbreak of lung injuries and deaths associated with e-cigarettes, or vaping, continues to spread across the U.S., researchers at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City have effectively developed a best practice treatment guide to quickly identify and treat patients who develop the new and potentially fatal respiratory injury, according to a new study.

9 Nov 2019