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Differences in systolic blood pressure between arms indicate possibility of vascular risk, death: Study

A systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by researchers at the University of Exeter Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry has found that differences in systolic blood pressure between arms could be a useful indicator of the likelihood of vascular risk and death.

30 Jan 2012

Susan Mallery finds breakthrough treatment for oral cancer

Dr. Susan Mallery, a professor in the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University and Oral Pathology Consultant at the Ohio State University and James Cancer hospitals, has dedicated her nearly 30-year career to studying new strategies to preventing oral cancer.

30 Jan 2012

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates two afatinib phase III trials in head and neck cancer

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today the initiation of two phase III clinical trials, LUX-Head & Neck 1 and LUX-Head & Neck 2. These trials evaluate afatinib in patients with metastatic and recurrent head and neck cancer, and in patients with locally advanced disease, respectively.

27 Jan 2012

New study aims to prevent bacterial infections in sub-Saharan African kids

Bacteria infections - most of which are preventable via vaccines readily available in the developed world - and not malaria are the leading cause of death for children in sub-Saharan Africa. A new Michigan State University project based in Nigeria and funded by a $5.8 million grant aims to help prevent these diseases by collecting local data on the ailments, spurring vaccine use and development. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the research led by Stephen Obaro focuses on diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis.

25 Jan 2012

Seattle Children's receives $5M gift from Ben Towne for pediatric cancer study

Seattle Children's Research Institute today announced a $5 million gift from Ben Towne Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The funding will be used to accelerate the work of Michael Jensen, MD, and his Seattle Children's Research Institute team who are creating new cancer treatments that reprogram a child's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells with the goal of minimizing or even eliminating the need for chemotherapy or radiation.

25 Jan 2012

Genetic variation predisposes children to complications linked with second-generation anti-psychotics

Researchers have found a genetic variation predisposing children to six-times greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome when taking second-generation anti-psychotic medications. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

25 Jan 2012

Aspirin may reduce depressive symptoms in survivors of ACS

Aspirin has been commonly used for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Depression has been found to be an important prognostic factor after heart attacks. But what is their relationship? This is addressed by a study published in the 5th 2011 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

24 Jan 2012

Only 25% kids getting adequate sun protection: Study

The slogan meant to increase sun protection use – “Slip! Slop! Slap! and Wrap” may be losing its touch – especially in kids. Despite numerous efforts to encourage people to wear sunscreen, a new study shows only 1 in 4 children regularly use sunscreen. Researchers say more than half of the children in the study also reported having a sunburn in the previous summer.

24 Jan 2012

Study reports Tennessee collaborative improves quality of surgical care

A new study published online today in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds hospitals participating in a regional collaborative of the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP-), achieved substantial improvements in surgical outcomes, such as reducing the rates of acute renal failure and surgical site infections.

24 Jan 2012

HealthGrades releases list of America's Top Cities for Hospital Care

HealthGrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital, today released a list of America's Top Cities for Hospital Care.

24 Jan 2012

High-fiber diet may raise risk of diverticulosis

For more than 40 years, scientists and physicians have thought eating a high-fiber diet lowered a person's risk of diverticulosis, a disease of the large intestine in which pouches develop in the colon wall. A new study of more than 2,000 people reveals the opposite may be true.

24 Jan 2012

Number of unsafe abortions soars worldwide: Report

A new worldwide analysis by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization shows that unsafe abortions are on the rise across the world. After a period of significant decline in the global abortion rate as a whole, researchers found that those numbers had begun to plateau. The report was published in the Lancet.

22 Jan 2012

First genome-wide study of high-altitude adaptations in Ethiopians

Over many generations, people living in the high-altitude regions of the Andes or on the Tibetan Plateau have adapted to life in low-oxygen conditions. Living with such a distinct and powerful selective pressure has made these populations a textbook example of evolution in action, but exactly how their genes convey a survival advantage remains an open question. Now, a University of Pennsylvania team has made new inroads to answering this question with the first genome-wide study of high-altitude adaptations within the third major population to possess them: the Amhara people of the Ethiopian Highlands.

21 Jan 2012

NCI-funded project aims to shed new light on implications for bone metastasis in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most frequent and second deadliest cancer men face. A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received $363,660 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the project - "Bone-induced c-kit in prostate cancer cells: implications for bone metastasis" - that aims to shed new light on implications for bone metastasis in prostate cancer.

21 Jan 2012

Quality reports find mixed bag in Minn., drop in postsurgical deaths

Medical mistakes increased in Minnesota hospitals in 2011, but the number of "adverse events" that led to serious patient harm or death fell, a new report says. In addition, nationwide, postsurgical deaths decreased despite the number of surgeries being up overall, Medscape reports. Michigan and Connecticut, however, are struggling with patient quality issues.

20 Jan 2012

Upper GI bleeding causes serious health problems in patients with kidney failure

Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract causes serious health problems—and even early deaths—for many patients with kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

20 Jan 2012

Inherited mutation links exploding chromosomes to cancer

An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered.

20 Jan 2012

New AACN Practice Alert on catheter-associated urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections account for nearly 40 percent of hospital-acquired infections in acute care hospitals, triggering increased hospital costs and higher patient morbidity and mortality rates. Compounding the toll of these infections, Medicaid, Medicare and many other payers no longer reimburse costs related to treatment because of their presumed preventability.

19 Jan 2012

Facilitating low-cost innovations in increased usage of health care

The argument that "a country's quickest way to better health for its people is economic development ... is only one factor, and not the most important one, in explaining global health outcomes," Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, writes in a SciDev.Net opinion piece. "The challenge is to ensure that a cheap basic package of health interventions is available to -- and is used by -- all," he continues.

19 Jan 2012

Questions raised over accuracy of Afghanistan mortality survey data

"A U.S.-sponsored mortality survey released last year announced huge improvements in health across Afghanistan. But the gains are so great that experts are still arguing about whether it's correct," NPR's All Things Considered reports.

19 Jan 2012