Medical Condition News

RSS

Biological scaffold for heart valves can be freeze-dried for later use

The biological scaffold that gives structure to a heart valve after its cellular material has been removed can be freeze-dried and stored for later use as a tissue-engineered replacement valve to treat a failing heart, as described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

15 Feb 2012

DC-SIGN molecule appears to play a role in fighting allergy

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite.

15 Feb 2012

Chemists create new molecule that can tangle inside the DNA for up to 16 days

Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

15 Feb 2012

23andMe, Cleveland Clinic to discover how genes and environment influence PD

In an effort to study the interactions between genomics and Parkinson's disease, Cleveland Clinic has joined the ongoing efforts of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to recruit Parkinson's patients to participate in research by contributing their DNA to a research database and completing online surveys about their health.

15 Feb 2012

Chemists adapt natural strategies to improve performance of DNA detectors

Over their 3.8 billion years of evolution, living organisms have developed countless strategies for monitoring their surroundings. Chemists at UC Santa Barbara and University of Rome Tor Vergata have adapted some of these strategies to improve the performance of DNA detectors. Their findings may aid efforts to build better medical diagnostics, such as improved HIV or cancer tests.

15 Feb 2012

Scott & White earns Joint Commission's certification for VAD Program

The Scott & White Heart & Vascular Institute in Temple has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval- as a hospital performing Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) as a destination therapy.

15 Feb 2012

Health professionals should routinely recommend chemo websites for cancer patients

Doctors and nurses may be underestimating the value placed on internet chemotherapy information by cancer patients and missing out on opportunities to discuss this information with them, new research finds today.

15 Feb 2012

UCSD opens lidocaine and amiodarone clinical trial to prevent SCA

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States. This form of heart attack kills 325,000 people every year, representing one death every two minutes. Almost all SCA victims die before they even reach a hospital. To identify a drug that paramedics can use in the field, UC San Diego Health System has opened a clinical trial to evaluate two medications to help restore the heart beat.

15 Feb 2012

Higher levels of MVPA may improve cardiometabolic risk factors in children, adolescents

In a study that included data for more than 20,000 children and adolescents, higher amounts of time with moderate to vigorous physical activity were associated with better cardiometabolic risk factors (such as measures of cholesterol, blood pressure and waist size), regardless of the amount of time spent sedentary, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA.

15 Feb 2012

Amoxicillin not effective for patients with acute rhinosinusitis

Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat this condition even though there is limited evidence supporting their effectiveness.

15 Feb 2012

Paricalcitol does not improve clinical outcomes for patients with CKD

Patients with chronic kidney disease who received the vitamin D compound paricalcitol for up to 48 weeks did not show improvement on measures of cardiac structure, function, or left ventricular mass, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA.

15 Feb 2012

HB-EGF plays a critical role during retina regeneration

University of Michigan Health System research into the mechanisms by which zebrafish are able to regenerate damaged retinas after injury suggests new strategies for one day being able to do the same in humans - potentially allowing doctors to slow or reverse conditions like macular degeneration and glaucoma.

15 Feb 2012

Disrupted sleep may lead to build-up of amyloid plaques

The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

15 Feb 2012

Calcium scoring screening can effectively detect CAD

Heart disease tragically affects almost every family in the United States. It claimed more than 616,000 lives in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, strokes, arrhythmia and angina.

15 Feb 2012

Aging Asian population raising concerns over pensions, chronic health conditions

"With 60 percent of the world's population, Asia has one of the largest concentrations globally of aging persons, creating a host of potential challenges, experts warn," including a lack of income and a rise in health problems among the population, IRIN reports.

15 Feb 2012

People with rich fantasy lives may be susceptible to dissociative identity disorder

Scientific research has shed new light on dissociative symptoms and dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. This condition seems to arise most often when a vulnerable person meets a therapist with a suggestive line of questioning or encounters sensationalized media portrayals of dissociation. Research shows that people with rich fantasy lives may be especially susceptible to such influences.

15 Feb 2012

Steady increase in Low Molecular Weight Heparin use for blood clots: Study

The use of an injectable, clot-preventing drug known as Low Molecular Weight Heparin to treat patients with advanced cancer complicated by blood clots increased steadily between 2000 and 2007, according to a new study published in The Oncologist, funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

15 Feb 2012

Incidence of TBI likely greater than previously estimated

Though researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the long-term effects of head injury, few studies have looked at the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in all age groups, including males and females, taking into account both mild and serious events. In a recent study published in Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic researchers applied a new, refined system for classifying injuries caused by force to the head and found that the incidence of traumatic brain injury is likely greater than has been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

15 Feb 2012

Moffitt receives patent for computerized system designed to improve clinical trial selection

A new patent has been issued to Moffitt Cancer Center for a computerized system that efficiently selects the right patient for the right clinical trial. The newly patented system matches the registered patient's own molecular profile - warehoused in a database of thousands of patient-donated biological tissue or tumor samples - to the molecular design of the drug aimed at targeting their disease at the molecular level, and does it quickly.

15 Feb 2012