Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

'Flattening the curve' - why is it important for coronavirus?

With the emergence of the novel coronavirus and the propagation of the infectious disease COVID-19 around the world, everyone is talking about 'flattening the curve'. But what does this mean, and why is it so important?

12 Mar 2020

Prize-winning research offers a promising approach to improve regenerative medicine

Joana Neves is the 2019 grand prize winner of the Sartorius & Science Prize for Regenerative Medicine & Cell Therapy, for work that offers a promising approach to improve the outcome of regenerative stem cell-based therapies aimed at delaying age-related degenerative diseases.

12 Mar 2020

Language used on Facebook changes before emergency department visit

A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that the language people use on Facebook subtly changes before they make a visit to the emergency department.

12 Mar 2020

Study details first locally-transmitted case of severe SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while the first patient was symptomatic. Despite active monitoring and testing of 372 contacts of both cases, no further transmission was detected

12 Mar 2020

Fruit flies provide insight on ACOX1-related neurodegenerative disorders

A study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reports that a hyperactive variant of enzyme ACOX1 produces elevated levels of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and causes a previously unidentified late-onset neurodegenerative disorder.

12 Mar 2020

No evidence of a link between surgery with anesthesia and Alzheimer's disease

Older adults who have surgery with general anesthesia may experience a modest acceleration of cognitive decline, even years later. But there's no evidence of a link to Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from Mayo Clinic.

12 Mar 2020

Uninsured older adults in China less likely to receive needed inpatient care

A new study, published this week in the International Journal of Health Services, found that older adults without health insurance in China were 35% less likely to receive needed inpatient care compared to those with job-based health insurance.

12 Mar 2020

Scientists identify genes involved in the development of diabetic kidney disease

By analyzing samples from hundreds of Finns with diabetes, scientists have identified genes, and the proteins they encode, that could be involved in the development of diabetic kidney disease.

12 Mar 2020

Bowel cancer on the up in England’s young adults

A new study published in March 2020, in the British Journal of Surgery (BJS), shows that the number of young adults with bowel cancer is rising at an alarming rate in England.

11 Mar 2020

Skin sensors for antenatal surveillance in developing countries

A new study published in March 2020 in the journal Nature Medicine reports the use of a wireless system of skin-mounted sensors to monitor the health of newborn babies in an inexpensive and versatile platform that can be adapted to the vast majority of healthcare settings with ease.

11 Mar 2020

Alcoholics Anonymous the best way to abstain

Researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine have found that utilizing the help of a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous could be the best possible way for those with alcohol dependence to abstain. This finding came from a review article titled "Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12‐step programs for alcohol use disorder," published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review.

11 Mar 2020

Newer antiretroviral drugs may be the safest, most effective HIV treatment during pregnancy

The antiretroviral drugs dolutegravir and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (DTG+FTC/TAF) may comprise the safest and most effective HIV treatment regimen currently available during pregnancy, researchers announced today.

11 Mar 2020

Striking health inequities between dually enrolled and nondually enrolled older Medicare beneficiaries

In the United States, income inequality has steadily increased over the last several decades. Given widening inequities, health care leaders have been concerned about the health outcomes of older Americans who experience poverty, particularly because prior studies have shown a strong link between socioeconomic status and health.

11 Mar 2020

New guide aims to help doctors ease moms through first week of breastfeeding

A new guide seeks to ensure healthcare providers are ready to help new mothers with the challenging first week of breastfeeding – and to address gaps in knowledge and support created in previous decades when breastfeeding was far less common.

11 Mar 2020

New technology could enable more accessible form of electron cryo-microscopy

The Rosalind Franklin Institute has committed to developing a multi-million pound technology which enables a more accessible form of electron cryo-microscopy.

11 Mar 2020

Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-step programs help people with AUD achieve sobriety

Newly updated evidence published in the Cochrane Library today compares Alcoholics Anonymous and clinically-related Twelve-Step Facilitation programs with other treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, to see if they help people who suffer from alcohol use disorders achieve sobriety or reduce the amount of alcohol that they consume.

11 Mar 2020

New imaging agent illuminates cancerous tumors and surrounding cells

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new imaging agent that could let doctors identify not only multiple types of tumors but the surrounding normal cells that the cancer takes over and uses as a shield to protect itself from attempts to destroy it.

10 Mar 2020

Patients using copper IUDs have lower cervical cancer risk compared to LNG-IUS users

Patients who used copper intrauterine devices (Cu IUD) were found to have a lower risk of high-grade cervical neoplasms (cervical cancer) compared to users of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), according to a Columbia study recently published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

10 Mar 2020

Music appears to decrease delirium in critically ill patients

It is common for critically ill patients on life support to develop delirium, a form of acute brain failure for which no effective treatment is known.

10 Mar 2020

Routine childhood vaccination linked to long-term schooling attainment among adults in India

Vaccines have reduced the global burden of disease by preventing an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths worldwide each year. In India, the reduction in annual under-five deaths, from 3.4 to 1.2 million between 1990 and 2015, was largely due to expansions in coverage of routine childhood vaccination.

10 Mar 2020