Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

CEA-Leti’s lensfree microscope to be demonstrated at CES 2020

Miniaturization of sophisticated technologies has opened the door to innovative health-and-safety equipment that enables advances such as onsite, immediate evaluation of environmental risks and patient-sample analysis outside the lab.

2 Jan 2020

GlobalData: Leading medical robots used by the healthcare industry

The healthcare industry uses four types of robots to improve the current standard of care, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

2 Jan 2020

Tau-protein better predicts brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients than amyloid plaques

Brain imaging of pathological tau-protein "tangles" reliably predicts the location of future brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients a year or more in advance, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. In contrast, the location of amyloid "plaques," which have been the focus of Alzheimer's research and drug development for decades, was found to be of little utility in predicting how damage would unfold as the disease progressed.

2 Jan 2020

Five ways to better manage diabetes in the New Year

While the new year is a great time to reflect, reset and set new goals, making resolutions can also be stressful, especially for people with diabetes. So, this year, try a new approach.

31 Dec 2019

New trial shows how parents can avoid bringing dangerous bacteria into the NICU

For sick or prematurely born babies spending their first days of life in a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, the soothing voice and gentle touch of a loving parent can have a tremendous impact toward a positive outcome -- that is, unless mom or dad's visit leaves the infant with something extra: a dangerous bacterial infection.

31 Dec 2019

Obj-SCD predicts future amyloid accumulation and neurodegeneration

Writing in the December 30, 2019 online issue of Neurology, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report that accumulating amyloid -- an abnormal protein linked to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease -- occurred faster among persons deemed to have "objectively-defined subtle cognitive difficulties" (Obj-SCD) than among persons considered to be "cognitively normal."

31 Dec 2019

Amyloid plaques may not necessarily come first in Alzheimer's disease, suggests new study

The scientific community has long believed that beta-amyloid, a protein that can clump together and form sticky plaques in the brain, is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. Beta-amyloid then leads to other brain changes including neurodegeneration and eventually to thinking and memory problems. But a new study challenges that theory.

30 Dec 2019

Diarrhea in young children linked to La Niña climate conditions

A study in Botswana by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health scientists finds that spikes in cases of life-threatening diarrhea in young children are associated with La Niña climate conditions.

30 Dec 2019

A reality check on artificial intelligence: Are health care claims overblown?

Health products powered by artificial intelligence, or AI, are streaming into our lives, from virtual doctor apps to wearable sensors and drugstore chatbots.

30 Dec 2019

Proton therapy has similar cure rates, fewer serious side effects compared with traditional radiation

Cancer patients who receive high-tech proton therapy experience similar cure rates and fewer serious side effects compared with those who undergo traditional X-ray radiation therapy, according to a study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

28 Dec 2019

Reports of patients’ deaths linked to heart devices lurk below radar

The Food and Drug Administration continues to file thousands of reports of patients' deaths related to medical devices through a reporting system that keeps the safety data out of the public eye.

26 Dec 2019

Scientists explore women's knowledge and perceptions of breast density, cancer risk

Breast density is an important risk factor for breast cancer but no study had asked women what they know or think about breast density in relation to screening they have had.

23 Dec 2019

California's vaccine policy improved immunization coverage

In 2016, California removed vaccine exemptions for non-medical reasons, such as parental hesitancy, to requirements for school entry. In other words, California children needed to have a medical reason to refuse vaccination if they wanted to join kindergarten. In so doing, the state may have paved the way for a higher percentage of vaccination recipients at both county and state level, says a new study published this week in the journal PLOS Medicine.

23 Dec 2019

Sphingotec's new biomarker bio-ADM identifies ICU patients who need immediate organ support

Diagnostics company SphingoTec GmbH today announced a publication in Critical Care1 with data on 2,000 ICU patients demonstrating that sphingotec's proprietary biomarker bio-ADM (Bioactive Adrenomedullin) not only identifies high-risk patients for septic shock at admission but also identifies patients in the general ICU patient population who require immediate life-saving therapeutic intervention.

23 Dec 2019

Electronic health records creating a ‘new era’ of health care fraud, officials say

Derek Lewis was working as an electronic health records specialist for the nation's largest hospital chain when he heard about software defects that might even "kill a patient."

23 Dec 2019

Gender-tailored treatment methods may help alleviate opioid crisis

Gender-tailored methods to address the harmful mental health effects of childhood adversity may help alleviate the current opioid crisis and make treatment more effective, concludes University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiology researcher Elizabeth Evans in her latest research about opioid use disorder.

22 Dec 2019

Study explores the impact of Medicaid managed care on obstetrical care and birth outcomes

A new study shows that among a set of disadvantaged women, Medicaid managed care reduces the women's access to high-quality hospital services during pregnancy and delivery and was associated with worse birth outcomes, worse prenatal care, and a higher risk of inappropriate gestational weight gain.

22 Dec 2019

New PACK training raises hopes for treating common diseases in low- and middle-income countries

An educational outreach training package has shown to be effective for improving management of respiratory diseases in Brazil, raising hopes it could be rolled out to treat other common, severe diseases in low- and middle-income countries.

22 Dec 2019

Study finds increase in high-strength painkiller poisonings among children

The proportion of high-strength painkiller poisonings among children which result in emergency hospital admissions has increased, according to research published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Toxicology.

22 Dec 2019

Pilot study to explore vaginal birth-induced pelvic floor injury and recovery

If a new mother sustains an injury to her levator ani muscle--the main muscle supporting the pelvic floor--during vaginal childbirth, that woman is at risk of developing a pelvic floor disorder. Such an injury can have a substantial impact on a woman's quality of life.

22 Dec 2019