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New smart polymer that responds to low-power NIR light could treat cancers

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17 Nov 2011

New possibilities for relief from digestive diseases

As a researcher in neurogastroenterology for 40 years, professor Khalil Bitar has spent his professional life studying the causes of perplexing and what frequently become embarrassing problems for humans—issues such as constipation, diarrhea and colon disease.

17 Nov 2011

Novel program aims to improve nutrition, physical activity among young children and prevent obesity

A Kansas State University research group is jumping ahead to improve nutrition and physical activity among young children and prevent childhood obesity.

17 Nov 2011

Modified story memory technique may help cognitive rehabilitation in MS patients

John DeLuca, PhD, Vice President for Research at Kessler Foundation presented findings on the use of a behavioral technique for cognitive rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

17 Nov 2011

FrontlineSMS technology useful communication tool in HIV care

Ben Parfitt, a member of the Ugunja Research Team in Kenya, writes in the FrontlineSMS blog about using the open-source text and communication software to improve HIV care for patients using Kenyan health clinics.

17 Nov 2011

ACR special issue focuses on assessing adult pain

Assessment of patient outcomes allows physicians and researchers to measure the success or failure of diagnostics and treatments that patients receive. One set of measurement tools focuses on assessing adult pain and is included in a special issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), providing physicians and researchers with a single resource of 250 patient outcomes measurements in rheumatology.

17 Nov 2011

Hard-core smokers most strongly influenced by genetic factors

A new study of twins led by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that today's smokers are more strongly influenced by genetic factors than in the past and that the influence makes it more difficult for them to quit.

17 Nov 2011

PlusNews examines shortages of HIV treatment supplies in Swaziland

PlusNews examines Swaziland's national shortages of antiretroviral (ARV) stocks, HIV tests, and lab tests necessary to initiate and manage HIV patients on treatment, and the country's efforts to find funding to prevent stock-outs of these supplies.

17 Nov 2011

Complications from preventable surgical-site infections leading to hospital readmissions after colon surgery

Nearly one-quarter of privately insured colon surgery patients are readmitted to the hospital within three months of discharge at a cost of roughly $9,000 per readmission, according to Johns Hopkins researchers, who've identified a major area for quality improvement and cost reduction in health care.

17 Nov 2011

Tripling clopidogrel dosage improves platelet reactivity in cardiac patients

Among patients with stable cardiovascular disease who have a genetic variation that diminishes the response to the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel, tripling the standard daily dosage of this medication resulted in improved platelet reactivity, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

17 Nov 2011

PCBs affect growth and bone density in turtles, an 'indicator species'

Manufactured until 1977, and banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, pentachlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals still commonly found in the environment because they break down slowly.

17 Nov 2011

Optimal approach to treat patients without known coronary disease much less clear

In a contemporary cohort of acute heart attack patients, 70 percent of the patients were unaware they had coronary heart disease (CHD) prior to the event and 60 percent of those patients were women or young men.

17 Nov 2011

IRIN examines efforts to train midwives, improve maternal health in Laos

"In 2010, for the first time in more than 20 years, 140 midwives graduated in Laos but specialists say their skills may go untapped because the country's women are not used to visiting health workers," IRIN reports. "Only 34 percent of women in Laos seek the advice of medical professionals; even fewer see one when they are pregnant, according to government data from 2009-2010," the news service writes.

17 Nov 2011

Genetic basis of human cortical regionalization similar to patterns found in other mammals, MRI study affirms

A new study using magnetic resonance imaging data of 406 adult human twins affirms the long-standing idea that the genetic basis of human cortical regionalization - the organization of the outer brain into specific functional areas - is similar to and consistent with patterns found in other mammals, indicating a common conservation mechanism in evolution.

17 Nov 2011

Kentucky Circuit Court rules in favor of Watson in drug pricing litigation

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that a jury in the drug pricing litigation trial in the Kentucky Circuit Court for Franklin County rendered a verdict in favor of Watson on all counts in the litigation.

17 Nov 2011

Nanomedicine neither a cure-all nor a potential danger

Is the emerging field of nanomedicine a breathtaking technological revolution that promises remarkable new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases? Or does it portend the release of dangerous nanoparticles, nanorobots or nanoelectronic devices that will wreak havoc in the body? A new review of more than 500 studies on the topic concludes that neither scenario is likely. It appears in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

17 Nov 2011

KU researchers help develop PAHO/WHO Guide for Documenting Health Promotion Initiatives

Two University of Kansas professors were prime movers behind an internet-based health promotion initiative launched by the Pan American Health Organization (PAH0), the regional arm of the United Nations World Health Organization (WH0), on November 7 in Washington, D.C.

17 Nov 2011

Improper payments reduced by $17.6 billion, White House says

This cut in wasteful or improper payments in social welfare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, applies to the year ending Sept. 30.

17 Nov 2011

Flu strains migrate back and forth between different regions of the world

Influenza researchers have found that flu strains migrate back and forth between different regions of the world, evolving along the way. This is contrary to the common belief that flu strains from the tropics are the source of global seasonal epidemics.

17 Nov 2011

Protein, not sugar, stimulates cells keeping us thin and awake

A new study has found that protein and not sugar activates the cells responsible for keeping us awake and burning calories. The research, published in the 17 November issue of the scientific journal Neuron, has implications for understanding obesity and sleep disorders.

17 Nov 2011