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First flexible endoscopy robotic surgery for gastric tumours performed in India

Patients with gastric tumours in their stomach will no longer have to suffer an eight-hour long surgery, but instead can look forward to a short day surgery which last a few minutes to an hour without the need for hospitalisation.

6 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: 'Imaginary' mandates, premium hikes, Medicare leadership

Liberals are taking a victory lap since a federal appeals court upheld President Obama's health care plan last week, but not so fast. This is an idiosyncratic and flawed opinion, and we trust the Supreme Court, however it rules, will hold itself to a higher standard of jurisprudential reasoning.

6 Jul 2011

Infants treated with certain HIV medication more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction

Infants of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected mothers who were treated before and after birth with the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir were more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction, including life-threatening adrenal insufficiency in premature infants, compared with a zidovudine-based regimen, according to a preliminary report in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2011

Molecular technology detects up to 50% more cases of C. diff than other methods

A study from the microbiology lab at the Lifespan hospitals has found that some lab tests are much more accurate in identifying Clostridium difficile Toxin infection, which causes diarrhea.

6 Jul 2011

Potential new approach for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a pathway in mice that allows white fat - a contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes - to burn calories in a way that's normally found in brown fat and muscle. The findings are in the July 6 edition of Cell Metabolism.

6 Jul 2011

Study: 'Vanishing twin' linked to increased risk of congenital malformations

Professor Michael Davies will tell the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today that the "vanishing twin" phenomenon, in which only one child is born from a pregnancy that originally starts as a multiple pregnancy, is linked to a nearly two-fold increased risk in any congenital malformation and to a nearly three-fold risk of multiple malformations.

6 Jul 2011

New insight into tumor biology

Cancer cells are well known for their altered metabolisms, which may help them generate the energy they need for rapid growth. Using an emerging imaging technology, researchers reporting in the July Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have discovered that those metabolic shifts actually develop even before detectable tumors form.

6 Jul 2011

Alpha-tocotrienol protects brain cells after stroke in three ways

A natural form of vitamin E called alpha-tocotrienol can trigger production of a protein in the brain that clears toxins from nerve cells, preventing those cells from dying after a stroke, new research shows.

6 Jul 2011

AJC: Hospital execs pay raises eyebrows

In other news, The Boston Globe reports that Quincy Hospital has declared bankruptcy just days after its trustees approved a deal for the facility to be acquired by Steward Health Care System.

6 Jul 2011

High folate intake linked with reduced risk of colorectal cancer

A new study finds high folate intake is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, a finding consistent with the findings of most previous epidemiologic studies.

6 Jul 2011

Human beings can control and intentionally forget unwanted memories

The assumption that we human beings can control and intentionally forget unwanted memories has been controversial ever since Freud asserted it at the beginning of the 20th century.

6 Jul 2011

Obese children more likely to be bullied

Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to be victimised by bullying when compared to children who are not overweight.

6 Jul 2011

Budget negotiations: Administration gives momentum to health care cuts

Obama administration officials have advanced a significant amount of cuts from Medicare and Medicaid in the debt ceiling talks — saying the money could come from hospitals and other facilities without directly imposing new costs on beneficiaries or making radical changes to the Medicare program.

6 Jul 2011

Clearblue Digital Ovulation test safe, non-invasive for women trying to conceive

Dr. Jayne Ellis, Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs at SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Geneva, Switzerland, makers of the test, explained that it consisted of a digital reader and urine test sticks, which could detect the surge in luteinising hormone (LH) that triggers ovulation.

5 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 5, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about how Medicare, Medicaid and the health care industry might fare in the ongoing budget negotiations.

5 Jul 2011

First bloodless heart transplant on 6-year-old boy performed at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Between injuries from severe storms that ripped across the country this spring, to the typical blood donation shortage seen each and every summer, experts say that the nation's blood supply is running low. At Nationwide Children's Hospital, doctors are helping to offset that demand by what's known as "bloodless" techniques.

5 Jul 2011

Periodontal disease can affect woman's chance of conceiving

Professor Roger Hart told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology that the negative effect of gum disease on conception was of the same order of magnitude as the effect of obesity.

5 Jul 2011

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can have visible, negative effects on brain

Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests.

5 Jul 2011

Never smokers' lung adenocarcinomas show greater genome instability

Lung adenocarcinomas in people who have never smoked show greater genome instability than those in smokers, supporting the theory that lung cancer in never smokers arises through different pathways, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

5 Jul 2011

Patients with high EGFR expression more likely to benefit from cetuximab plus chemotherapy

High epidermal growth factor receptor expression was a good predictor of which lung cancer patients would survive longer when cetuximab was added to first-line chemotherapy, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

5 Jul 2011