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First western U.S. hand transplant surgery performed at UCLA Medical Center

Surgeons at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center performed the first hand transplant in the western United States in an operation that began one minute before midnight on Friday, March 4, and was completed 14-and-a-half hours later, on Saturday, March 5.

8 Mar 2011

New clinical trial to assess antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected individuals based on CD4 counts

A major new clinical trial seeks to determine whether HIV-infected asymptomatic individuals have less risk of developing AIDS or other serious illness if they begin taking antiretrovirals sooner rather than later, based on their level of CD4+ T-cells.

8 Mar 2011

Increased alcohol consumption leads to multiple cardiovascular outcomes

A summary paper on the effects of alcohol consumption on biologic mechanisms associated with coronary heart disease provides an excellent review of a large number of intervention studies in humans.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists develop new method that uncovers combined effects of genes

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the German Cancer Research Centre, both in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method that uncovers the combined effects of genes.

8 Mar 2011

Politico: Conservative justices face attacks from the left

Politico: The Liberal Campaign Against SCOTUS Conservatives.

8 Mar 2011

Klotho protein discovery can lead to new class of drugs for treatment of obesity

An important discovery in mice may make a big difference in people's waistlines thanks to a team of Harvard scientists who found that reducing the function of a transmembrane protein, called Klotho, in obese mice with high blood sugar levels produced lean mice with reduced blood sugar levels.

8 Mar 2011

Happy Together book reveals essential relationship skills

Were you once madly in love, only to be later disillusioned? If so, you're the rule, not the exception. We all know how to find happiness. The problem is, we don't know how to keep it. No matter how much passion there is at the beginning of a relationship, for love to last it must be actively created.

8 Mar 2011

New study: Circadian system may contribute to daily pattern of vasovagal syncope

Fainting, or syncope, is quite common. About 50% of people will experience fainting at some point during their lifetime. The most common type of fainting is vasovagal syncope that is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Moderate drinking can reduce risk of dementia even among older adults

3202 German individuals attending general practitioners , who were free of dementia were studied at baseline, were followed up 1.5 years and 3 years later by means of structured clinical interviews including detailed assessment of current alcohol consumption and DSM-IV dementia diagnoses.

8 Mar 2011

UTHealth study: Children with H. pylori infection have lower levels of iron

Children without previous iron deficiencies or anemia who remained infected with Helicobacter pylori had significantly lower levels of iron compared to children who had the infection eradicated, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Physicians' empathy can improve patients' positive clinical outcomes

It has been thought that the quality of the physician-patient relationship is integral to positive outcomes but until now, data to confirm such beliefs has been hard to find. Through a landmark study, a research team from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University has been able to quantify a relationship between physicians' empathy and their patients' positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that a physician's empathy is an important factor associated with clinical competence.

8 Mar 2011

Study shows how individual cells behave during blood vessel formation

Biologists tend to look at cells in bulk, observing them as a group and taking the average behavior as the norm - the assumption is that genetically identical cells all behave the same way.

8 Mar 2011

Study explores nine nutrition education online courses

Most of us have heard of Phoenix, no, not the mystical bird or the capital of Arizona, but the online university. According to the Babson Survey Research Group, enrollment in online courses is growing faster than overall higher education offerings due to various reasons like the economic downturn. With the increase in demand for online education, a study in the March/April 2011 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior explores nine online nutrition courses.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists receive March of Dimes grant for preterm birth research

With the help of funding from the March of Dimes, scientists will study whether low doses of inhaled carbon monoxide may prevent inflammation that triggers preterm labor, analyze the role genes play in causing preterm delivery, and develop blood tests to help identify women at risk of preterm delivery.

8 Mar 2011

IRB approves Guided Therapeutics light-based Barrett's Esophagus detection technology for human trial

Guided Therapeutics, Inc., developer of a rapid and painless testing platform that uses biophotonics for the early detection of disease, today announced that it has received Institutional Review Board approval to begin testing its light-based detection technology in humans for Barrett's Esophagus, a precursor for esophageal cancer.

8 Mar 2011

Top-line results from Repligen RG2417 Phase 2b trial results in patients with bipolar depression

Repligen Corporation announced today results of a Phase 2b clinical trial of RG2417, an oral formulation of uridine, in patients with bipolar depression.

8 Mar 2011

Medicaid pressures push governors to consider ways to stretch their dollars

Across the U.S., governors are contemplating ways to ease the fiscal pressure Medicaid has placed on their state budgets. The approaches currently on the table include freezing the enrollment of childless adults, transforming Medicaid into a block grant program and convincing Congress to give states more flexibility to administer the program.

8 Mar 2011

Spacelabs Healthcare receives FDA clearance for Enhanced Flow Meter Visualization

Spacelabs Healthcare announced today that it has received FDA 510k clearance for Enhanced Flow Meter Visualization on its BleaseSirius Anesthesia System.

8 Mar 2011

Researchers find new strategy for long-term care of seniors

America's 75 million aging adults soon will face decisions about where and how to live as they age. Current options for long-term care, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, are costly and require seniors to move from place to place.

8 Mar 2011

North Shore-LIJ launches new prenatal quality initiative

Having a child is a life event that is equal parts magic and fear. Will the baby be healthy? Will labor and delivery pose challenges? Are there ways to reduce the risk for adverse events? Hospital obstetrical units face these questions round-the-clock.

8 Mar 2011