Medical News

RSS

Mathematical modelling to tackle influenza

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin will participate in a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fight influenza and other diseases by creating models that simulate the complex interplay between human behavior and the spread of disease.

4 Aug 2009

New findings on role of diet on breast cancer risk

How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue. Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed.

4 Aug 2009

Public baffled by health care arguments

As members of Congress head home for the summer recess, they will use the time to either sell to their constituents the national health care and insurance overhaul being fiercely debated in Washington, or deep-six it.

4 Aug 2009

Will emphasis on prevention bring health costs down?

If there is one thing that both parties can agree on in the health overhaul debate, it’s the need to build a health system that promotes prevention rather than just manages disease.

4 Aug 2009

New bio-hybrid materials could be used as sensors, catalysts, drug-delivery systems, more

Bacteria play a role in myriad industrial processes from fermentation to cleaning up environmental pollution. But floating freely in solution, the microbial cells constantly multiply, generating biomass that must be removed periodically, causing downtime. Additionally, the microorganisms cannot be localized to a specific region of interest.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Livalo (pitavastatin), a new cholesterol-lowering drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the 4 milligram maximum dose of Livalo (pitavastatin), a drug intended to improve blood cholesterol levels in persons with elevated or abnormal blood cholesterol levels.

3 Aug 2009

Scientists discover original source of malignant malaria

Researchers have identified what they believe is the original source of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.

3 Aug 2009

Daytime temperature fluctuations may alter malaria patterns

Daytime temperature fluctuations greatly alter the incubation period of malaria parasites in mosquitoes and alter transmission rates of the disease. Consideration of these fluctuations reveals a more accurate picture of climate change's impact on malaria.

3 Aug 2009

MSU receives $1.5 million grant to help educate more Hispanics in neurosciences

A $1.5 million federal grant will help Michigan State University increase the number of Hispanic doctoral students trained in the neurosciences.

3 Aug 2009

Walk, don't drive! community promotion of physical activity has two-fold benefit

About half of the car trips in the U.S. are less than five miles - a distance easily navigated by walking or cycling. Reducing short-distance car trips has many benefits - it decreases car accidents, has positive benefits for the environment and increases physical health and activity, says communication professor Edward Maibach of George Mason University. An expert in climate change communication research, Maibach says that community leaders should make promotion of physical activity a priority.

3 Aug 2009

Seed implants suitable prostate cancer treatment for men of all ages

Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a number of treatments to choose from, but it's a daunting task to figure out the right mix of therapies for an individual patient.

3 Aug 2009

Scientists illuminate brain tumors with fluorescent nanoparticles

Brain cancer is among the deadliest of cancers. It's also one of the hardest to treat. Imaging results are often imprecise because brain cancers are extremely invasive. Surgeons must saw through the skull and safely remove as much of the tumor as they can. Then doctors use radiation or chemotherapy to destroy cancerous cells in the surrounding tissue.

3 Aug 2009

Parents fear medical errors when children in hospital

Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child's care to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School.

3 Aug 2009

Schumer: Sen. Democrats might approve health reform legislation without Republicans

"Senate Democrats will consider approving legislation overhauling the U.S. health-care system without Republican support if the opposition doesn't agree to a bipartisan plan by mid-September, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said," Bloomberg reports.

3 Aug 2009

Dysport, an anti-wrinkle alternative to Botox

The new anti-wrinkle facial filler Dysport, which could be used as an alternative to Botox, noticeably reduced frown lines between the eyes, according to users and independent reviewers in a study involving plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

3 Aug 2009

Friendship influences eating behavior, particularly when friends are overweight

A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors, such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.

3 Aug 2009

New function for missing protein in Duchenne muscular dystrophy found

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and National Institutes of Health have identified a new function for the protein missing in people with the most common and ultimately lethal form of childhood muscular dystrophy.

3 Aug 2009

Insurance and a medical provider is not enough to improve asthma control

It is widely believed that providing better access to medical care can improve the health of Americans. New research at National Jewish Health indicates, however, that having insurance and a medical provider is not enough to improve asthma control among elementary and middle school students.

3 Aug 2009

Regular yoga practice associated with mindful eating

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

3 Aug 2009

New research helps explain why treated genital herpes sores boost risk of HIV infection

New research helps explain why infection with herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which causes genital herpes, increases the risk for HIV infection even after successful treatment heals the genital skin sores and breaks that often result from HSV-2.

3 Aug 2009