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Survey finds prevalence of antimicrobial-drug use in U.S. hospitals

A one-day prevalence survey of 183 hospitals found that approximately 50 percent of hospitalized patients included in the survey were receiving antimicrobial drugs, and that about half of these patients were receiving 2 or more antimicrobial drugs, according to a study in the October 8 JAMA, a theme issue on infectious disease. Most antimicrobial use was for infection treatment.

8 Oct 2014

Cyclophosphamide drug can eliminate life-threatening immune response after bone marrow transplants

Johns Hopkins and other cancer researchers report that a very short course of a chemotherapy drug, called cyclophosphamide, not only can prevent a life-threatening immune response in some bone marrow transplant recipients, but also can eliminate such patients' need for the usual six months of immune suppression medicines commonly prescribed to prevent severe forms of this immune response.

8 Oct 2014

New partners join Grand Challenges Canada to help protect early brain development

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today welcomed three new partners to the Saving Brains Grand Challenge: Aga Khan Foundation Canada, Norlien Foundation and World Vision Canada. These organizations strengthen the existing partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation.

8 Oct 2014

Swedish woman gives birth to world's first womb-transplant baby

In a ground-breaking research project at the University of Gothenburg, seven Swedish women have had embryos reintroduced after receiving wombs from living donors. Now the first transplanted woman has delivered a baby – a healthy and normally developed boy. The world-unique birth was acknowledged in The Lancet on 5 October.

8 Oct 2014

Routine gasoline spills can potentially impact public health

A new study suggests that drops of fuel spilled at gas stations — which occur frequently with fill-ups — could cumulatively be causing long-term environmental damage to soil and groundwater in residential areas in close proximity to the stations.

8 Oct 2014

G-tube placement not needed for patients with advanced dementia or other near end-of-life conditions

Based on current scientific literature, gastrostomy tube (G-tube) placement or other long-term enteral access devices should be withheld or withdrawn in patients with advanced dementia or other near end-of-life conditions, according to a special report published today in the OnlineFirst version of Nutrition in Clinical Practice, the official journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

8 Oct 2014

USC researchers develop new methods to advance study of human brains, epilepsy

USC biomedical engineers, neurologists and neurosurgeons develop new methods to advance the study of human brains and epilepsy. Studying the human brain is logistically complicated. Living samples of the complex and sensitive organ are limited and difficult to preserve, which means that research on them must be conducted quickly before they expire.

8 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Relatively few face insurance cancellations; new doctor payment site is 'impenetrable'

People are starting to get letters telling them their health insurance plans have been canceled because of the Affordable Care Act. Because the letters will go out just before the midterm congressional elections, they are likely to get a lot of attention. There have been several stories this past week. But the people affected will represent only a small fraction of the population with health insurance (Margot Sanger-Katz, (10/6).

8 Oct 2014

Closer monitoring needed to help prevent repeat strokes

People who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini-stroke) are at high risk for a second similar event or other serious medical problems for at least five years and need better follow up and strategies to prevent these problems, according to data presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

8 Oct 2014

Universal MRSA screening may be too costly for individual hospital to adopt

Numerous experts and policy makers have called for hospitals to screen patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and isolate anyone testing positive to prevent the spread of these so-called "Superbugs" in healthcare settings.

8 Oct 2014

Pitt researchers awarded $1.25 million DOD grant to establish whole-eye transplantation program

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have been awarded $1.25 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund two projects that aim to establish the groundwork for the nation's first whole-eye transplantation program.

8 Oct 2014

State highlights: States and drug prices; Ariz. limiting Sovaldi for patients; L.A. boosts uninsured care by $61 million

Because of its high cost, some state Medicaid programs and prison systems are refusing to provide Sovaldi to any but the sickest patients. Most recently, Oregon last month threatened to limit access to the drug unless it can get Sovaldi at a deeply discounted price. But Sovaldi is only the beginning. Expensive new treatments for certain cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions also have rattled Medicaid officials, patients and health care providers. What can states do to hold down drug costs? Drug pricing is a complicated and opaque process.

8 Oct 2014

Lung cancer can be detected much earlier using lab-on-a-chip technology

Scientists have been laboring to detect cancer and a host of other diseases in people using promising new biomarkers called "exosomes." Indeed, Popular Science magazine named exosome-based cancer diagnostics one of the 20 breakthroughs that will shape the world this year. Exosomes could lead to less invasive, earlier detection of cancer, and sharply boost patients' odds of survival.

8 Oct 2014

LLNL scientists issued patent for producing antimicrobial compounds to fight superbugs

Superbugs, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, have been on the rise since antibiotics were first introduced 80 years ago. That's because these germ-fighting agents have lost their punch from being overprescribed and misused, allowing bacteria pathogens to develop immunities against them.

8 Oct 2014

Sugar consumption linked to memory problems, brain inflammation in adolescent rats

Studying rats as model subjects, scientists found that adolescents were at an increased risk of suffering negative health effects from sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

8 Oct 2014

Obama administration announces plans to step up airport screening for Ebola virus

Though President Barack Obama did not say exactly how screening procedures would change, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said officials would consider a variety of options.

8 Oct 2014

Study finds that hospitalized patients wash their hands infrequently

Hospital visitors and staff are greeted with hand sanitizer dispensers in the lobby, by the elevators and outside rooms as reminders to wash their hands to stop infections, but just how clean are patients' hands?

8 Oct 2014

Sleeping with dentures increases pneumonia risk in elderly

Poor oral health and hygiene are increasingly recognized as major risk factors for pneumonia among the elderly. To identify modifiable oral health-related risk factors, lead researcher Toshimitsu Iinuma, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Japan, and a team of researchers prospectively investigated associations between a constellation of oral health behaviors and incidences of pneumonia in the community-living of elders 85 years of age or older.

8 Oct 2014

Nursing home rating system gets a makeover

The Obama administration announced Monday that it will revise substantially the five-star rating program for nursing homes.

8 Oct 2014

RAND study: Specific state guidance can influence patient access to effective heroin treatment

State policies can influence the number of physicians licensed to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug that can treat addiction to heroin and other opioids in outpatient settings, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

8 Oct 2014

Medical News

Survey finds prevalence of antimicrobial-drug use in U.S. hospitals

Cyclophosphamide drug can eliminate life-threatening immune response after bone marrow transplants

New partners join Grand Challenges Canada to help protect early brain development

Swedish woman gives birth to world's first womb-transplant baby

Routine gasoline spills can potentially impact public health

G-tube placement not needed for patients with advanced dementia or other near end-of-life conditions

USC researchers develop new methods to advance study of human brains, epilepsy

Viewpoints: Relatively few face insurance cancellations; new doctor payment site is 'impenetrable'

Closer monitoring needed to help prevent repeat strokes

Universal MRSA screening may be too costly for individual hospital to adopt

Pitt researchers awarded $1.25 million DOD grant to establish whole-eye transplantation program

State highlights: States and drug prices; Ariz. limiting Sovaldi for patients; L.A. boosts uninsured care by $61 million

Lung cancer can be detected much earlier using lab-on-a-chip technology

LLNL scientists issued patent for producing antimicrobial compounds to fight superbugs

Sugar consumption linked to memory problems, brain inflammation in adolescent rats

Obama administration announces plans to step up airport screening for Ebola virus

Study finds that hospitalized patients wash their hands infrequently

Sleeping with dentures increases pneumonia risk in elderly

Nursing home rating system gets a makeover

RAND study: Specific state guidance can influence patient access to effective heroin treatment

Lab Matters host Harriet Gould on building a more connected lab community

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

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