15-Sep-2008Nerve Activity Can Predict Life Or Death for Comatose Patients
Even when patients are unable to respond, physicians can get valuable information from nerves that can assist in determining whether the patient will live or die in nontraumatic comatose patients. Even in a comatose state, electrically induced nerve responses can be interpreted because the nerve responses are not affected by therapeutic muscular paralysis that occurs when sedatives are given at high dosage. (Embargoed until 17-Sep-2008, 00:00 ET)
American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine 55th Annual Meeting
—American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) Embryonic Stem Cells Reduce Transplantation Rejection
Researchers have shown that immune-defense cells influenced by embryonic stem cell-derived cells can help prevent the rejection of hearts transplanted into mice, all without the use of immunosuppressive drugs.
PLoS ONE
—University of Iowa Health Sciences Prosthetic Vein Valve Designed To Improve Blood Flow
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The valve was designed to replace damaged, non-functioning valves. The prosthetic vein valve design was presented at the Society for Biomaterials Fall Symposium in Atlanta on September 12. Media embedded: Image(s)
Society for Biomaterials Fall Symposium
—Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications 12-Sep-2008Old and New Therapies Combine to Tackle Atherosclerosis
Futuristic nanotechnology has been teamed with a decades-old drug to beat atherosclerotic plaques in research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The scientists have found that drug-laced nanoparticles plus a statin could stop the growth of tiny blood vessels that feed arterial plaques and potentially shrink or stabilize the plaques. (Embargoed until 15-Sep-2008, 17:00 ET)
J. of the Am. College of Cardiology, 15-Sep-2008
—Washington University in St. Louis Depressed Dialysis Patients More Likely to be Hospitalized Or Die
Dialysis patients diagnosed with depression are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized or die within a year than those who are not depressed, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found. Media embedded: Image(s)
Kidney International
—UT Southwestern Medical Center 11-Sep-2008New Gene Variant Identified for Non-Diabetic End Stage Renal Disease in African Americans
Scientists have, for the first time, identified variants in the gene MYH9 that are associated with increased risk for non-diabetic end stage renal disease (ESRD,) which is the near-loss of kidney function leading to either dialysis of transplant. MYH9, located on the 22 chromosome, is the first gene identified for common forms of kidney disease. (Embargo expired on 14-Sep-2008 at 13:00 ET)
Nature Genetics, 14-Sep-2008
—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Researchers Suppress "Hunger Hormone"
Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of chemically vaporizing the main vessel carrying blood to the top section, or fundus, of the stomach. An estimated 90 percent of the body's ghrelin originates in the fundus, which can't make the hormone without a good blood supply. (Embargoed until 16-Sep-2008, 00:05 ET)
Radiology, 16-Sep-2008
—Johns Hopkins Medicine An "HIV-test" Equivalent for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer
A team of researchers led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reports online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology the validation of a potential “HIV-test” equivalent for the early detection of lung cancer. The test, which relies on immune-system signals, much like an HIV test, can detect the presence of lung cancer a year prior to diagnosis, long before symptoms appear. (Embargoed until 15-Sep-2008, 18:00 ET)
J. of Clinical Oncology
—Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Incontinence Affects a Substantial Proportion of Women
Nearly one-quarter of women surveyed, and more than one-third of older women, report at least one pelvic floor disorder, which includes urinary and fecal incontinence and the shifting of a pelvic organ, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA. These disorders become more prevalent with increasing age and weight. (Embargoed until 16-Sep-2008, 16:00 ET)
JAMA, 17-Sep-2008
—American Medical Association (AMA) Higher Urinary Levels of Commonly Used Chemical Linked With CVD, Diabetes
Higher levels of urinary Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound commonly used in plastic packaging for food and beverages, is associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA. This study is being released early to coincide with a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing on BPA. (Embargoed until 16-Sep-2008, 10:00 ET)
JAMA
—American Medical Association (AMA) Adults With Aortic Valve Disorder Do Not Experience Reduction in Survival Rate
Young adults with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart abnormality, experience subsequent cardiac events but do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA. (Embargoed until 16-Sep-2008, 16:00 ET)
JAMA, 17-Sep-2008
—American Medical Association (AMA) First Generation Antipsychotic Drugs as Effective as Newer Ones in Some Children
Nearly every child who receives an antipsychotic medicine is first prescribed a second-generation, or “atypical” drug. However, there has never been evidence that these drugs are more effective than the older, first-generation medications. A study from the UNC School of Medicine has found that the first-generation drugs are as effective and, compared to one atypical drug, safer.
Media embedded: Image(s) (Embargo expired on 15-Sep-2008 at 00:05 ET)
Am. J. of Psychiatry, 15-Sep-2008
—University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine TBI/PTSD Study Featured in JAMA
The Aug. 13, 2008 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes a study, "Prevalence of Chronic Pain After Traumatic Brain Injury," authored by Charles W. Hoge, M.D., Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).
JAMA, 13-Aug-2008
—Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Study on Health Care Needs of Persons Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Lynn Lawry, MD, MSPH, MSc, director of research and education with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ (USU) Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM), is the senior author of a manuscript titled, "Health Assessment and Health Care Access Among Internally Displaced Persons in Mississippi Travel Trailer Parks Two Years after The 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricane Season."
Health Affairs
—Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Stem Cell Regeneration Repairs Congenital Heart Defect
Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that stem cells can be used to regenerate heart tissue to treat dilated cardiomyopathy, a congenital defect. Publication of the discovery was expedited by the editors of Stem Cells and appeared online in the “express” section of the journal’s Web site at http://stemcells.alphamedpress.org/.
Stem Cells
—Mayo Clinic Research Review Shows Internet-based Instruction Effective for Health Care Professionals
A study led by a team of education researchers from Mayo Clinic and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concludes that Internet-based education generally is effective.
JAMA
—Mayo Clinic Seniors in Poorer ZIP Codes Less Likely to Survive Surgery
Elderly patients living in impoverished areas are more likely to die after undergoing surgery compared to peers from higher-income ZIP codes, a new study found: Odds of dying were between 17 percent and 39 percent higher for patients with low socioeconomic status.
Medical Care, Sep-2008
—Health Behavior News Service New Study on Rural HIV Care Has Economic and Health Implications
An Indiana University study found that HIV care providers in rural Indiana report significant stigma and discrimination in the rural medical referral system surrounding issues of HIV and substance abuse. Providers felt that these factors impeded their ability to offer quality care to their patients. Media embedded: Image(s)
AIDS, Patient Care and STDs
—Indiana University MedWire Announcements$10 Million Trial Tests Treatment for Leg Blood Clots
A $10 million, government-funded, multicenter clinical trial of an aggressive treatment for blood clots in the leg known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) will be led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
—Washington University in St. Louis F.D.A. Approves SANCUSO, the First and Only Patch for Preventing Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy
ProStrakan Group plc (LSE: PSK) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A) approval of SANCUSO (Granisetron Transdermal System), the first and only patch to provide up to five consecutive days of control of nausea and vomiting for patients receiving a moderately and/or highly nausea-inducing chemotherapy regimen.
—ProStrakan AIDS Research Network Expands
Nine-member AIDS research network expands and serves as a one-of-a-kind consortium for clinical, translational and basic science to address how HIV causes AIDS, HIV prevention and treatment advances.
—University of Alabama at Birmingham Session Highlights of the 1st World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes
Nearly 100 of the world's leading authorities on diabetes, health care policy and finance from public and private sectors will gather in New York City next week to discuss the appropriate role of new interventional therapies for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Currently, the condition is one of the fastest-growing epidemics in the world, affecting an estimated 23.6 million people in the United States in 2007 alone, and is one of the costliest conditions to treat. The 1st World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes will convene on September 15-16, 2008.
—NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Delaware, Jefferson Establish Partnership in Health Education
A new Partnership in Health Education between the University of Delaware and Thomas Jefferson University builds on a long, successful history of collaboration in healthcare education and marks the first of what may be several partnerships between the two institutions. Media embedded: Image(s)
—University of Delaware Bringing Resources and Hope to People with Cancer
The American Association for Cancer Research and The Wellness Community are collaborating to combine their respective scientific integrity and extensive educational resources to reach out to cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones.
—American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) USU Assistant Director, Nurse Anesthesia Program Awarded AANA Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Lt Col Keven Bohan, CRNA, Ph.D., U.S. Air Force, NC, was awarded this year’s Post-Doctoral Fellowship by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Foundation. The AANA recognized Dr. Bohan for his active involvement in the development of an anesthesia research program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).
—Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Does Treating Periodontitis Help Control Diabetes?
Researchers at Stony Brook University’s (SBU) School of Dental Medicine and School of Medicine received a $12.5 million five-year grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), an arm of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a multi-center clinical trial to evaluate whether treatment of chronic periodontitis may help to improve diabetes control.
—Stony Brook University Medical Center |