Health News

Opportunistic microorganism could be a signal of transplant rejection

Date: Nov-25-2013
More than 260,000 Americans are alive today thanks to transplant operations that have replaced their failing kidneys, hearts, lungs or livers with healthy organs donated by volunteers or accident victims.But treatment doesn't end with surgery. Transplant recipients follow strict drug regimens designed to suppress their immune systems just enough to prevent rejection of the donated organ, but not so much as to leave them prone to infection.Until now, maintaining this delicate balance has been something of a medical guessing game.

New side-effect of crizotinib for ALK positive NSCLC

Date: Nov-25-2013
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer shows that using crizotinib to treat ALK positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) appears to reduce kidney function when assessed by one of the most commonly used clinical methods. The big remaining question is whether this reflects a true effect of crizotinib on kidney function, or only on the accuracy of this particular method for assessing it.

Potential for investigational bioengineered vessel as dialysis graft shown by early data

Date: Nov-24-2013
An investigational, man-made blood vessel used in vascular grafts for kidney dialysis patients may potentially show encouraging early results among study patients in Poland, according to preliminary data reported by a researcher at Duke Medicine.Presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting in Dallas, the early findings of this interim patient data track 28 hemodialysis patients who received grafts using the investigational bioengineered vessel during a multi-center study launched in Poland last December.

Novel jewelry creation can 'translate sign language into words'

Date: Nov-24-2013
Designers from Japan have developed a novel concept that could help aid the communication of millions of people worldwide who suffer from hearing impairments, alongside those who do not understand sign language. And it is in the form of jewelry.The Sign Language Ring is a set of jewelry that has been created by designers from Asia University in Tokyo, Japan. It is a system that can translate sign language into either voice or text.The jewelry, inspired by Buddhist prayer beads, consists of a set of six rings and a bracelet.

The therapeutic benefits of virtual sailing in spinal cord injury rehabilitation

Date: Nov-24-2013
Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute have announced the results of a pilot study demonstrating use of a virtual therapeutic sailing simulator as an important part of rehabilitation following a spinal cord injury (SCI). Published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, findings show that using a hands-on sailing simulator over a 12-week period helped participants safely learn sailing skills in a controlled environment, ultimately improving their quality of life by gaining the ability to participate in a recreational sport.

Shift change handover at the bedside reduces medical errors and satisfies patients

Date: Nov-24-2013
At shift change, incoming and outgoing nurses transfer accountability by exchanging information about the patients under their charge. Called bedside handover, this process empowers patients and allows them to become active partners in their own care.New research shows that performing this transfer at the patient's bedside can also reduce potential errors."The start and end of a nurse's shift are critical moments," said Dr. Lianne Jeffs, St. Michael's Hospital's Volunteer Association Chair in Nursing Research and lead author of the study.

Researchers creating a biomimetic system necessary for cardiac research

Date: Nov-24-2013
A foundational study published in top biomedical journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science) by researchers at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine have identified the optimal structure and cell ratio associated with heart function - and the discovery has already led the team to another research first: the engineering of the first-ever living, three-dimensional human arrhythmic tissue.

If the effects of calorie restriction could be mimicked, overall gene silencing during the aging process could be restored

Date: Nov-24-2013
In yeast at least, the aging process appears to reduce an organism's ability to silence certain genes that need to be silenced. Now researchers at Brown University who study the biology of aging have shown that the loss of genetic control occurs in fruit flies as well. Results appear online in the journal Aging.Biologists at Brown University have found a way to measure the effects of aging by watching the ebb and flow of chromatin, a structure along strands of DNA that either silences or permits gene expression.

Orthostatic hypotension increases risk of developing atrial fibrillation

Date: Nov-24-2013
Results of a Johns Hopkins-led study have identified a possible link between a history of sudden drops in blood pressure and the most common form of irregular heartbeat.The study suggests that a bout of orthostatic hypotension - a steep blood pressure drop that occurs when a person stands up after a period of lying down - appears to be associated with an overall 40 percent increase in the risk of developing atrial fibrillation over the following two decades.

Epigenome in human skeletal muscle impacted by aging

Date: Nov-24-2013
Our epigenome is a set of chemical switches that turn parts of our genome off and on at strategic times and locations. These switches help alter the way our cells act and are impacted by environmental factors including diet, exercise and stress. Research at the Buck Institute reveals that aging also effects the epigenome in human skeletal muscle. The study, appearing on line in Aging Cell, provides a method to study sarcopenia, the degenerative loss of muscle mass that begins in middle age.The results came from the first genome-wide DNA methylation study in disease-free individuals.