Health News

Teaching hospitals should take extra care of high-risk patients in July

Date: Nov-09-2013
With almost no experience, newly graduated medical students enter teaching hospitals around the country every July, beginning their careers as interns. At the same time, the last year's interns and junior residents take a step up and assume new responsibilities. In addition to developing their nascent clinical skills, each entering class of interns must grasp the many rules and standards for operating in this "new" hospital structure. More experienced physicians share a joke about this changing of the guard: Don't get sick in July...

Smart pain medications for osteoarthritis

Date: Nov-09-2013
Scientists are reporting development of a squishy gel that when compressed - like at a painful knee joint - releases anti-inflammatory medicine. The new material could someday deliver medications when and where osteoarthritis patients need it most. Their study appears in the ACS journal Biomacromolecules. Xinqiao Jia, Chandran R. Sabanayagam and colleagues note that in the past few decades, researchers have been developing a variety of "smart" hydrogels that can release medications over several days rather than in a single burst...

Hot air balloon crashes: 'practical interventions needed'

Date: Nov-09-2013
Going on a hot air balloon ride may be on your list of exciting experiences to try one day. But after reading this, you may be less willing to fly "up, up and away," as new research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has revealed the number of hot air balloon crashes and injuries over the past 12 years. According to the researchers, recent data has shown that in the US, helicopter and fixed-wing commercial air tour operations have high crash rates, compared with commercial aviation operations...

Arguments: marital happiness hinges on wives keeping calm

Date: Nov-09-2013
It can sometimes be difficult to regain composure after a particularly heated argument with a spouse. But new findings, published in the journal Emotion, show that long-term marital satisfaction depends on wives, not husbands, regulating their own emotions. Though a husband should probably not suggest that his wife "calm down" during a fight, researchers from the University of California-Berkeley and Northwestern University found that marriages in which wives were able to regain their composure quickly during a dispute were the happiest, both short and long term...

Neurosurgeon bases surgery simulator on daughter's head

Date: Nov-08-2013
Neurosurgery is deemed one of the most complicated surgical techniques, and any tools that help train new neurosurgical apprentices are largely welcomed in the medical world. Now, a neurosurgeon has created a surgery simulator designed to teach basic surgery skills, and it is modeled on his daughter's head. The simulator, created by Richard Ashpole of the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, UK, is called the Realistic Operative Workstation for Educating Neurosurgical Apprentices, otherwise known as Rowena...

Autism linked to tummy troubles

Date: Nov-08-2013
Children with autism are six to eight times more likely to suffer gastrointestinal upsets than children who are developing typically, say researchers from the University of California-Davis' MIND Institute. And they say gastrointestinal (GI) upsets, including constipation, diarrhea and food sensitivity, are themselves related to behavioral problems, such as irritability, repetitive behavior and social withdrawal...

Tea benefits: weight loss, improved bone health and mood

Date: Nov-08-2013
That moment in the morning when tea drinkers take their first warm sip can be amazing. And now, 12 new articles from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that tea may indeed be a magical elixir, as it was shown to promote weight loss, prevent chronic illnesses and improve mood. Whether iced or hot, on any given day, over 158 million people in the US drink tea, according to the Tea Association of the USA. And our British counterparts consume 165 million cups daily...

Surgeons describe new knee ligament

Date: Nov-08-2013
At the Belgian University Hospitals Leuven, two knee surgeons have for the first time given a full anatomical description of a new ligament that they term the anterolateral ligament (ALL). The new ligament is thought to play an important role in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Orthopedic surgeons Dr. Steven Claes and Prof. Johan Bellemans and colleagues, write about some of their findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Anatomy...

Bio patch regenerates missing or damaged bone

Date: Nov-08-2013
Research led by the University of Iowa has tested a "bio patch" that regenerates missing or damaged bone by inserting DNA into nano-sized particles to deliver bone-making genetic instructions directly into cells. The method succeeded in regrowing enough bone to fully cover skull wounds in live rats. And, in test tubes, it also stimulated new growth in human bone marrow stromal cells...

Neovasc Reducer achieves primary endpoint in COSIRA trial, significantly improving functional capabilities in patients with refractory angina

Date: Nov-08-2013
Neovasc Inc. (TSXV: NVC) has reported topline results for its COSIRA trial assessing the efficacy and safety of the Neovasc ReducerTM, a novel percutaneous device for the treatment of refractory angina. The data shows that the Reducer achieved its primary endpoint, significantly improving the symptoms and functioning of patients disabled by previously untreatable refractory angina. The COSIRA trial also confirmed that the Reducer is safe and well-tolerated, with no reports of device-related serious adverse events...