Health News

Researchers uncover 48 new genetic variants associated with multiple sclerosis

Date: Oct-01-2013
Scientists of the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (IMSGC) have identified an additional 48 genetic variants influencing the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. This work nearly doubles the number of known genetic risk factors and thereby provides additional key insights into the biology of this debilitating neurological condition...

CSU center for companion animal studies partners with Belgium company to help dogs and cats

Date: Oct-01-2013
The Colorado State University Center for Companion Animal Studies is collaborating with Belgium-based company Viyo International on a study meant to save dogs with parvovirus infection whose low-income families cannot afford the animals' medical care. The study is supported with a $100,000 donation from Viyo International as part of a research and training collaboration called "Partners in Clinical Excellence." The project will provide sick dogs with complete treatment from clinicians and veterinary students at CSU's James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, said Dr...

Elimination of dog-transmitted human rabies in the Americas by 2015 is within reach, experts say

Date: Oct-01-2013
Most countries in the Western Hemisphere have succeeded in eliminating human rabies transmitted by dogs, and experts say the remaining countries can reach that goal by 2015 if they dedicate the necessary resources. On World Rabies Day (28 Sept.), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling on its Member States to keep up their efforts to eliminate the disease...

McGowan Institute will co-direct $75 million second phase of national effort to aid wounded warriors

Date: Oct-01-2013
The Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) will continue its efforts to apply the latest in tissue engineering and other regenerative medicine techniques to the treatment of battlefield injuries in a $75 million, five-year second phase. The AFIRM-II consortium of more than 30 academic centers and industry partners will be led by Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and co-directed by Rocky Tuan, Ph.D...

New data show benefit of DaTSCAN™ (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) in the diagnosis of patients with clinically uncertain dementia with Lewy bodies

Date: Oct-01-2013
Data presented at the XXI World Congress of Neurology in Vienna suggest that DaTSCAN™ (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) SPECT imaging could add value to current diagnostic tools used by physicians to diagnose patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) by improving physician's ability to definitively diagnose the disorder and increase their confidence in so doing. DaTSCAN is GE Healthcare's radiopharmaceutical indicated for striatal dopamine transporter visualization using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging...

Statin therapy prior to CABG surgery may improve outcomes

Date: Oct-01-2013
Patients receiving statin therapy before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery appear to have a reduced risk of post-surgical mortality, stroke, and atrial fibrillation (irregular or rapid heart rate), according to an article in the October 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. These same benefits from statins could not be demonstrated for patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).  "Heart surgery patients typically have a number of other disorders, so we need to optimize the patient's preoperative condition and help ensure the best possible result," said Elmar W...

IU research attributes high rates of smoking among mentally ill to addiction vulnerability

Date: Oct-01-2013
People with mental illness smoke at much higher rates than the overall population. But the popular belief that they are self-medicating is most likely wrong, according to researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Instead, they report, research indicates that psychiatric disease makes the brain more susceptible to addiction. As smoking rates in the general population have fallen below 25 percent, smoking among the mentally ill has remained pervasive, encompassing an estimated half of all cigarettes sold...

Standards for dental profession put new focus on patients, UK

Date: Oct-01-2013
New standards for the dental profession came into force on 30 September which put a much stronger focus on patients' expectations and entitlements. Issued by the General Dental Council (GDC), the UK's dental regulator, the standards were developed following intensive consultation with patients and the public. 'Standards for the Dental Team' takes effect on Monday 30 September 2013 and replaces the previous guidance 'Standards for dental professionals'...

Increased mortality risk for younger patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Date: Oct-01-2013
Younger patients with colorectal cancer that has spread (metastasised) to other parts of the body represent a high-risk group that is less likely to respond to anti-cancer treatments. Their disease is more likely to progress and they are at greater risk of death than other age groups, according to new reseach presented to the 2013 European Cancer Congress (ECC2013) [1]...

Gene pinpointed in Prader-Willi syndrome

Date: Oct-01-2013
As so many genome studies do, this study published online in the journal Nature Genetics began with a single patient and his parents who were in search of a diagnosis. The parents of this first patient sought genetic testing for Prader-Willi syndrome when he was only a year old, but the test, which was still in its infancy, came back negative. For the next 12 years, his parents were left in limbo. He had many features of the disease - including lack of muscle tone, feeding difficulties and failure to thrive early on...