Health News

Improving the lives of allergy sufferers

Date: Sep-11-2013
Allergen immunotherapy improves the quality of life of people who are allergic to grass pollen and house dust mites, reveals a study in the open access World Allergy Journal. With less time taken off work, the therapy yields economic as well as patient benefits. Around a quarter of adults in Europe suffer from respiratory allergies. Symptoms can include asthma and / or rhino-conjunctivitis, inflammation of the inner nasal lining which causes a runny, stuffy nose. Treatment is usually with drugs, such as antihistamines, which manage the symptoms...

Insulin secretion disrupted by increased fatty acids

Date: Sep-11-2013
Patients with type 2 diabetes have increased levels of circulating glucose and fatty acids, which lead to disease complications. In healthy individuals, β cells within pancreatic islets release insulin in response to glucose and incretins, which are gastrointestinal hormones. Coordination between β cells is predicted to be important for insulin release...

Zero-displacement IV connector reduces bloodstream infections, long-term study says

Date: Sep-11-2013
A zero-displacement intravenous (IV) needleless connector was associated with dramatically lower infection rates when compared to positive- and negative- pressure connectors, a new, multisite study reports. The study's statistically significant data on IV connectors (also called hubs, valves and injection caps) was reported from five intensive care units and one long-term acute care (LTAC) facility...

Discovery of gene may lead to therapy for a retinal disease

Date: Sep-11-2013
Newly-reported findings by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) provide the first phenotypic evidence that a mutated gene causes one form of progressive retinal atrophy in papillon dogs. Progressive retinal atrophy is analogous to one of the leading cause of inherited blindness in humans and the findings may lead to new treatments for blindness in humans...

A targeted approach to asbestos-related cancer

Date: Sep-11-2013
A new targeted therapy for asbestos-related tumours has shown promise in an animal model. The results, reported in the open access journal BMC Cancer, raise hopes of a new therapy for this currently incurable cancer. Malignant mesothelioma (MMs) is a rare form of cancer, most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. It tends to be diagnosed decades after exposure occurs, so is rarely caught early. Current treatments, including surgery and chemotherapy, have limited efficacy and unpleasant side effects. Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs work by destroying cells that divide quickly...

Wireless network detects falls by the elderly

Date: Sep-11-2013
University of Utah electrical engineers have developed a network of wireless sensors that can detect a person falling. This monitoring technology could be linked to a service that would call emergency help for the elderly without requiring them to wear monitoring devices.  For people age 65 and older, falling is a leading cause of injury and death. Most fall-detection devices monitor a person's posture or require a person to push a button to call for help. However, these devices must be worn at all times...

Nearly 18 percent of pregnant women drink alcohol in early stages of pregnancy

Date: Sep-11-2013
Approximately 18 percent of women in their first trimester of pregnancy used alcohol within the past month according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report showed that 6.6 percent of women in their first trimester of pregnancy engaged in binge drinking (i.e., drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days)...

Study indicates benefits of stem cells in treating MS declines with donor's age

Date: Sep-11-2013
As stem cell clinical trials for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients become more common, it is crucial for researchers to understand the biologic changes and therapeutic effects of older donor stem cells. A new study appearing in the latest issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is the first to demonstrate that, in fact, adipose-derived stem cells donated by older people are less effective than cells from their younger counterparts. MS is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by inflammation and scar-like lesions throughout the central nervous system (CNS)...

New data provides insights into the prophylaxis of organ rejection and prophylaxis of fungal infections in liver transplant patients

Date: Sep-11-2013
In liver transplant patients, late renal failure is a significant cause of morbidity and is associated with premature mortality[1],[2],[3] Invasive fungal infections affect between 8.4%-17...

Use of electronic health records associated with higher rate of detection of growth disorders in children

Date: Sep-11-2013
"Monitoring of linear growth is a well-established part of pediatric health care in the developed world. Although monitoring aims to support early diagnosis and timely treatment of disorders affecting growth, such disorders are often diagnosed late," write Ulla Sankilampi, M.D., Ph.D., of Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, and colleagues...