Health News

New studies highlight benefits of EOS 3D imaging in assessing corrective bracing for scoliosis

Date: Jul-27-2013
EOS imaging (NYSE Euronext, FR0011191766-EOSI), the pioneer in orthopaedic 2D/3D imaging, have announced that two new studies supporting the use of its 3D imaging technology in assessing the impact of bracing for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have been published online in the European Spine Journal. Bracing is the preferred therapy for progressive scoliosis with a Cobb angle (curve) in the range of 20° to 45°, though current data on its efficacy in correcting spinal curvatures are inconclusive...

Enzyme in airway lining cells could hold key for asthma sufferers

Date: Jul-27-2013
An enzyme known for its role in heart disease may well be a promising target to treat asthma. Researchers from the University of Iowa have found that the enzyme, called CaMKII, is linked to the harmful effects of oxidation in the respiratory tract, triggering asthmatic symptoms. The finding could lead to the development of a drug that would target the CaMKII enzyme, the researchers say. Asthma affects billions of people worldwide. In the United States, 8...

Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections

Date: Jul-27-2013
In the commenting procedure on early benefit assessment pursuant to the German Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), under certain circumstances drug manufacturers may submit to the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) additional documents for dossiers. The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now assessed such additional information for two studies comparing the antibiotic fidaxomicin, which is used for diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile infections, with vancomycin...

Easy and accurate identification of the Black Death

Date: Jul-27-2013
Diagnosing the presence of Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, may soon be easier than ever before. Scientists working with Peter Seeberger, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPIKG) in Potsdam and Professor at the Freie Universitat Berlin, have come up with a simple, inexpensive and reliable method of detecting the bacterium. The research team, specialising in glycochemistry glycobiology, first identified and synthesised an oligosaccharide structure on bacterial surface before combining it with a protein to heighten the immunological effect...

Study features practical solution for MRI-ultrasound fusion to enable tumor-targeted, tissue-preserving prostate HIFU treatment

Date: Jul-27-2013
Study results published in the current issue of British Journal of Urology International (10.1111/bju.12223) demonstrate that new software to register and fuse information from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) images enables intraoperative visualization of tumors, not ordinarily seen in a US image. This technology has the potential to support new tissue-preserving treatments for prostate cancer, such as focal therapy...

Potential cause of Parkinson's disease discovered that points to a new therapeutic strategy

Date: Jul-27-2013
Biologists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a significant discovery that could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease. The findings, recently published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cell Biology, focus on an enzyme known as parkin, whose absence causes an early-onset form of Parkinson's disease. Precisely how the loss of this enzyme leads to the deaths of neurons has been unclear. But the TSRI researchers showed that parkin's loss sharply reduces the level of another protein that normally helps protect neurons from stress...

Common blood pressure drugs may slow dementia decline

Date: Jul-26-2013
A class of drug used to lower blood pressure could potentially slow the rate of cognitive decline in dementia and even boost brain power, according to a study published by BMJ Open. Researchers from Ireland analyzed the cognitive decline and brain power of 361 patients with an average age of 77. All had been diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, or a mixture of both. Of these patients, 85 were already using the blood pressure-lowering (antihypertensive) drugs known as ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors)...

'Marijuana in adolescence can cause permanent brain damage'

Date: Jul-26-2013
New research may give backing to parents telling teens to "just say no." A study in mice from the University of Maryland School of Medicine reveals that regular use of marijuana during adolescence could damage brain function, potentially increasing the risk for schizophrenia and other psychiatric problems. The study, which was recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology, had scientists examining cortical oscillations - patterns of the brain's neuron activity - in mice. These oscillations become abnormal when schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders are present...

Removing temptation more effective than willpower

Date: Jul-26-2013
When trying to lose weight have you found yourself sneaking visits to the cookie jar despite a promise to yourself that this time it wouldn't happen? Well a new study suggests a better strategy is not having cookies in the house in the first place. Avoiding temptation appears to be more effective for self-control than willpower, especially for very impulsive people...

Discovery of gene function may help prevent kidney stones

Date: Jul-26-2013
The discovery of a gene's function in E. coli and other bacteria might lead to a probiotic to prevent the most common type of kidney stone, according to a Purdue University study. Human cells can't metabolize oxalate, an acidic chemical found in nearly all plants we eat, so any oxalate we absorb from food must be excreted from the body. Calcium-oxalate urinary stones can form when oxalate reaches a high concentration in the kidneys. About 80 percent of kidney stones are composed of insoluble calcium oxalate. T...