Health News

Healthcare most dangerous place for workplace injuries

Date: Jul-20-2013
Healthcare is the most dangerous industry for injuries and illnesses, with 653,000 nurses, aides, orderlies and others injured or falling ill every year, according to a new Public Citizen Report. Forty-five percent of all workplace violence incidents in the USA that result in lost workdays occur in the health care sector. Among attendants, orderlies, and nursing aides in 2011, the incidence rate of injuries requiring days off work was 486 cases per 10,000 employees, over four times higher than the national average for all workers...

What is Effexor (venlafaxine)?

Date: Jul-19-2013
Effexor (Venlafaxine) is an antidepressant, belonging to the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class of drugs, used for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. The drug, currently marketed by Pfizer, is the most prescribed SNRI in the U.S. and one of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. As an SNRI, Effexor works by increasing and regulating the levels of two different neurotransmitters in the brain: norepinephrine and serotonin...

What Is Xanax (alprazolam)?

Date: Jul-19-2013
Xanax (Alprazolam) is a commonly prescribed drug to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and panic. Xanax belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, which are central nervous system depressants that work by enhancing the effect of the neurotransmitter "gamma-aminobutyric acid" (GABA). GABA is essentially the brain's tranquilizing neurotransmitter. Xanax binds to certain sites on the GABAA gamma-amino-butyric acid receptor, slowing down activity in the brain, producing a calming effect. Xanax is a benzodiazepine with a very fast onset of action...

Drinking water boosts your brain's reaction time

Date: Jul-19-2013
We all know that drinking water regularly is good for the body. But new research has revealed that drinking water when we feel thirsty boosts our brain's performance in mental tests. Researchers from the University of East London and the University of Westminster in the UK analyzed the potential effects of water on cognitive performance and mood among 34 participants with an average age of 29 years. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, involved participants taking part in a "water" and a "no water" experiment one week apart...

US life expectancy varies from state to state

Date: Jul-19-2013
Forget about football teams, the new state rivalry is all about life expectancy. A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) breaks down healthy life-expectancy (HLE) by state. Hawaii dominates the list, while Southern states fall short. The report uses data about mortality, morbidity and health status to estimate the expected number of years lived in good health for people, beginning at age 65. These types of estimates are used around the world to predict future health service needs and to identify trends or inequalities in each country...

3D tissue grown using cell phone tech

Date: Jul-19-2013
Researchers have taken technology from makers of mobile phones and other consumer electronics and used it to grow 3D tissue. Scientists at the Draper Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a prototype using an automated "layer-by-layer" assembly method - usually found within the electronics packing industry to build integrated circuits. Their work is published in the journal Advanced Materials...

Safe and easy way to make stem cells

Date: Jul-19-2013
Researchers in China announced in a paper published in the journal Science on Thursday that they have developed an "easy and safe" way to make stem cells that could rekindle the great hope for growing tissue and organs from stem cells to treat a range of diseases. By using a cocktail of small molecules to chemically reprogram the adult tissue cells they say they can make induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as versatile as embryonic stem cells, without running the risk of dangerous mutations or cancer that occurs when gene insertion is used to make iPS cells...

COPD increases risk of developing cerebral microbleeds

Date: Jul-19-2013
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an increased risk of developing cerebral microbleeds, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. Cerebral microbleeds are a marker of cerebral small vessel disease, an important cause of age-related disability and cognitive decline...

Synthetically optimized HIF-1 alpha DNA delivery using CELLECTRA provides significant therapeutic effects for peripheral arterial disease

Date: Jul-19-2013
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: INO) has announced that the use of its proprietary electroporation technology significantly enhanced the ability of a DNA therapy to stimulate blood vessel growth, which may be beneficial for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) and other forms of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). CLI's severe blockage of arteries of the lower extremities markedly reduces blood flow, resulting in notable medical impacts and death...

Publication of class B GPCR structure announced (CRF1)

Date: Jul-19-2013
Heptares Therapeutics, the leading GPCR drug discovery and development company, announces the publication of a scientific article describing the high resolution X-ray crystal structure of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 (CRF1) receptor. The paper has been published in Nature and is available online to subscribers by clicking here. CRF1 is the receptor for the hormone CRF, which is important in regulating the body's response to stress and is implicated in stress-related diseases such as depression and anxiety...