Health News

UK Lags Behind EU Counterparts In Uptake Of Oncology Biomarker Testing

Date: Jun-27-2013
Research reveals that the uptake of diagnostic testing amongst cancer patients in the UK trails behind that of other Western European markets. The data, which comes from Ipsos Healthcare's Global Oncology Monitor, shows that across three of the most highly-researched oncology biomarkers - HER2, KRAS and EGFR mutation - the proportion of relevant patients undergoing genetic testing in the UK was behind the EU4 average for the past few years. In fact, more often than not, the UK trailed each of the four individual markets...

Virtual World Helps To Relieve Patients' Pain

Date: Jun-27-2013
Researchers in Birmingham are hoping to use the hi-tech world of virtual reality in a bid to relieve the pain of hospital patients. Teams at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) and the University of Birmingham are working on using computer game technology to alleviate patients' pain and discomfort through distraction therapy. Patients would be able to wander around a virtual world based on the natural delights of Devon, with simulated 'walks' along a coastal path or through woodland...

Spontaneously Emerging Brain Activity Patterns Preserve Traces Of Previous Cognitive Activity

Date: Jun-27-2013
What if experts could dig into the brain, like archaeologists, and uncover the history of past experiences? This ability might reveal what makes each of us a unique individual, and it could enable the objective diagnosis of a wide range of neuropsychological diseases. New research at the Weizmann Institute hints that such a scenario is within the realm of possibility: It shows that spontaneous waves of neuronal activity in the brain bear the imprints of earlier events for at least 24 hours after the experience has taken place...

How We Process Sensory Stimuli

Date: Jun-27-2013
Various areas of the brain process our sensory experiences. How the areas of the cerebral cortex communicate with each other and process sensory information has long puzzled neu-roscientists. Exploring the sense of touch in mice, brain researchers from the University of Zurich now demonstrate that the transmission of sensory information from one cortical area to connected areas depends on the specific task to solve and the goal-directed behavior. These findings can serve as a basis for an improved understanding of cognitive disorders...

Project To Improve Molecular Diagnosis Of Lynch Syndrome

Date: Jun-27-2013
The Fundacion Mutua Madrilena, in its 10th Call for Aids to Research, has selected a project to improve the diagnosis of Lynch syndrome led by researcher Marta Pineda, from the Hereditary Cancer research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). The aid is provided with 33,000 euros and has a duration of two years. Hereditary predisposition to cancer Lynch syndrome is a hereditary predisposition to cancer caused by germline mutations in DNA repair genes...

After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Children With ADHD More Likely To Be Moderately Disabled

Date: Jun-27-2013
Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Chicago have found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to demonstrate a moderate disability after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury than children without ADHD. Detailed findings of this phenomenon are reported and discussed in "The impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on recovery from mild traumatic brain injury. Clinical article," by Christopher M. Bonfield, M.D., Sandi Lam, M.D., M.B.A., Yimo Lin, B.A...

Stress Can Significantly Impact Your Heart

Date: Jun-27-2013
Anticipating that you are unhealthy because of stress may have a negative influence on your heart health, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal. Investigators examined data from the Whitehall II study which is partly funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The Whitehall II study, established in 1985, gathered health data from several thousand civil servants...

Drug-Induced Liver Injury Cases Rising

Date: Jun-27-2013
Drug-induced liver injury is affecting more people today than ever before, researchers from the National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland, reported in the journal Gastroenterology. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is associated with the use of certain OTC (over-the-counter) an prescription drugs, as well as dietary supplements. Doctors say that DILI is difficult to predict, diagnose and manage. Einar S. Björnsson and colleagues carried out an Icelandic population-based study, which found there were 19.1 cases of DILI per 100,000 people per year...

NIH Reducing Use Of Chimps In Research

Date: Jun-27-2013
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says it plans to considerably reduce the use of chimps in NIH-funded biomedical research, and to retire the majority of chimps it currently supports or owns. Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., NIH Director, says the Institute has accepted most of the independent advisory council's recommendations for implementing a set of principles and criteria for use on chimps in research sponsored by the NIH. The principles and criteria were defined by the IoM (Institute of Medicine)...

How To Have A Healthy Summer

Date: Jun-27-2013
The summer is a time of rest, excitement and fun for many of us. However, summer also carries with it several hazards which can affect our health if we do not take some simple precautions. As summer arrives with gorgeous sunny days and warm weather, it also brings the threat of sunburns, allergies, bug bites, and other potential health complications. Below are some tips that may help you enjoy a problem-free summer. Protect yourself from UVA rays Sunlight is good for the body, but like everything, too much of it is bad for you...