Health News

Large International Study Shows Wide Variation In 'RSI'

Date: Jun-13-2013
New scientific research shows that workers from different countries experience widely different rates of disabling wrist and hand pain even when doing similar types of work. Among office workers using computers, prevalence was 14 times higher in some countries than others. This huge variation could not be explained by known causes of wrist and hand disorders, or by the availability of compensation for work-related illness such as "RSI". Instead, scientists suggest, the difference may be a consequence of differences in culturally determined health beliefs and expectations...

Recognising Low Blood Sugars Could Help Prevent Brain Damage In Newborn Babies

Date: Jun-13-2013
Researchers from The University of Manchester studying a rare and potentially lethal childhood disease - which is the clinical opposite of diabetes - have made an important discovery. The team has found newborn babies with transient (also known as short-term) congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) are at risk of developing, long-term disability or brain damage due to low blood sugars. Previously it was thought only babies with the most severe form, known as persistent CHI, were at risk of brain damage...

IU Research Team Identifies Genetic Risk For Cancer In Breast Cells

Date: Jun-13-2013
An Indiana University cancer researcher and his Canadian collaborator have discovered how normal breast precursor cells may be genetically vulnerable to developing into cancer. David Gilley, Ph.D., associate professor of medical and molecular genetics at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and Connie Eaves, Ph.D...

New Animal Model Sheds Light On Crohn's Disease

Date: Jun-13-2013
McMaster University investigators have opened up a new area of research in the study of Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that afflicts over 100,000 Canadians, one of the highest rates worldwide. Led by Brian Coombes, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR), his group has been studying a variant of E. coli called adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) that is associated with human Crohn's Disease...

Study Shows Low Morbidity, Mortality Rates For Patients Treated With Cytoreductive Surgery Combined With Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Date: Jun-13-2013
Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have determined that cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CS/HIPEC), a complex procedure to treat advanced abdominal cancers, can be done safely, and may be an effective therapy for select patients. Study results are published in the June issue of Cancer Medicine. "There has been much discussion as to whether there is a benefit with this procedure, and historically it has been associated with a lot of risk...

Study Suggests Association Between Hypoglycemia, Dementia In Older Adults With Diabetes

Date: Jun-13-2013
A study of older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) suggests a bidirectional association between hypoglycemic (low blood glucose) events and dementia, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. There is a growing body of evidence that DM may increase the risk for developing cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia, and there is research interest in whether DM treatment can prevent cognitive decline...

New Study Reveals The Mechanisms Behind Trunk To Tail Transition In Vertebrates

Date: Jun-13-2013
One of the most remarkable anatomical differences among vertebrate bodies is the relative size of their neck, trunk and tail. This can be illustrated by comparing the bodies of a typical snake and of a long tailed lizard. They are both very long and superficially similar. However, most of the snake's body is a trunk full with organs of the digestive, excretory and reproductive systems, whereas the largest part of the lizard's body is a muscular tail. These different body plans are genetically determined during embryonic development...

Heart Rhythm Disturbances An Increased Risk For Long-Distance Cross-country Skiers

Date: Jun-13-2013
Cross-country skiers who take part in one of the world's most challenging ski races, the 90 km Vasaloppet in Sweden, are at increased risk of developing arrhythmia - problems with the rate or rhythm of their heart beat - according to a study of nearly 53,000 race participants published online in the /iEuropean Heart Journal [1]...

Study Is The First To Show Association Between Mother's Chemical Exposure And Fetal Motor Activity And Heart Rate

Date: Jun-13-2013
A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has for the first time found that a mother's higher exposure to some common environmental contaminants was associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal motor activity. Some chemicals were also associated with fewer changes in fetal heart rate, which normally parallel fetal movements. The study of 50 pregnant women found detectable levels of organochlorines in all of the women participating in the study - including DDT, PCBs and other pesticides that have been banned from use for more than 30 years...

Analytic Hierarchy Process Tested By IQWiG Could Become A Component Of Health Economic Evaluations

Date: Jun-13-2013
It is more important to patients suffering from depression that they show a noticeable response to treatment in the first place than being completely cured. It is exactly the opposite in physicians treating people with this disease: they consider remission to have higher priority than response. This is the result of a pilot project carried out by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) together with external experts...