Health News

Discovery Of A Genetic Cause For Severe Childhood Epilepsies

Date: May-29-2013
A large scientific study has discovered new genes causing severe seizure disorders that begin in babies and early childhood. The finding will lead to new tests to diagnose these conditions and promises to lead to improved outcomes. Epileptic encephalopathies are severe seizure disorders occurring in infants and children. The seizures are accompanied by slow development and intellectual problems...

Improving The Analysis Of Medical Images To Facilitate The Study Of Psychotic Disorders

Date: May-29-2013
A team of researchers from the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre has developed new superresolution and segmentation methods for magnetic resonance images so that they can be applied to the structural study of psychosis. The aim is to be able to identify the differences that are produced in specific parts of the brain in psychotic patients with respect to their healthy relatives or other people...

Genome-Wide Analysis Suggests 'No Single Genetic Recipe' For Schizophrenia

Date: May-29-2013
Using a novel method of analyzing genetic variations in families, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that individually harmless genetic variations affecting related biochemical processes may team up to increase the risk of schizophrenia. They say their findings, reported in Translational Psychiatry, bring some clarity to the murky relationship between genetics and schizophrenia, and may lead to a genetic test that can predict which medications will be effective for individual patients...

New Test For Bladder Cancer Will Significantly Improve Quality Of Patient Care

Date: May-29-2013
A simple urine test, developed at the University of Surrey may greatly improve patient quality of life and has the potential to save the NHS in excess of £100 million every year. The test, developed by Dr Richard Morgan and Prof Hardev Pandha looks for traces of the EN -2 protein in the urine, a protein which has been found to exist in bladder and prostate cancer patients. The test will help in the early detection of bladder cancer and could allow doctors to diagnose and treat patients without using invasive and costly procedures, such as cystoscopies...

Colorado State University Veterinarians Describe Pet Cancer And Leading-Edge Treatments

Date: May-29-2013
To mark Pet Cancer Awareness Month in May, veterinarians at Colorado State University described early warning signs and cutting-edge treatments to help pet owners act quickly in thwarting the leading cause of death in dogs and cats. As many as 50 percent of pets die of cancer, according to experts at CSU's Flint Animal Cancer Center, which is renowned for pioneering knowledge and treatment technologies that help animals with cancer - and are extended to human cancer treatment...

Pitt Researchers Find No Increase In Brain Cancer Related To Working At Connecticut Jet Engine Manufacturing Plant

Date: May-29-2013
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health have concluded a 12-year, multi-part study into a perceived increase in brain cancer at the Pratt & Whitney jet engine manufacturing plant in North Haven, Conn., and have found no statistically significant elevations in the overall cancer rates among the workforce. The results of the study, available online, will be published in the June edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine...

Research Identifies A Way To Make Cancer Cells More Responsive To Chemotherapy

Date: May-29-2013
Breast cancer characterized as "triple negative" carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options. In some cases, chemotherapy doesn't kill the cancer cells the way it's supposed to. New research from Western University explains why some cancer cells don't respond to chemotherapy, and identifies a mechanism to rectify that...

Innovative Saltwater Nebuliser To Treat Cystic Fibrosis

Date: May-29-2013
Observing surfers with cystic fibrosis (CF) led scientists to discover that the inhaled mist of seawater has a therapeutic effect on the lung problems associated with the disease. Now the findings have been used by pharmaceutical company Parion Sciences and product development firm Cambridge Consultants in a revolutionary new aerosol delivery system. It enables CF sufferers to get the benefits of saltwater treatment in their own homes overnight while they sleep...

Preterm Birth Affects Ability To Solve Complex Cognitive Tasks

Date: May-29-2013
Being born preterm goes hand in hand with an increased risk for neuro-cognitive deficits. Psychologists from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum and the University of Warwick, UK have investigated the relation between the duration of pregnancy and cognitive abilities under varying work load conditions. "Cognitive performance deficits of children dramatically increase as cognitive workload of tasks increases and pregnancy duration decreases," says Dr Julia Jäkel from the Ruhr-Universitat...

Children With Spastic Cerebral Palsy Benefit Long-Term From Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy

Date: May-29-2013
Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure used to treat spasticity in some children with spastic cerebral palsy. This procedure appears to be effective, but for how long? Researchers from Montreal, Quebec, Canada,* set out to find the answer to this question by studying data from the McGill University Rhizotomy Database on 102 pediatric patients with long-term follow-up. The researchers found that, in the majority of children with spastic cerebral palsy, the benefits of SDR last throughout adolescence and into early adulthood...