Health News

Coffee Drinking Tied To Lower Risk For Rare Liver Disease PSC

Date: May-20-2013
New research from the US shows that regular consumption of coffee is linked to a reduced risk of a rare autoimmune liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Study investigator Craig Lammert, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is presenting the findings at the Digestive Disease Week 2013 conference in Orlando, Florida this week...

Injectable Nanogel Can Monitor Blood-Sugar Levels And Secrete Insulin When Needed

Date: May-20-2013
Injectable nanoparticles developed at MIT may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. The nanoparticles were designed to sense glucose levels in the body and respond by secreting the appropriate amount of insulin, thereby replacing the function of pancreatic islet cells, which are destroyed in patients with Type 1 diabetes. Ultimately, this type of system could ensure that blood-sugar levels remain balanced and improve patients' quality of life, according to the researchers...

Heat-Related Fatalities Are Projected To Rise Steeply In Manhattan Due To Warming Climate

Date: May-20-2013
Residents of Manhattan will not just sweat harder from rising temperatures in the future, says a new study; many may die. Researchers say deaths linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, and, in some worst-case scenarios, 90 percent or more by the 2080s. Higher winter temperatures may partially offset heat-related deaths by cutting cold-related mortality - but even so, annual net temperature-related deaths might go up a third...

VEGF Inhibition Via TGF-B1 Suggested For Glaucoma Surgery

Date: May-20-2013
The most common cause of failure after glaucoma surgery is scarring at the surgical site, so researchers are actively looking for ways to minimize or prevent scar formation. Previous work had suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activates fibrosis, whereas VEGF inhibition results in reduced scar formation and better surgical results...

Race And Sex Of Study Personnel Can Affect Patient Openness To Research

Date: May-20-2013
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that the race and sex of study personnel can influence a patient's decision on whether or not to participate in clinical research. The study, presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's annual meeting in Atlanta, found that there is an interaction of the race and sex of the study assistant and the race of the patient...

HIV-Testing In Emergency Departments Can Be Increased Through Peer-Referral Programs

Date: May-20-2013
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that incorporating a peer-referral program for HIV testing into emergency departments can reach new groups of high-risk patients and brings more patients into the hospital for testing. Co-author and assistant professor of emergency medicine Michael Lyons, MD, says public health officials study multiple approaches to increasing early diagnosis of HIV. These approaches include a recent emphasis on expanding testing in health care centers, particularly emergency departments (EDs) that treat disadvantaged, at-risk populations...

Risks, Interventions Identified For Children's GI Health

Date: May-20-2013
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). In one study targeting obesity, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital found that obese children have a unique pattern of exhaled breath compared to their lean counterparts. The pattern showed differences in volatile organic compound levels that can be correlated to potential complications associated with obesity, such as diabetes and fatty liver disease...

Bowel Preparation For Colonoscopy Improved By New Smartphone Application

Date: May-20-2013
The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in advance of the procedure, includes dietary restrictions and requires specific bowel preparation medication to be taken at strict intervals. The better the preparation, the easier it is for doctors to see cancer and precancerous polyps in the colon...

Ketamine Associated With Rapid Antidepressant Effect In Largest Clinical Trial To Date

Date: May-20-2013
Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The antidepressant benefits of ketamine were seen within 24 hours, whereas traditional antidepressants can take days or weeks to demonstrate a reduction in depression...

Shedding New Light On High-Altitude Adaptation Through The Genome Sequencing Of The Tibetan Antelope

Date: May-20-2013
Why Tibetan antelope can live at elevations of 4,000-5,000m on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau? In a collaborative research published in Nature Communications, investigators from Qinghai University, BGI, and other institutes provide evidence that some genetic factors may be associated with the species' adaption to harsh highland environments. The data in this work will also provide implications for studying specific genetic mechanisms and the biology of other ruminant species...