Health News

Pitt Team Gets $5 Million NIH Grant To Make Vaccine Component That Stimulates TB-Fighting T-Cells

Date: Apr-12-2013
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have received a $5 million federal grant to develop a vaccine ingredient that can generate the type of immune response needed to protect against tuberculosis (TB) infection. Vaccines are primarily made of antigens, which are pieces of proteins from specific bacteria or viruses, and another component called the adjuvant, which stimulates the immune system's production of antibodies against the vaccine antigen, explained principal investigator JoAnne L. Flynn, Ph.D...

Children's Hospital Of Pittsburgh Of UPMC Study Reveals Success Rate Of Minimally Invasive Surgical Approaches In Infants

Date: Apr-12-2013
Blockage between the kidney and the ureter in infants can be successfully repaired with minimally invasive surgical approaches, according to a Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC study. The findings are published in the April issue of The Journal of Urology. Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction is the most common obstructive urinary system disease in infants, according to senior investigator Michael Ost, M.D., chief, Division of Pediatric Urology at Children's Hospital...

Registry-Based Research - A Challenge Of Great Potential

Date: Apr-12-2013
Research using registry data can contribute a great deal to the improvement of health and healthcare. Sweden is uniquely positioned in this respect, but the resources remain under-exploited, and there are methodological and financing problems that need resolving. Extensive databases in the form of population, patient and quality registries in healthcare have become goldmines for research in Sweden; however, mining the gold takes knowledge, method, money and, not least, money...

Researchers Successfully Develop Animal Free Methods For Testing Chemical Compounds For Allergens, Ahead Of The EU Ban

Date: Apr-12-2013
EU-funded research project developing in vitro ('out of body') test strategies to reduce or replace animal testing use gene expression analysis software As of march 2013 there is a ban in the European Union (EU) on animal testing of ingredients for cosmetics. The ban applies to all new cosmetics and their ingredients sold in the EU, regardless of where in the world testing on animals was carried out...

'Microrockets' And 'Micromotors' - Overcoming A Major Barrier To Medical And Other Uses

Date: Apr-12-2013
An advance in micromotor technology akin to the invention of cars that fuel themselves from the pavement or air, rather than gasoline or batteries, is opening the door to broad new medical and industrial uses for these tiny devices, scientists said. Their update on development of the motors - so small that thousands would fit inside this "o" - was part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, being held here this week. Joseph Wang, D.Sc...

High Levels Of Lead Detected In Rice Imported From Certain Countries

Date: Apr-12-2013
Rice imported from certain countries contains high levels of lead that could pose health risks, particularly for infants and children, who are especially sensitive to lead's effects, and adults of Asian heritage who consume large amounts of rice, scientists said. Their research, which found some of the highest lead levels in baby food, was among almost 12,000 reports scheduled for the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Tsanangurayi Tongesayi, Ph.D...

Drug Company Reps Neglect To Advise Doctors Of Harmful Effects Of Medicines During Sales Visits

Date: Apr-12-2013
The majority of family doctors receive little or no information about harmful effects of medicines when visited by drug company representatives, according to an international study involving Canadian, U.S. and French physicians. Yet the same doctors indicated that they were likely to start prescribing these drugs, consistent with previous research that shows prescribing behaviour is influenced by pharmaceutical promotion...

CLARITY Enables 3-D Analysis Of Fine Structure And Connections Of The Brain

Date: Apr-12-2013
Slicing optional. Scientists can now study the brain's finer workings, while preserving its 3-D structure and integrity of its circuitry and other biological machinery. A breakthrough method, called CLARITY, developed by National Institutes of Health-funded researchers, opens the intact postmortem brain to chemical, genetic and optical analyses that previously could only be performed using thin slices of tissue. By replacing fat that normally holds the brain's working components in place with a clear gel, they made its normally opaque and impenetrable tissue see-through and permeable...

Washington's Death With Dignity Act: Study Details SCCA's Plan To Honor Both Patients' Wishes And Voters' Mandate

Date: Apr-12-2013
By the end of 2011, most of the 255 Washington residents who received a prescription for lethal medication to end their lives under the state's Death with Dignity Act had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Of those, 40 were patients at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, part of the Pacific Northwest's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center...

Discovery Of Signature Of Circulating Breast Tumor Cells That Metastasize To The Brain

Date: Apr-12-2013
Some breast tumor circulating cells in the bloodstream are marked by a constellation of biomarkers that identify them as those destined to seed the brain with a deadly spread of cancer, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "What prompted us to initiate this study was our desire to understand the characteristics of these cells," said Dr. Dario Marchetti, professor of pathology at BCM, director of the CTC (circulating tumor cell) Core Facility at BCM and a member of the NCI-designated Dan L...