Health News

Better Cancer Detection, More Accurate Staging With New Imaging Agent

Date: Mar-23-2013
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a new imaging dye, designed and developed at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, is an effective agent in detecting and mapping cancers that have reached the lymph nodes. The radioactive dye called Technetium Tc-99m tilmanocept, successfully identified cancerous lymph nodes and did a better job of marking cancers than the current standard dye. Results of the Phase III clinical trial have been published online in the Annals of Surgical Oncology...

Common Test For Measuring Mercury May Overestimate Exposure From Dental Amalgam Fillings

Date: Mar-23-2013
A common test used to determine mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings may significantly overestimate the amount of the toxic metal released from fillings, according to University of Michigan researchers. Scientists agree that dental amalgam fillings slowly release mercury vapor into the mouth. But both the amount of mercury released and the question of whether this exposure presents a significant health risk remain controversial...

Robot Therapy Helps Children With Autism

Date: Mar-23-2013
"Aiden, look!" piped NAO, a two-foot tall humanoid robot, as it pointed to a flat-panel display on a far wall. As the cartoon dog Scooby Doo flashed on the screen, Aiden, a young boy with an unruly thatch of straw-colored hair, looked in the direction the robot was pointing. Aiden, who is three and a half years old, has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)...

Heart Defect Procedure Reduces Stroke By 73%

Date: Mar-22-2013
A procedure to close a heart defect that most people are born with can decrease the risk of recurrent stroke by 73 percent, according to new data published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings came from an eight year study called the RESPECT trial (Randomized Evaluation of recurrent Stroke comparing PFO closure to Established Current standard of care Treatment). It was made to test the superiority of the AMPLATZER PFO device in the treatment of cryptogenic stroke patients compared with current medical management...

Traffic Pollution Can Cause Asthma In Kids

Date: Mar-22-2013
Exposure to traffic pollution near busy roads can cause chronic asthma in kids. The finding came from a new study conducted in 10 European cities which found that traffic pollution is responsible for 14% of chronic childhood asthmas, showing a similar effect that passive smoking has on asthma. The World Health Organization (WHO) says between about 4% and 18% of asthma cases in children are associated with passive smoking...

Naproxen Shows Anti-Viral Activity Against Flu

Date: Mar-22-2013
The over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug naproxen may also exhibit antiviral activity against influenza A virus, according to a team of French scientists. The finding, the result of a structure-based investigation, is published online ahead of print in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. New influenza vaccines must be developed annually, because the surface proteins they target mutate rapidly, the way cars used to get a whole new look every year...

Research Findings Will Likely Help In The Design Of Drugs Against Virus Causing Childhood Illnesses

Date: Mar-22-2013
New research findings may help scientists design drugs to treat a virus infection that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children. The virus, called enterovirus 71, causes hand, foot and mouth disease and is common throughout the world. Although that disease usually is not fatal, the virus has been reported to cause fatal encephalitis in infants and young children, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, no cure exists for the infection. New findings show the precise structure of the virus bound to a molecule that inhibits infection...

DaTSCAN (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) SPECT Imaging Demonstrates Impact On The Diagnosis Of Patients With Clinically Uncertain Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Date: Mar-22-2013
New data on physician's confidence in diagnosis following use of DaTSCAN presented at 2013 American Academy of Neurology Meeting GE Healthcare today presented the results of a randomized study analyzing the effect of DaTSCAN™ (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) SPECT imaging in a group of adult patients with a diagnosis of possible dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The findings, presented at the 2013 American Academy of Neurology Meeting, reported use of DaTSCAN imaging significantly contributed to a change in diagnostic category and improved physician confidence in diagnosing these patients...

Exposure To Inhaled Agents At Work Means 1 In 4 Of Operated Chronic Sinusitis Patients Fail To Recover

Date: Mar-22-2013
Exposure to occupational agents at work should be taken into account as a risk factor for the occurrence of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This conclusion on the chronic sinusitis study* will be discussed, alongside other issues at the 9th Symposium on Experimental Rhinology and Immunology of the Nose, SERIN, 2013 organised by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, EAACI, set to take place at the University of Leuven from 21-23 March...

Esbriet® (Pirfenidone) Receives Positive Final Appraisal Determination From NICE For Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

Date: Mar-22-2013
InterMune, Inc. today reported that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the health technology appraisal body in England and Wales, has issued its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending Esbriet® (pirfenidone) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a rare and poorly understood lung condition that causes scarring of the lungs, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. It worsens over time and is often fatal[i]...