Health News

Late-Onset Asthma In Obese Individuals Could Be Due To An Amino Acid Imbalance, Says Pitt-Led Study

Date: Mar-20-2013
Increased respiratory symptoms and loss of asthma-related quality of life in obese people, especially those who develop asthma later in life, may be due to an imbalance in the metabolism of arginine rather than allergy or airway inflammation, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine...

Elite Athletes Also Excel At Some Cognitive Tasks

Date: Mar-20-2013
New research suggests that elite athletes - Olympic medalists in volleyball, for example - perform better than the rest of us in yet another way. These athletes excel not only in their sport of choice but also in how fast their brains take in and respond to new information - cognitive abilities that are important on and off the court...

Difference In Radical Prostatectomy Outcomes Between Surgeons Confirmed By Study

Date: Mar-20-2013
New evidence from Sweden confirms previous studies which suggest that functional outcomes after radical prostatectomy may vary between surgeons, especially in relation to continence. However, the group found no evidence of heterogeneity in potency-related outcomes. The results of this investigation, presented at the 28th Annual EAU Congress, aimed of to examine between surgeon variation with regards to oncological and patient-reported functional outcomes in one European centre...

Map Of 'Shortcuts' Created Between All Human Genes

Date: Mar-20-2013
Some diseases are caused by single gene mutations. Current techniques for identifying the disease-causing gene in a patient produce hundreds of potential gene candidates, making it difficult for scientists to pinpoint the single causative gene. Now, a team of researchers led by Rockefeller University scientists have created a map of gene "shortcuts" to simplify the hunt for disease-causing genes. The investigation, spearheaded by Yuval Itan, a postdoctoral fellow in the St...

Simple '10 Step' Test Could Detect Knee Osteoarthritis

Date: Mar-20-2013
Study by Anglia Ruskin University expert links walking pattern asymmetry with knee joint disease A "10 step" test to monitor people's walking pattern could be a simple and low-cost way of spotting the early symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, according to the author of a new study. Osteoarthritis affects 45% of over 65s and costs the UK economy approximately 1% of its annual gross national product. The disease is a growing problem due to obesity and an ageing population...

Pediatricians Can Help Parents Gain Better Insight Into What They Want For Their Child And How They Address Parenting Challenges

Date: Mar-20-2013
Boston Medical Center pediatricians Laura Johnson, MD, MPH, Jenny Radesky, MD, and Barry Zuckerman, MD, the Joel and Barbara Alpert Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, have published a paper in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics that addresses how understanding the origins and goals of parenting behaviors can help pediatricians strengthen relationships with families, demonstrate cultural sensitivity, and more effectively offer guidance on the challenges of childrearing...

Knee Implant GelrinC Receives European CE Mark Approval

Date: Mar-20-2013
Biodegradable implant provides new option to help grow quality cartilage in damaged knee joints Regentis Biomaterials Ltd., a privately held company focused on developing proprietary hydrogels for tissue regeneration, announced this week it has received European CE Mark approval for its GelrinC™ biodegradable implant. GelrinC is the first synthetic implant to be CE-approved that provides a customized solution by completely filling cartilage lesions with acellular material. GelrinC allows high quality cartilage to regenerate in the knee in the exact shape of the defect...

In Metal-On-Metal Hip Replacement, MRI May Predict Adverse Tissue Reaction

Date: Mar-20-2013
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can detect a failing, or potentially failing, metal-on-metal hip implant (MoM) early on, according to a new study presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Early detection can result in timely revision surgery, decreasing the risk for further tissue damage and pain. Researchers reviewed the MRI images of 70 patients who ultimately underwent revision surgery for a failed MoM implant. The images were assessed for the presence of tissue damage, swelling and other characteristics...

Myeloma UK Funded Research Leads To Breakthrough In Understanding Causes Of Myeloma Cancer

Date: Mar-20-2013
The Myeloma UK funded Research Programme at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) has made another important discovery about the genetics of myeloma. Researchers at the ICR have identified an inherited gene that increases the risk of developing myeloma by making the DNA more susceptible to damage. This may also have implications for other forms of cancer...

Insight Into Periodontal Health, Disease

Date: Mar-20-2013
Microbes from the human mouth are telling Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists something about periodontitis and more after they cracked the genetic code of bacteria linked to the condition. The finding, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, profiles the SR1 bacteria, a group of microbes present in many environments, ranging from the mouth to deep within the Earth, that have never been cultivated in the laboratory...