Health News

How Immune Cells Are Able To Advance Their Own Evolution

Date: Mar-13-2013
Immune system B cells play a crucial role in the defence of pathogens; when they detect such an intruder, they produce antibodies that help to combat the enemy. They concurrently and continuously improve these molecules to more precisely recognize the pathogens. A team of scientists with participation of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has discovered that during this process the cells are able to advance their own evolution themselves by increasing the selection pressure through previously-produced antibodies...

Cangrelor, New Anti-Clotting Drug More Effective Than Current Treatment

Date: Mar-13-2013
A new and experimental anti-clotting drug, cangrelor, proved better than the commonly used clopidogrel and was significantly more effective at preventing blood clots in a large trial of patients who underwent coronary stent procedures. These data, from the phase III CHAMPION PHOENIX study, were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers report that the new drug, which is administered intravenously, reduced the odds of complications from stenting procedures...

Lives Saved By Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation And Mechanical CPR

Date: Mar-13-2013
The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), accompanied by mechanical CPR, in patients with massive myocardial infarctions can lead to unexpected survival. These study findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions. ECMO is an advanced technology that functions as a replacement for a critically ill patient's heart and lungs. This is the first report of combined ECMO, mechanical CPR and therapeutic hypothermia (TH) use within a STEMI Network...

Buphenyl Identified As A Possible Drug For Alzheimer's Disease

Date: Mar-13-2013
Buphenyl, an FDA-approved medication for hyperammonemia, may protect memory and prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening condition that can affect patients at any age. It is caused by abnormal, high levels of ammonia in the blood. Studies in mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have shown that sodium phenylbutyrate, known as Buphenyl, successfully increases factors for neuronal growth and protects learning and memory, according to neurological researchers at the Rush University Medical Center...

In Same-Sex Marriages Men Live Longer, But Not Women

Date: Mar-13-2013
The mortality rate for men in same-sex marriages has dropped markedly since the 1990s, according to a Danish study published online in the International Journal of Epidemiology. However, same-sex married women have emerged as the group of women with the highest, and in recent years, even further increasing mortality. Denmark implemented the world's first national law on registered same-sex partnerships in 1989...

Skin Cancer Risk May Be Reduced By Aspirin

Date: Mar-13-2013
A new study has found that women who take aspirin have a reduced risk of developing melanoma - and that the longer they take it, the lower the risk. The findings suggest that aspirin's anti-inflammatory effects may help protect against this type of skin cancer. The study is published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. In the Women's Health Initiative, researchers observed US women aged 50 to 79 years for an average of 12 years and noted which individuals developed cancer...

The Complexities Of Treating Deaf Patients With Psychiatric Disorders

Date: Mar-13-2013
Members of the Deaf community who suffer from mental health problems need culturally sensitive treatment to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment, according to a report in the March Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. "Deaf individuals comprise a cultural and linguistic minority group within the United States, and culturally and linguistically appropriate psychiatric treatment must reflect these differences," according to Sarah A...

Psychologists Confirm Long-Term Positive Effects Of Plastic Surgery

Date: Mar-13-2013
In a long-term study, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf, Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the RUB, investigated the psychological effects of plastic surgery on approximately 550 patients in cooperation with colleagues from the University of Basel. Patients demonstrated more enjoyment of life, satisfaction and self-esteem after their physical appearance had been surgically altered. The results of the world's largest ever study on this issue are reported by the researchers in the journal Clinical Psychological Science...

Widespread, Unexplained Chronic Pain In Children May Be Related To Nerve Damage

Date: Mar-13-2013
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have described what may be a newly identified disease that appears to explain some cases of widespread chronic pain and other symptoms in children and young adults. Their report that will appear in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics, and has received early online release, finds that most of a group of young patients seen at the MGH for chronic, unexplained pain had test results indicating small-fiber polyneuropathy, a condition not previously reported in children...

Cause Of Pediatric Blindness From Eye Disease In Question

Date: Mar-13-2013
Vision scientists long have thought that lack of very long chain fatty acids in photoreceptor cells caused blindness in children with Stargardt type 3 retinal degeneration, an incurable eye disease. But researchers at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center have shown in a new study that lack of these fatty acids does not cause blindness, meaning that the search for the mechanism that robs sight from children with the disease must start anew. Researchers led by David Krizaj, Ph.D...