Health News

Donor Stem Cells Just As Good For Heart Patients

Date: Nov-06-2012
Donor stem cells taken from adult bone marrow (mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs) were found to be just as effective in treating diseased hearts as injecting patients with their own stem cells. These were the findings of a new study presented at a meeting in the US. The findings, from the POISEIDON trial, are being presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012 in Los Angeles this week, and the researchers also report them in an online-first article published in JAMA on 6 November...

For Adults With Diabetes And Heart Disease, Cardiac Bypass Surgery Found To Be Superior To Non-Surgical Procedure

Date: Nov-06-2012
Adults with diabetes and multi-vessel coronary heart disease who underwent cardiac bypass surgery had better overall heart-related outcomes than those who underwent an artery-opening procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle, according to the results from an international study. The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health...

Alzheimer's Disease Could Be Detected Over 20 Years Before Symptoms Appear

Date: Nov-06-2012
Scientists have found signs of Alzheimer's disease more than two decades before the onset of symptoms, among patients with a rare, inherited form of the disease. The researchers from Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona, USA, Boston University, USA, and the University of Antioquia, Colombia, reported their findings on two studies in The Lancet Neurology, November 6th, 2012 issue. The authors say that their findings may provide scientists with an insight into how and why Alzheimer's disease progresses...

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: 5 Nov. 2012

Date: Nov-06-2012
1. Follow Up Surveillance with Less Invasive, Less Costly Tests Could Make Colonoscopy a One-time Test for Some Patients Following a negative colonoscopy result at initial screening, regular follow-up with less-invasive screening tools may provide the same life-saving benefit with fewer risks for complication and at a lower cost than rescreening with colonoscopy every 10 years. Researchers used a microsimulation model to assess the effectiveness and costs of colonoscopy versus other rescreening strategies after an initial negative colonoscopy result...

Faster, More Economical Method For Detecting Bioterror Threats

Date: Nov-06-2012
Texas Biomedical Research Institute scientists in San Antonio have developed a faster, less expensive route to screen suitable tests for bioterror threats and accelerate the application of countermeasures. The new process screens for pairs of affinity reagents - molecular magnets that bind to and hold on to their targets, be they toxins, viruses or bacteria. That will enable countermeasures to be selected and utilized much faster than the current practice. "Using crude extracts from E...

Evidence-Based Tool Helps Doctors Predict Heart Attack Patients At Risk For Repeat Hospitalization

Date: Nov-06-2012
Some heart attack patients end up back in the hospital just weeks after going home. It can happen for a variety of reasons, but doctors haven't had a reliable way to predict which patients will return - until now. Thanks to a new tool developed by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, physicians now have a tool to help identify these patients. This will enable physicians to re-evaluate their treatment plans in the hopes of preventing future admissions...

Link Discovered Between PTSD And Smaller Brain Area Regulating Fear Response

Date: Nov-06-2012
Recent combat veterans who are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder have significantly smaller volume in an area of the brain critical for regulating fear and anxiety responses, according to research led by scientists at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center. The finding, published Nov. 5, 2012, in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, for the first time provides clear evidence that smaller amygdala volume is associated with PTSD, regardless of the severity of trauma...

Schizophrenia Can Stem From Cannabis Use Which Mimics Cognitive Weakness

Date: Nov-06-2012
Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have found new support for their theory that cannabis use causes a temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals, leading to long-term psychosis. In an fMRI study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers found a different brain activity pattern in schizophrenia patients with previous cannabis use than in schizophrenic patients without prior cannabis use...

Using New Analytical Tools, Scientists Report 'New Beginning' In Split-Brain Research

Date: Nov-06-2012
UC Santa Barbara has reported an important discovery in the interdisciplinary study of split-brain research. The findings uncover dynamic changes in brain coordination patterns between left and right hemispheres. Split-brain research has been conducted for decades, and scientists have long ago shown that language processing is largely located in the left side of the brain. When words appear only in the left visual field - an area processed by the right side of the brain - the right brain must transfer that information to the left brain, in order to interpret it...

Bone Density Should Be Factored In When Considering Bariatric Surgery

Date: Nov-06-2012
Bariatric surgery, which significantly curtails the amount of food a person can eat, is the most effective treatment against obesity and is being recognized as a potentially valuable tool in the fight against diabetes related to obesity. It is being performed on increasing numbers of people worldwide, including teenagers...