Health News

Key Symptoms For Embolism: Difficulty Breathing, Chest Pain, And Cough

Date: Oct-24-2012
Difficulty breathing, chest pain, and cough may sound like symptoms of a heart attack; however, new research shows that these are the key symptoms for pulmonary embolism (PE), a potentially fatal blockage in the lung. A research team from Saint Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, retrospectively reviewed the clinical features, risk factors, and ECG findings in 334 patients with confirmed PE...

HIV Helped To Escape Destruction By Kinesin 'Chauffeur'

Date: Oct-24-2012
A study in The Journal of Cell Biology identifies a motor protein that ferries HIV to the plasma membrane, helping the virus escape from macrophages. HIV reproduces inside disease-fighting T cells, killing them in the process. But the virus can also replicate in macrophages, which survive infection and serve as reservoirs of HIV. In T cells, new viral particles are formed at the plasma membrane, but in macrophages the viruses assemble inside cytoplasmic containers called virus-containing compartments (VCCs)...

High Blood Pressure Under Control In Nearly Half Of U.S. Adults

Date: Oct-24-2012
Nearly half of U.S. adults with high blood pressure had their blood pressure under control by the end of 2010 - a significant increase from the start of the decade, researchers reported in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.  Improvements in blood pressure control were most likely due to wider use of multiple drug combinations, researchers said.  Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) interviewed 9,320 hypertensive participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-10...

Novel Biomarker Diagnostic Test Could Revolutionize The Diagnosis Of Pre-Eclampsia

Date: Oct-24-2012
Collaborators at Cottage Health System and UC Santa Barbara's College of Engineering have identified biomarkers that may yield a revolutionary diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia, a complex and potentially life-threatening hypertensive condition affecting 5% of pregnancies worldwide. The most common dangerous complication of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia is potentially fatal and often mimics or is confused with other pregnancy-related conditions - such as swelling, gastric pain, and high blood pressure. Pre-eclampsia can lead to eclampsia, which carries a maternal mortality rate of 1...

Best Ways To Manage Lymphedema: Exercise And Complete Decongestive Therapy

Date: Oct-24-2012
Nearly 40 percent of breast cancer survivors suffer from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their lifetimes...

Stress Reduced And Sleep Improved By 10-Minute 'Tension Tamer'

Date: Oct-24-2012
A simple, 10-minute stress reduction technique could help to relieve stress, improve sleep quality, and decrease fatigue. Researchers from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, attempted to determine the effect of a brief, stress reduction technique, the 10-minute Tension Tamer, on improvement of stress levels and sleep parameters in 334 patients in a heart health program...

Promising Treatment For Unresolved Reflux Symptoms: Electrical Stimulation Of The Esophagus

Date: Oct-24-2012
Clinical evidence of the safety and effectiveness of electrical stimulation of a muscular valve in the esophagus demonstrates promising results in resolving symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and was presented at the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas, NV. Three studies examined small numbers of patients who had a device implanted that uses low energy electrical pulses to strengthen a weak or dysfunctional lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which is the underlying cause of GERD or acid reflux...

Patients May Be Harmed By Excessive ICU Noise

Date: Oct-24-2012
New research shows that overnight noise levels in the medical ICU (MICU) often exceed recommended levels, which could potentially lead to worse outcomes. Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine reviewed 70 MICU patient charts and recorded in-room activities between midnight and 4:00 AM. Based on this chart review and via direct observation, they also identified the key elements of nocturnal patient disruption...

Patients With Alzheimer's Disease Can Be Identified By Biomarkers In Cerebrospinal Fluid

Date: Oct-24-2012
Analysis of specific biomarkers in a cerebrospinal fluid sample can differentiate patients with Alzheimer's disease from those with other types of dementia. The method, which is being studied by researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, may eventually permit earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease. Due to the similarity of the symptoms, differentiating patients with Alzheimer's from those with other types of dementia - or patients with Parkinson's disease from those with other motor disorders - is often difficult...

Teenagers Benefit As Much As Adults From Gastric Bypass Surgery

Date: Oct-24-2012
Teenagers with severe obesity can benefit from gastric bypass surgery just as much as adults. A study by Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden found that 81 teenagers lost an average of 96.8 pounds following surgery, significantly improving their health and quality of life. The study, published by the International Journal of Obesity, involved eighty-one 13-18 year-olds who had gastric bypass surgery, which had previously been performed on people younger than 18 in exceptional cases only...