Health News

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: Aug. 21, 2012

Date: Aug-22-2012
1. Colonoscopy-related Factors More Important Than Polyp Characteristics for Predicting Colorectal Cancer Risk Published research suggests that colonoscopy saves lives through detection and removal of adenomas, or benign tumors. Patients who have adenomas removed during colonoscopy are at higher risk for recurring adenomas and colorectal cancer than those who have had a negative colonoscopy. Studies to determine patient risk factors for recurring adenomas and colorectal cancer have focused on characteristics of the adenoma, but characteristics of the colonoscopy had not been considered...

Patient Radiation Exposure From X-Rays Nearly Halved By Safety Training, Simple Changes To Equipment Use

Date: Aug-22-2012
Each year, hundreds of thousands of X-rays are performed across the country to help detect and treat common cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease, valve disease and other heart problems. However, concern is growing within the medical community about the potential risks of radiation exposure from this imaging technology. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic have been able to dramatically cut the amount of radiation that patients and medical personnel are exposed to during invasive cardiovascular procedures...

InSightec Receives FDA Approval To Begin Phase I Parkinson's Trial

Date: Aug-22-2012
ExAblate to be tested for treatment of tremor-dominant medication-resistant Parkinson's patientsInSightec Ltd, the global leader in MR guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS), announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the use of its ExAblate® Neuro system for the treatment of patients with tremor dominant Parkinson's Disease. Thirty patients who suffer from medication-resistant tremor of Parkinson's Disease will be treated in a randomized control trial and followed up for one year...

Stopping Life-Threatening Internal Bleeding

Date: Aug-22-2012
Progress toward a new emergency treatment for internal bleeding - counterpart to the tourniquets, pressure bandages and Quick Clot products that keep people from bleeding to death from external wounds - was reported at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Erin Lavik, Sc.D...

Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise In Repairing Stress Urinary Incontinence

Date: Aug-22-2012
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) can occur due to sneezing, coughing, exercising or even laughing and happens because the pelvic floor muscles are too weak causing leakage when the bladder is put under pressure. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that a new technique, using stem cells isolated from amniotic fluid, can regenerate damaged urethral sphincter muscles and prevent pressure incontinence in mice...

Potential Target For Treatment Of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Date: Aug-22-2012
Research conducted at the Angiogenesis Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, has for the first time, identified the mode of death of cone photoreceptor cells in an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). This groundbreaking study, led by Demetrios G. Vavvas, M.D., Ph.D., and including Joan W. Miller, M.D., Mass...

Enzyme Known For Generating Toxic Brain Plaques In Alzheimer's Disease Also Causes Additional Memory And Cognitive Deficits

Date: Aug-22-2012
The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease are not fully understood, but a good deal of evidence points to the accumulation of β-amyloid, a protein that's toxic to nerve cells. β-amyloid is formed by the activity of several enzymes, including one called BACE1. Most Alzheimer's disease patients have elevated levels of BACE1, which in turn leads to more brain-damaging β-amyloid protein...

Pro-Anorexic Bloggers Interviewed For Groundbreaking New Study

Date: Aug-22-2012
Primary motivation of many was to seek social support and deal with stigma, not promote a 'lifestyle' A groundbreaking new research study from Indiana University suggests there may be benefits to the controversial activities of "pro-ana" bloggers, the online community for people with eating disorders. Most of the 33 bloggers from seven countries interviewed for the study, which has just been published in the journal Health Communication, said their writing activities provide a way to express themselves without judgment, which the authors believe can be crucial to their treatment...

New Biomimetic Controlled-Release Capsules Foster Healing And Regrowth Of Gum Tissue Damaged By Periodontal Disease

Date: Aug-22-2012
Scientists are trying to open a new front in the battle against gum disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults and sometimes termed the most serious oral health problem of the 21st century. They described another treatment approach for the condition in a report at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. "Our technology uses controlled-release capsules filled with a protein that would be injected in the pockets between the gums and the teeth," said Steven Little, Ph.D., who reported on the research...

Evidence-Based Public Health Interventions Identified For Policy Makers

Date: Aug-22-2012
Government policies that make healthy foods more affordable, improved sidewalk, street and land-use design to encourage physical activity, and bans on public, workplace or residence smoking are among 43 effective public health strategies identified in an American Heart Association statement. The statement is being published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, and is based on researchers reviewing and grading more than 1,000 international studies of diet, physical activity and anti-tobacco public health interventions...