Health News

Raising Vitamin D Concentrations May Reduce Hospital Acquired Infection Rates

Date: Jul-05-2012
In the United States, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are the leading cause of death in the health care arena, with over 1.7 million cases per year and 100,000 deaths. Now, new research shows that the risk of hospital-acquired infections could be significantly reduced by increasing vitamin D concentrations among hospital patients. According to the study, published by Dermato-Endocrinology, HAIs generate around $28.4 billion to $45 billion in excess health care costs each year in the US...

Knowing Others Are Bullied May Make Some Nurses Quit Their Job

Date: Jul-05-2012
Nurses are more likely to consider quitting their job if bullying occurs in their workplace, even if they are not bullied directly, say researchers at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. Their study, published in the journal Human Relations, was conducted in order to determine whether bullying in the workplace can have a negative impact on a worker's desire to remain in their organization. The team surveyed 357 nurses in 41 hospital units and found that victims of bullying were more likely to contemplate leaving their job...

Why Does A Diet High In DHA Improve Memory?

Date: Jul-05-2012
In a study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, researchers at the University of Alberta say they have discovered a potential explanation for why a diet high in DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, improves memory. In an animal study, lead researcher Yves Sauve and colleagues discovered mice that consumed a diet high in DHA had 30% higher levels of DHA in the hippocampus region of the brain, compared with mice fed on a regular, healthy diet...

Anticoagulant Drugs For Atrial Fibrillation - Safety Indicators Confirmed

Date: Jul-05-2012
A new study by medical scientists coordinated from the University of Manchester has for the first time used patients' results to establish that "safety indicators" for people taking anticoagulant drugs to regulate a common heart condition are correct. More than 760,000 patients in the UK have atrial fibrillation (AF), a defect that causes an irregular heart rate. It is also known to increase the risk and severity of stroke. The main treatment used to regulate the condition is an anticoagulant drug called warfarin which prevents the blood from forming clots so easily...

Biomarker Found That Predicts Response To Chemotherapy For Osteosarcoma

Date: Jul-05-2012
Discovery could refine treatment strategy for children with bone cancer Scientists have found that a protein expressed by some cancers is a good predictor of how the cancer will respond to standard chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, the most common bone cancer in children. Knowing whether a patient's tumor has this protein biomarker could help doctors determine if a patient should undergo standard treatment or if a more aggressive or alternative therapy may be more effective. The study findings were published in Human Pathology...

Lower Live Birth Rates In IVF Likely When Mother Consumes High Quantities Of Dietary Fat

Date: Jul-05-2012
Women with a higher intake of dietary saturated fats have fewer mature oocytes available for collection in IVF, according to results of a study from the Harvard School of Public Health funded by the US National Institutes of Health. The study investigated the effect of dietary fat (classified as total, saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, omega 6, omega 3 and trans) on a range of preclinical and clinical outcomes in women having IVF...

High Temperatures Dangerous For Children

Date: Jul-05-2012
Summer is officially here and temperatures across the nation are soaring. Although the heat wave is welcomed by many after a cold winter, the increase in temperature is especially dangerous for children, who are more likely to sustain a heat-injury than adults. Jerold Stirling, chair of the department of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and pediatrician at Loyola University Health System, explained: "Kids bodies don't acclimate to the heat as well as adults. They don't sweat as effectively...

Genetic 911: Cells' Emergency Systems Revealed

Date: Jul-05-2012
Study examines how cells exploit gene sequences to cope with toxic stress.       Toxic chemicals wreak havoc on cells, damaging DNA and other critical molecules. A new study from researchers at MIT and the University at Albany reveals how a molecular emergency-response system shifts the cell into damage-control mode and helps it survive such attacks by rapidly producing proteins that counteract the harm...

Common Underlying Factors Found In Autism, Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder

Date: Jul-05-2012
New research led by a medical geneticist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine points to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among individuals whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder...

Quality Of Life Declines For Parkinson's Disease Patients Years Before Diagnosis

Date: Jul-05-2012
Growing evidence suggests that Parkinson's disease (PD) often starts with non-motor symptoms that precede diagnosis by several years. In the first study to examine patterns in the quality of life of Parkinson' disease patients prior to diagnosis, researchers have documented declines in physical and mental health, pain, and emotional health beginning several years before the onset of the disease and continuing thereafter. Their results are reported in the latest issue of Journal of Parkinson's Disease...