Health News

Stem Cell Transplants Treat Chronic Pain

Date: May-25-2012
A new study finds that transplanting embryonic cells into adult mouse spinal cord can alleviate persistent pain. The research, published by Cell Press in the journal Neuron, suggests that reduced pain results from successful integration of the embryonic cells into the host spinal cord. The findings open avenues for clinical strategies aimed not just at treating the symptoms of chronic debilitating pain, but correcting the underlying disease pathology. There are two major classes of chronic pain: inflammatory pain that results from injury to tissue, such as muscle and bone, and neuropathic pain...

Study Finds IUDs, Implants Most Effective Birth Control

Date: May-25-2012
A study to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant. Results of the study, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Birth control pills are the most commonly used reversible contraceptive in the United States, but their effectiveness hinges on women remembering...

Hormone Boosts Immune Response When Vitamin D Levels Are Low, Plays Surprise Role In Fighting Skin Infections

Date: May-25-2012
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate. The finding, published in the online issue of Science Translational Medicine, more fully explains how the immune system functions in...

Revealing New Ways Sleep-Wake Patterns Are Like Clockwork

Date: May-25-2012
Researchers at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them. Their study explored the biological, or circadian, clocks of Drosophila fruit flies, which are commonly used for research in this area. This is because it is relatively easy to find mutants with malfunctioning biological clocks and then to...

Chemotherapy's Effectiveness May Be Predicted By Breast MRI

Date: May-25-2012
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an indication of a breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy significantly earlier than possible through clinical examination, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Women with breast cancer often undergo chemotherapy prior to surgery. Research has shown that women who receive this treatment, known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, are more likely to achieve breast conservation than those receiving chemotherapy after surgery. Clinicians track a patient's response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy through clinical...

Among HIV Patients In ICU, Mortality Rates Have Decreased, Chronic Disease Rates Have Increased

Date: May-25-2012
The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive(HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University. Despite these encouraging data, the study also revealed that in this population, chronic diseases and bloodstream infections are on the rise. The study results were presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference in...

COPD Patients With P. aeruginosa Bacteria Likely To Have Poorer Clinical Outcomes

Date: May-25-2012
Patients With P. aeruginosa Bacteria Likely To Have Poorer Clinical Outcomes Main Category: COPD Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Article Date: 25 May 2012 - 1:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'COPD Patients With P. aeruginosa Bacteria Likely To Have Poorer Clinical Outcomes' Patient / Public: Healthcare Prof: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who become infected with the bacterium Pseudomonas aerguinosa are more likely to have worse clinical outcomes and experience...

SBD And Metabolic Dysregulation In Obese Children Improved By Weight Loss

Date: May-25-2012
Weight loss improved both metabolic parameters and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in obese children in a new study from researchers in Belgium, confirming links between metabolic dysregulation, SDB and obesity. "SDB is highly prevalent in childhood obesity, and may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. In our population of 224 obese children and adolescents, 30% had SDB, which was significantly correlated with metabolic parameters, including aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) and HDL cholesterol at baseline," said Stijn Verhulst, MD, MSc, PhD,...

Pleural Effusion In Patients With CAP Reduced By Long-Term Inhaled Corticosteroids Use

Date: May-25-2012
Prior treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with respiratory disorders who develop community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with a lower incidence and severity of parapneumonic effusion, according to a new study from researchers in Spain. A parapneumonic effusion is a type of pleural effusion (excess fluid that accumulates between the two pleural layers, the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs) that arises as a result of a pneumonia, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis. "Long-term treatment with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with an elevated risk of CAP in...

Viral Infections In Infancy Are Not Associated With Wheezing Symptoms In Later Childhood

Date: May-25-2012
The number of viral infections during infancy is not associated with wheezing later in childhood, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. While viral illnesses with wheezing in infancy predicted wheezing later in childhood, this association was due in part to decreased neonatal lung function. "Viral infections in infancy, particularly rhinovirus, are thought to be a risk factor for later asthma development, but it is unclear whether this association is due to the viruses themselves or whether rhinovirus-associated wheeze is merely an indicator of disease susceptibility,"...