Health News

Children With OSA Require Treatment To Reverse Brain Abnormalities

Date: May-21-2012
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children normalizes disturbances in the neuronal network responsible for attention and executive function, according to a new study. "OSA is known to be associated with deficits in attention, cognition, and executive function," said lead author Ann Halbower, MD, Associate Professor at the Children's Hospital Sleep Center and University of Colorado Denver. "Our study is the first to show that treatment of OSA in children can reverse neuronal brain injury, correlated with improvements in attention and verbal memory in these patients." The results...

Association Between Sleep Disordered Breathing And Increased Risk Of Cancer Mortality

Date: May-21-2012
Sleep Disordered Breathing And Increased Risk Of Cancer Mortality Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma;  Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 21 May 2012 - 1:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'Association Between Sleep Disordered Breathing And Increased Risk Of Cancer Mortality' Patient / Public: Healthcare Prof: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB), which is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events and psychopathological outcomes, is also...

Heart Damage Already Present In Obese Adolescents

Date: May-21-2012
Obese Adolescents Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Also Included In: Heart Disease;  Pediatrics / Children's Health Article Date: 21 May 2012 - 1:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'Heart Damage Already Present In Obese Adolescents' Patient / Public: 4 (1 votes) Healthcare Prof: 4 (1 votes) Obese adolescents with no symptoms of heart disease already have heart damage, according to new research. The findings were presented at the Heart Failure Congress 2012, 19-22 May, in Belgrade, Serbia. The...

In Rat Model Of Diabetes, Experimental Bariatric Surgery Controls Blood Sugar

Date: May-21-2012
For the first time, scientists at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute have shown that an experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes. A team led by Dr. Tony Lam and Dr. Danna Breen, a post- doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Lam, used a rat model to study novel nutrient-sensing signals in the jejunum, located in the middle of the intestine. Dr. Lam and his team demonstrate that duodenal-jejunal bypass surgery activates novel nutrient-sensing signals in the jejunum and rapidly lowers blood sugar levels in non-obese rats with uncontrolled...

Patients Treated In Early Stages Of Prostate Cancer Relieved Of Urinary Symptoms

Date: May-21-2012
Treatment of early stage prostate cancer can also result in improved quality of life for a subgroup of men who suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), according to an abstract of a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-led study presented to the American Urological Association. LUTS, which includes problems of frequent or urgent urination, particularly at night, is a common problem that affects approximately 40 percent of men, a percentage that rises with age. It is not a reason to suspect prostate cancer. "Possible benefits of prostate cancer treatment in alleviating lower urinary...

How MRSA Nasal Colonization Impacts Surgical Site Infections After Gastrointestinal Surgery

Date: May-21-2012
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) nasal colonization is associated with longer hospital stays and an increase in surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery, according to a new study from Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Temple, TX. Antibiotic-resistant organisms such as MRSA can cause infections after surgery. Many studies have shown that MRSA nasal colonization increases the risk of developing SSI, and there has been an effort to conduct swab testing to isolate those patients and decontaminate or reduce the risk of MRSA SSI. Researchers...

New Recommendations On Devices, Drugs And Diagnosis: ESC Heart Failure Guidelines

Date: May-21-2012
New Recommendations On Devices, Drugs And Diagnosis: ESC Heart Failure Guidelines Main Category: Heart Disease Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics Article Date: 21 May 2012 - 0:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'New Recommendations On Devices, Drugs And Diagnosis: ESC Heart Failure Guidelines' Patient / Public: Healthcare Prof: New recommendations on devices, drugs and diagnosis in heart failure were launched at the Heart Failure Congress 2012, 19-22 May, in Belgrade, Serbia, and published in the European...

Baby Food And Infant Formula Found To Contain Traces Of Veterinary Drugs

Date: May-21-2012
The quantities are very small, but in milk powder and in meat-based baby food, residues of drugs given to livestock were found. Researchers from the University of Almería (Spain) have developed a system to analyse these substances quickly and precisely. Antibiotics, such as tilmicosine, or antiparasitic drugs, such as levamisole, are given to livestock in order to avoid illness, but they can remain later in food. Scientists from the University of Almeria (UAL) have confirmed this, whilst checking new methodology to identify the minute quantities of these substances that remain in baby food...

Using Low-Cost Accessible Software, Scientists Design Indoor Navigation System For The Blind

Date: May-21-2012
University of Nevada, Reno computer science engineering team Kostas Bekris and Eelke Folmer presented their indoor navigation system for people with visual impairments at two national conferences recently. The researchers explained how a combination of human-computer interaction and motion-planning research was used to build a low-cost accessible navigation system, called Navatar, which can run on a standard smartphone. "Existing indoor navigation systems typically require the use of expensive and heavy sensors, or equipping rooms and hallways with radio-frequency tags that can be detected by...

Improving Cancer Patients' Quality Of Life By A Nurse Practitioner-Driven Palliative Care Intervention

Date: May-21-2012
Recent studies have shown that palliative care interventions aimed at addressing patients' emotional, spiritual and social needs have a significant impact on cancer patients' quality of life and may even improve cancer patients' overall survival. Despite this, most cancer patients being cared for in their communities do not have access to these services. Most cancer patients also do not have advance directives addressed and are not aware of the benefits of hospice services. In order to address this issue, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida decided to test whether a nurse practitioner-driven...