Health News

Thought Controlled Robotic Arm For Paralyzed Patients

Date: May-16-2012
The journal Nature reports on a science fiction style jump in technology, where an interface on the brain is used to connect to a robotic arm and provide real time thought control. It is a dramatic leap for the technology which has been tested with paralyzed patients and gives hope for Stars Wars style bionic technology, for wounded soldiers and paraplegics.  The experiment was conducted on April 12th this year at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The test subjects, a 58 year old woman (S3) and a 66 year old man (T2), had both been paralyzed by a stroke to the brain stem, which...

AIDS Relief Program Intensity Linked To Lower Death Rates

Date: May-16-2012
The May 16 edition of the Global Health themed issue of JAMA reveals a larger drop in all-cause adult mortality in those African countries with more intense operation of the AIDS relief program PEPFAR. The article's background information states: "The effect of global health initiatives on population health is uncertain. Between 2003 and 2008, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest initiative ever devoted to a single disease, operated intensively in 12 African focus countries."  PEPFAR has undertaken a coordinated effort to raise treatment, prevention and...

Child Mortality Rate Decreased After Prenatal Micronutrient, Food Supplementation Internvention

Date: May-16-2012
A study in the May 16 edition of JAMA reveals that survival rates of newborns in poor Bangladeshi communities were significantly improved if their mothers received multiple micronutritions, including iron and folic acid combined with early food supplementation during pregnancy, in comparison with women receiving the usual food supplementation. The article's background information says: "Maternal and child undernutrition is estimated to be the underlying cause of 3.5 million annual deaths and 35 percent of the total disease burden in children younger than 5 years. The potential long-term...

High Rate Of Malaria And Sexually Transmitted/Reproductive Tract Infections In Sub-Saharan Pregnant Mothers

Date: May-16-2012
A review and meta-analysis of studies published in the May 16 theme issue of Global Health in JAMA reveals a significant burden of malaria and STIs/RTIs amongst pregnant women who attend antenatal facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings were discovered after a review of studies reporting estimates of the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) and malaria over the past 2 decades.  The article's background information states: "There are 880,000 stillbirths and 1.2 million neonatal deaths each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Low birth weight...

Avoiding Repeat Biopsies In Prostate Cancer - MDxHealth Launches ConfirmMDx

Date: May-16-2012
Each year, in the United States, more than 650,000 men receive a negative prostate biopsy result, with around 25-35% of these results being false negative. However, a new prostate cancer test has been launched by MdxHealth. The test - ConfirmMDx™ for Prostate Cancer - will help physicians identify which men have a true-negative prostate biopsy from those who may have occult cancer. Professor Dr. Wim van Crienkinge, Chief Scientific Office at MDxHealth, said: "As many as one in four men could be misdiagnosed due to limitations with current prostate biopsy procedures, commonly described as...

Obama's Grand Plan To Cure Alzheimer's

Date: May-16-2012
Obama's healthcare goals have been controversial at best, and although anti-smoking campaigns and other public health and safety awareness drives have been successful, it's always somewhat dubious when government starts creating grand plans and lofty goals. Nonetheless, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released an ambitious and wide ranging national plan to fight Alzheimer's disease. The plan, known as The National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA), which Obama signed into law in Feb 2012, includes five goals, such as development of treatment and prevention for...

Rising Infertility And Cancer Rates Possibly Linked To Pharmaceuticals And Household Chemicals

Date: May-16-2012
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), household products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food all contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which may be causing significant increases in diabetes, obesity, cancers and increasing infertility.  In recent decades, the incidence of many human diseases and disorders including diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, and male infertility has increased significantly and many scientists believe this is due to increasing levels of exposure to mixtures of some chemicals in widespread use. The report also highlights that EDCs negatively...

Specific Clinical Guidance Urgently Needed On Bone Cancer Drugs

Date: May-16-2012
Although bisphosphonate drugs can reduce pain and bone fractures in individuals with multiple myeloma, no one drug is superior, according to a systematic review of the current evidence of these drugs. The review is published in The Cochrane Library. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that grows in and on bones. The disease can cause fractures in the spine and long bones. Bisphosphonate drugs are used to prevent or reduce the occurrence of bone fractures and pain in these patients and work by inhibiting the activities of osteoclasts (bone cells). The team examined data on 6,692 myeloma...

Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Pazopanib Improves Progression-Free Survival

Date: May-16-2012
According to results of the PALETTE trial, treatment with pazopanib increased progression-free survival (PFS) almost three fold among patients with metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma whose disease had progressed following chemotherapy. The results are published Online First in The Lancet. In the United States, an estimated 11,000 individuals are diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcomas each year - accounting for just 1% of all adult cancers. However, progress in developing new effective treatments for the disease has been slow during the last three decades. Median overall survival is approximately 12...

Cell Signaling Breakthrough May Help Melanoma Treatment

Date: May-16-2012
The body's function of generating new cells and replacing dead ones usually works fine, but it is by no means perfect. The key to generating new cells is communication or signaling between cells, and if this process does not function properly, it can lead to uncontrolled cell growth, which is the basis for many cancers. A key discovery made by scientists from the Texas University Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School reveals that cell signaling plays an important role in the fight against melanoma and various other fast-spreading tumors. The study is published online ahead...