Health News

New app turns any smartphone into a portable medical diagnostic device

Date: Mar-22-2014
A recently-developed mobile phone application could make monitoring conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections much clearer and easier for both patients and doctors, and could eventually be used to slow or limit the spread of pandemics in the developing world.The app, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, accurately measures colour-based, or colorimetric, tests for use in home, clinical or remote settings, and enables the transmission of medical data from patients directly to health professionals.

Diabetes researchers track cells' ability to regenerate

Date: Mar-22-2014
Vanderbilt University scientists have found evidence that the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas, which are either killed or become dysfunctional in the two main forms of diabetes, have the capacity to regenerate.The surprising finding, posted online recently by Cell Metabolism, suggests that by understanding how regeneration occurs, scientists one day may be able to stop or reverse the rising tide of diabetes, which currently affects more than 8 percent of the U.S. population.

New model proposed for clinical trials

Date: Mar-22-2014
Experts across academia, industry and government propose a new method for health care providers to get the right treatments to the right patients at the right time. This new approach, A Proposal for Integrated Efficacy-to-Effectiveness (E2E) Clinical Trials, published in Nature Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, recommends a seamless transition from controlled experiments to real-world comparative effectiveness trials. This continuum will improve the accuracy of treatment selection and better determine how those treatments work on different groups of people.

Health, education and globalization of world's economy

Date: Mar-22-2014
Globalization has made the world a better and more equal place for many more people than was the case a few decades ago. However, it has also created two well-defined worlds of poor countries and wealthy nations, according to Vanesa Jorda and Jose María Sarabia of the University of Cantabria in Spain. In an article published in Springer's journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, they studied the distribution of well-being over the last wave of globalization between 1980 and 2011.Well-being is generally described as the state of being happy, healthy or prosperous.

Study questions speed in giving antidepressants to grieving parents

Date: Mar-22-2014
Some doctors are too quick to prescribe antidepressants to parents who have suffered the death of a child either during pregnancy or within the first month of life, according to a study conducted by Florida State University researcher Jeffrey R. Lacasse.In a study of 235 bereaved parents participating in an online support community, Lacasse found that 88 - or 37.4 percent - of them were prescribed a psychiatric medication to help them cope. Some women received prescriptions within a week of losing their children.

Allergy-cancer connection discovered

Date: Mar-22-2014
While many are stocking up on allergy medicine in preparation for spring, a new study from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has uncovered a new connection between allergy and cancer that could potentially lead to therapies involving common antihistamines.Recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, the study was led by Daniel H. Conrad, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Cell Signaling research program at Massey and professor of microbiology and immunology at the VCU School of Medicine, with substantial contributions from Ph.D.

Managing menopausal symptoms: internists must play a larger role

Date: Mar-22-2014
The number of menopausal women is projected to reach 50 million by 2020. With changing views on appropriate therapies to control symptoms and new treatments available and on the horizon, most internists lack the core competencies and experience to meet the needs of women entering menopause, according to a provocative Commentary published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Journal of Women's Health website.The article "Competency in Menopause Management: Whither Goest the Internist?

Why do our eyes widen in fear and narrow in disgust?

Date: Mar-22-2014
Think about the last time you were home alone and you heard a loud, unexpected noise. Chances are, your eyes widened as you listened for more information. In a new paper, researchers have detailed why this happens, as well as why our eyes narrow when something disgusts us.The researchers, led by Prof.

Early PET negative patients with stage I/II Hodgkin lymphoma show Increased risk of early relapse when radiotherapy is omitted

Date: Mar-22-2014
Interim analysis of the intergroup EORTC-LYSA-FIL 20051 H10 trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates an increased risk of early relapse when omitting radiotherapy in early PET scan negative patients with stage I/II Hodgkin's lymphoma. Early outcome, however, was excellent in both arms, and the final analysis should reveal whether these initial findings are maintained over time.Dr. J.M.M.

Potential new therapeutic target identified for controlling high blood sugar

Date: Mar-22-2014
A UT Southwestern Medical Center study has identified a new potential therapeutic target for controlling high blood sugar, a finding that could help the estimated 25 million Americans with type 2 diabetes.Researchers showed that lipid molecules called phosphatidic acids enhance glucose production in the liver. These findings suggest that inhibiting or reducing production of phosphatidic acids may do the opposite.