Health News

Study examines blood test to screen for fatal variant creutzfeldt-jakob disease

Date: Mar-04-2014
A blood test accurately screened for infection with the agent responsible for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a fatal neurological disease.vCJD is a fatal degenerative brain disorder thought to be caused by a misfolded protein (prion) in the brain and contracted most commonly through eating infected beef. Up to 3 million cattle in the United Kingdom may have been infected with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), and establishing accurate prevalence estimates through screening for vCJD infection would guide public health initiatives.

EU-funded project sheds light on cardiovascular diseases

Date: Mar-04-2014
The EU-funded EuroHeart (European Heart Health Strategy) II Project came to an end on February 28th after three years of research into current cardiovascular disease (CVD) trends and analysis of EU-wide CVD prevention policies. Developed and implemented by the European Heart Network (EHN) together with 29 partner organisations from 17 countries, including academia, research centres, NGOs and health professionals - namely the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) - the project identified best practices and policy initiatives for the promotion of cardiovascular health in Europe.

New Phase III data demonstrate tiotropium Respimat® improves lung function versus placebo and is well tolerated in asthma patients

Date: Mar-04-2014
Boehringer Ingelheim has announced new data from large scale, Phase III studies showing that once-daily tiotropium delivered via the Respimat® Soft Mist™ Inhaler improved lung function and was well tolerated in patients with varying degrees of asthma severity.1 These data were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2014 annual meeting in San Diego. The first results from the Phase III GraziaTinA-asthma® study demonstrated that tiotropium Respimat® 5 mcg and 2.

Increased intake of fish can boost good cholesterol levels

Date: Mar-04-2014
Increasing the intake of fatty fish increases the number of large HDL particles, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. People who increased their intake of fish to a minimum of 3-4 weekly meals had more large HDL particles in their blood than people who are less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases. The results were published in PLOS ONE.

Homing in on cancer with a comprehensive measurement method

Date: Mar-04-2014
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in Switzerland. There are many reasons why in the era of cutting-edge medicine it is still difficult to cure this disease. A tumour may, for instance, consist of different tumour cell subpopulations, each of which has its own profile and responds differently to therapy - or not. Furthermore, the cancer cells and the healthy cells in the body interact and communicate with one another. How a tumour then actually develops and whether metastases form depends on which signals a tumour cell receives from its environment.

World-class orchestras judged by sight not sound

Date: Mar-04-2014
World-class orchestras can be accurately identified by silent video footage of performances, but not through sound recordings, a UCL study has found.Both professional musicians and musical novices are better at identifying top-ranked orchestras from non-ranked orchestras when shown silent video footage, suggesting that such judgements are driven at least in part by visual cues about group dynamics and leadership.

Personality clashes not the cause of workplace harassment

Date: Mar-04-2014
While it may be easy to put workplace harassment down to personality conflicts, in reality workplace harassment is most often a product of the workplace itself, not the people in it.This is the finding of research by University of South Australia (UniSA) researcher Dr Michelle Tuckey that was published in the British Psychological Society's Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.According to Dr Tuckey more research needs to be done into the role organisations play in workplace harassment, in order to address a critical issue with widespread social and economic impacts.

Exercising during pregnancy reduces excessive weight gain and the possibility of suffering from associated illnesses

Date: Mar-04-2014
Excessive weight gain during pregnancy increases the risk of suffering illnesses such as hypertension and gestational diabetes, or of having a premature birth or a birth by Caesarean; furthermore, it also has negative effects on the newly-born and increases the risk of infants being overweight by 30%.

New targets for pediatric neuroblastoma therapies identified through improved screening

Date: Mar-04-2014
Neuroblastoma is one of the most common and lethal types of childhood cancers. In a paper published online in OncoTarget, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio unveils the important role of microRNAs in regulating neuroblastoma development, pointing to new therapeutic possibilities.Neuroblastomas, which account for 15 percent of childhood cancer deaths, happen when some cells do not differentiate and grow as they should.

REGiMMUNE's preclinical results of its method for long-term tolerance in organ transplantation

Date: Mar-04-2014
REGiMMUNE Corporation announced that the American Journal of Transplantation (AJT) has published its paper that describes a novel approach to long-term tolerance in organ transplantation with continuous administration of immune suppressants. "A Novel Approach Inducing Transplant Tolerance by Activated Invariant Natural Killer T Cells with Costimulatory Blockade" was published in the AJT March 2014 Issue 3, Volume 14, pages 554-567, and was first made available online as an early view.