Health News

Experimental care program keeps people with dementia at home longer

Date: Feb-13-2014
An 18-month pilot program that brought resources and counselors to elderly Baltimore residents with dementia and other memory disorders significantly increased the length of time they lived successfully at home, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Staying at home was a clear preference for most of those who participated in the study."The project demonstrated that we were able to help such people age in place without sacrificing their quality of life," says study leader Quincy Miles Samus, Ph.D.

Complex elbow fractures and further complications a greater risk for obese children

Date: Feb-13-2014
Pediatric obesity is currently an epidemic, with the prevalence having quadruped over the last 25 years. Children diagnosed with obesity can be at risk for various long-term health issues and may be putting their musculoskeletal system at risk. According to new research in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery(JBJS), obese children who sustain a supracondylar humeral (above the elbow) fracture can be expected to have more complex fractures and experience more postoperative complications than children of a normal weight.

When you always gotta go...

Date: Feb-13-2014
Problems related to urination, including incontinence and having to get up to urinate at night-time, have become more acceptable topics of discussion over recent years. New treatment options have also led doctors to address these symptoms more actively. Despite this, no study has effectively compared the bother of each of these bladder symptoms for men and women of all ages.The FINNO Study is an ongoing questionnaire survey conducted right across Finland.

Discovery could advance treatments for obesity and other disorders

Date: Feb-13-2014
Studying a cycle of protein interactions needed to make fat, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a biological switch that regulates a protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice. Their findings, they report, may help develop drugs to decrease excessive fat production and its associated conditions in people, including fatty liver disease and diabetes.A summary of the research appeared online on Jan. 29 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Key cellular pathway identified in prostate cancer

Date: Feb-13-2014
Mayo Clinic researchers have shed light on a new mechanism by which prostate cancer develops in men. Central to development of nearly all prostate cancer cases are malfunctions in the androgen receptor - the cellular component that binds to male hormones. The research team has shown that SPOP, a protein that is most frequently mutated in human prostate cancers, is a key regulator of androgen receptor activity that prevents uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate and thus helps prevent cancer. The findings appear in the journal Cell Reports.

Live kidney donors 'have increased risk for kidney disease'

Date: Feb-13-2014
According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, 12,095 kidney donations took place in the US last year, of which 5,178 were from living donors. But new research published in JAMA suggests that living kidney donors may have a small increased risk of developing kidney disease after donation, compared with healthy non-donors.The availability of living donations is critical for those who suffer end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Hospitals not always prepared for full costs of implementing electronic patient records

Date: Feb-13-2014
Hospitals don't always take into account the full costs of implementing new electronic health record systems and should be better prepared if they are to maximise the benefits, finds research published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA).Electronic health record (EHR) systems can improve the safety, quality, and efficiency of healthcare in hospitals, and their adoption is a priority for the UK and US governments.

Quality of acupuncture needles is less than perfect and must improve

Date: Feb-13-2014
The quality of acupuncture needles is high, but should still be universally improved to avoid potential problems, such as pain and skin reactions, finds research published online in Acupuncture in Medicine (AiM).Despite improvements to the manufacturing process, surface irregularities and bent tips have not been completely eliminated, say the researchers.In China, traditional Chinese medicine including acupuncture, accounts for 40% of all medical treatment, while in the West, acupuncture is one of the most frequently used complementary therapies.An estimated 1.

Researchers discover immune signature that predicts poor outcome in influenza patients

Date: Feb-13-2014
A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital identifies factors that predict flu severity in patients and sets the stage for more effective therapies to prevent flu complications and deathsSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a signature immune response that might help doctors identify which newly diagnosed influenza patients are most likely to develop severe symptoms and suffer poor outcomes. The findings also help explain why infants and toddlers are at elevated risk for flu complications.

New video tracking system could someday help in vitro fertilization clinics select most viable sperm

Date: Feb-13-2014
To improve their chances of success, in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics need to assess the viability of the sperm they use. Now doctors may soon have a new technique to help them sort the good sperm cells from the less viable ones: a tracking system, developed by a team of researchers from four European institutions, that takes 3-D movies of living sperm.