Health News

Obesity during pregnancy is independent risk factor for long-term cardiovascular morbidity

Date: Feb-05-2014
In a study to be presented on Feb. 7 at 2:45 p.m. CST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in New Orleans, researchers will report that obesity during pregnancy is an independent risk factor for long-term cardiovascular morbidity, and these complications tend to occur at a younger age. Researchers concluded that obese pregnant patients might benefit from cardiovascular risk screening that could lead to early detection and secondary prevention of cardiovascular morbidity.

Access to acute medical care can be expanded via telemedicine

Date: Feb-05-2014
People who are younger, more affluent and do not have established health care relationships are more likely to use a telemedicine program that allows patients to get medical help -- including prescriptions -- by talking to a doctor over the telephone, according to a new RAND Corporation study.Patients who used the service suffered from a wide assortment of acute medical problems such as respiratory illnesses and skin problems, and researchers found little evidence of misdiagnosis or treatment failure among those who used the service.

New DNA-based, super-resolution microscopy method could simultaneously spot dozens of distinct types of biomolecules

Date: Feb-05-2014
A new microscopy method could enable scientists to generate snapshots of dozens of different biomolecules at once in a single human cell, a team from the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported in Nature Methods.Such images could shed light on complex cellular pathways and potentially lead to new ways to diagnose disease, track its prognosis, or monitor the effectiveness of therapies at a cellular level.Cells often employ dozens or even hundreds of different proteins and RNA molecules to get a complex job done.

Acute otitis externa: AAO-HNSF updated clinical practice guideline

Date: Feb-05-2014
With one in every 123 people in the United States affected by Acute Otits Externa or "swimmer's ear" each year, the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation released an evidence-based guideline to improve the diagnosis and treatment. The guideline, updated from 2006, was published in the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery."Swimmer's ear affects nearly 1 in 100 people annually and may cause intense pain.

Risk of miscarriages not increased by NSAIDs

Date: Feb-05-2014
Women who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) during pregnancy are not at increased risk of miscarriages, confirms a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and others, are increasingly used by pregnant women in the first trimester to combat pain, fever and inflammation. However, it is unclear whether they increase the risk of pregnancy loss because previous studies have shown inconsistent results.

First step in using pharmacogenomics for prevention of preterm birth

Date: Feb-05-2014
New research findings may soon help doctors personalize preterm birth prevention treatments by identifying which women at higher risk for preterm birth will be helped by progesterone injections.Injections of one type of progesterone, a synthetic form of a hormone naturally produced during pregnancy, have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent preterm births by about a third.Nearly half a million babies are born too soon each year in the United States.

Toddlers suffer 10 times as many burns and scalds as older children

Date: Feb-04-2014
According to new research in the UK, 1-year-old children receive 10 times the amount of burns and scalds as their older siblings. The authors of the new study, which is published in Archives of Diseases in Childhood, say that half of all burns and scalds cases seen in European hospitals are made up of injuries to children. Such cases have the potential for lifelong scarring or even death, so the researchers wanted to see what could be done to prevent these severe burns from occurring.

'Mammograms every 2 years, not annually,' suggest scientists

Date: Feb-04-2014
In 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force created guidelines recommending biennial mammography screening for women between the ages of 50 and 74. And now, scientists suggest that following this guideline would be equally effective and save the US health care system $4.3 billion a year.The researchers, led by Dr. Laura J.

High added sugar intake 'increases CVD mortality'

Date: Feb-04-2014
New research recently published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that individuals who consume high amounts of added sugar in their diet may be at increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the average American consumes around 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day - the equivalent to an extra 350 calories.Added sugars are most commonly found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and soft drinks.

Advances and Progress in Drug Design: 
Delivering Practical Solutions to Drug Delivery Challenges
, 17-18 February 2014,
 London

Date: Feb-04-2014
In just 2 weeks time, the highly anticipated conference on Advances and Progress in Drug Design, will return to London and open its doors to leading pioneers from across the globe to discuss, debate and share ideas and challenges facing the drug design arena. Key areas to be addressed will include structure based drug design, water applications, fragment based drug design, lead optimisation challenges and molecular design. Due to high demand, SMi Group Ltd have announced that availability to attend the 13th annual instalment is now strictly limited. Registration will be closing soon.