Health News

'Bubble CPAP' boosts neonatal survival rates

Date: Feb-02-2014
The first clinical study of a low-cost neonatal breathing system created by Rice University bioengineering students demonstrated that the device increased the survival rate of newborns with severe respiratory illness from 44 percent to 71 percent.The results, which were published online this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, came from a 10-month study of 87 patients at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi.

What are the health benefits of spinach?

Date: Feb-02-2014
Popeye was definitely on to something. Spinach is a super food loaded with tons of nutrients in a low calorie package.Dark leafy greens like spinach are important for skin and hair, bone health, and provide protein, iron, vitamins and minerals.The possible health benefits of consuming spinach include improving blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer, lowering blood pressure, improving bone health, lowering the risk of developing asthma and more.

Llama-derived antibodies open door to development of new treatments for C. difficile infections

Date: Feb-02-2014
Researchers from the Alberta Glycomics Centre at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, in collaboration with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, have revealed the first molecular views showing how highly specific antibodies derived from llamas may provide a new method for controlling deadly infections from the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).

The key to self-awareness uncovered in genome editor

Date: Feb-01-2014
A central question has been answered regarding a protein that plays an essential role in the bacterial immune system and is fast becoming a valuable tool for genetic engineering. A team of researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have determined how the bacterial enzyme known as Cas9, guided by RNA, is able to identify and degrade foreign DNA during viral infections, as well as induce site-specific genetic changes in animal and plant cells.

In patients with invasive breast cancer, external beam radiation therapy reduces risk of subsequent mastectomy

Date: Feb-01-2014
Standard external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) provided a higher breast preservation rate than brachytherapy in women age 66 and older with invasive breast cancer, according to a study published in the February 1, 2014 print edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).Brachytherapy after lumpectomy is an increasingly popular treatment protocol for breast cancer; however, there is conflicting data regarding its effectiveness.

New health benefits associated with hempseed oil

Date: Feb-01-2014
Hemp is a crop full of oils with potential health benefits, according to a new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.A derivative of cannabis (marijuana), hemp has been used for millennia in textiles, medicine and food, by people all over the world. Despite this, hempseed has been banned in North America since the 1930s, when all varieties of cannabis were made illegal due to its tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. THC is the compound that induces the "high" in recreational use of cannabis.However, hemp with low THC content (0.

Pay linked to patient outcomes: China's reliance on lower-paid contract nurses may compromise patient care

Date: Feb-01-2014
Economic and health system reforms in China in recent decades have dramatically reduced the number of traditional hospital nursing jobs, known as "bianzhi" or "iron rice bowl" positions, which are guaranteed for life. Instead, more than half of nursing posts in many Chinese hospitals are now filled with contract-based nurses who do the same work as "bianzhi" for lower pay, fewer benefits and limited job security.

Extended outcomes from adjuvant accelerated partial breast irradiation show tumor control, breast cosmesis and minimal late toxicity

Date: Feb-01-2014
Long-term (five-year) outcomes of breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) after breast-conserving surgery show excellent tumor control and breast cosmesis (cosmetic outcomes) with minimal late toxicity, according to a study published in the February 1, 2014 print edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Screening for transformed human mesenchymal stromal cells with tumorigenic potential

Date: Feb-01-2014
Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands, led by Dr. Qiuwei Pan and Dr. Luc van der Laan, have discovered that spontaneous tumorigenic transformation of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) can occur during cell culture expansion, although the frequency is relatively low and often only observed after extensive passage in culture. This report appears in Experimental Biology and Medicine.Currently, MSCs are being widely investigated as a potential treatment for various diseases. According to ClinicalTrials.

Molecular keys uncovered to invasive bladder cancer

Date: Feb-01-2014
The once sketchy landscape of the molecular defects behind bladder cancer now resembles a road map to new, targeted treatments thanks to the unified efforts of scientists and physicians at 40 institutions.Deep molecular analysis of 131 muscle-invasive bladder cancer tumors found recurring defects in 32 genes for the cancer that currently has no targeted therapies. Findings by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network are published in the journal Nature.