Health News

More evidence that childhood trauma can lead to psychosis

Date: Jan-31-2014
A review of 125 research studies in the last ten years strongly supports the hypothesis that early trauma in childhood (including abuse and neglect) can effect brain development in ways that increase the probability of developing psychosis later in life.Anomalies in the brains of people diagnosed with mental health problems such as 'schizophrenia' have traditionally been used to support the notion that such problems are biologically based brain disorders that have little to do with life events.

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research will fund new interdisciplinary research group looking at the subject of brain doping

Date: Jan-31-2014
The transfer of knowledge on pharmacological neuroenhancement has become the focus of a new interdisciplinary research group at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Within the joint project "Pharmacological Neuroenhancement - Between Predictable Knowledge Transfer and Unintended Consequences" funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Professor Klaus Lieb and Dr. Dr. Andreas G. Franke of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Professor Oliver Quiring of the Institute of Media and Communication Studies, and PD Dr.

International collaboration develops clinical tool to measure activity of brain at rest

Date: Jan-31-2014
A research team led by Western University, in collaboration with The University of Liège in Belgium and Central University Colombia, has developed a new strategy to study the human brain while it's resting, which gives scientists and health care providers a baseline for measuring states of awareness.

RAPS seeks input from healthcare regulatory professionals in global survey

Date: Jan-31-2014
The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) has launched its survey of professionals around the world who are involved with the regulatory process for healthcare products. RAPS has conducted this research initiative, the Scope of Practice & Compensation Survey of the Regulatory Profession, for nearly 25 years. The survey asks regulatory professionals working in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries; regulatory agencies; academia, consultancies and other settings about their jobs, backgrounds and compensation.

Geranium extracts inhibit HIV-1

Date: Jan-31-2014
Extracts of the geranium plant Pelargonium sidoides inactivate human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and prevent the virus from invading human cells. In the current issue of PLOS ONE, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München report that these extracts represent a potential new class of anti-HIV-1 agents for the treatment of AIDS.Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München demonstrate that root extracts of the medicinal plant Pelargonium sidoides (PS) contain compounds that attack HIV-1 particles and prevent virus replication. A team spearheaded by Dr. Markus Helfer and Prof.

Ambulance checklists and feedback improve emergency care for stroke and heart attack patients

Date: Jan-31-2014
The introduction of checklists and better feedback for ambulance crews as part of a national quality improvement project has significantly improved the standard of care for heart attack and stroke patients across England, a major new study has shown.Between them, heart attack and stroke are the most common cause of death in the UK. There are more than a quarter of a million heart attacks (acute myocardial infarction) in the UK each year and two fifths result in sudden death. There are another 150,000 incidences of stroke annually.

Florida's Medicaid reform pilot is saving money, UF study finds

Date: Jan-31-2014
Health care plans in the Florida Medicaid Reform Pilot project have done a better job of controlling costs than Florida's traditional Medicaid program, according to a new University of Florida study. An initial estimation suggests the reform pilot reduced costs by about 18 percent, had expenditures increased at the same rate as experienced in the non-reform counties. The Medicaid reform project has lowered expenditures in participating counties by about $200 per member per month for Medicaid enrollees who qualify under the Supplemental Social Security Income program.

Genomic analysis reveals 2 separate molecular profiles of invasive bladder cancer

Date: Jan-31-2014
In the first whole-genome analysis conducted through the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) Center for Personalized Medicine, researchers report that invasive bladder cancers demonstrate two distinct patterns of genetic alteration, one of which may result from defects in cells' ability to replicate. The study, published online ahead of print in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, is the second to employ whole-genome sequencing of bladder tumors, and lays the groundwork for development of personalized targeted therapies.

Stem cell source found in tissue discarded in hip replacements

Date: Jan-31-2014
Tissue that is typically discarded in routine hip replacement operations may offer a rich untapped source of stem cells that could be banked for later use in regenerative medicine, where patients' own cells are used to treat disease or repair failing organs.This was the implication of a new study led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, published online recently in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.Study leader Prof.

Stoptober 2012 encouraged an extra 350,000 attempts to quit smoking, UK

Date: Jan-31-2014
More than a third of a million people in England took part in Stoptober 2012, a national campaign to encourage people to give up smoking, according to new research by UCL researchers published today in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Stoptober, which is now run by Public Health England, aims to support a positive social movement that encourages smokers to kick the habit by setting them a realistic and achievable goal (quitting for 28 days).