Health News

Hydrocephalus: sensors monitor cerebral pressure

Date: Jan-21-2014
If the pressure in a patient's brain is too high, physicians implant a system in the head that regulates the pressure. A sensor can now measure and individually adjust brain pressure. The sensor system is approved for use as a long-term implant.Urinary incontinence, a shuffling gait, and deteriorating reasoning skills are all indicators pointing to a Parkinsonian or Alzheimer type disease. An equally plausible explanation is hydrocephalus, commonly known as "water on the brain.

Modified proteins as vaccines against peach allergy

Date: Jan-21-2014
A research conducted by the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (UPM-INIA) and led by Araceli Díaz Perales has studied the allergy to peach, the most common food allergy, and the Pru p 3 protein. As a result of this research work, they have developed three hypoallergenic variants of this protein. All can be good candidates for the usage of specific immunotherapy for peach allergy and also can be used as a vaccine.Nowadays, allergy affects over 25% of the population of developed countries.

Childhood obesity can only be tackled with broad public health interventions

Date: Jan-21-2014
Public health researchers from The University of Manchester have found single dietary interventions are not effective at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among overweight children and will not halt the global epidemic in childhood obesity.The team from Manchester Urban Collaboration of Health (MUCH), based at the University, say broader public health strategies are needed instead as obesity figures continue to rise.Obesity has now become a global epidemic affecting children, adolescents and adults alike.

New coroners' advice could save hundreds of lives, UK

Date: Jan-21-2014
Coroners could save lives by telling family members of a loved one lost to a heart condition to get screened themselves.Guidance (1) led by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has been developed with the Chief Coroner of England and Wales to ensure that if someone dies from an inherited heart condition, the coroner recommends directly to relatives that they are screened as well.Around 600 people aged just 35 or under die suddenly each year with apparently no explanation or cause of death, leaving families shocked and distraught (2).

Forget about forgetting - The elderly know more and use it better

Date: Jan-21-2014
What happens to our cognitive abilities as we age? If your think our brains go into a steady decline, research reported in the Journal Topics in Cognitive Science may make you think again. The work, headed by Dr. Michael Ramscar of Tübingen University, takes a critical look at the measures usually thought to show that our cognitive abilities decline across adulthood. Instead of finding evidence of decline, the team discovered that most standard cognitive measures, which date back to the early twentieth century, are flawed.

British Muslims with diabetes need more healthcare support during Ramadan

Date: Jan-21-2014
British Muslims with diabetes may avoid attending GP surgeries to discuss fasting during the holy month of Ramadan - with potentially serious consequences for their future health, new research by the universities of Manchester and Keele shows.The first study in the UK to explore the beliefs which influence the experience and practices of British Muslims' diabetes management found tensions often exist between observing the important religious ritual in accordance with their faith and the competing need to manage their health.

Muscle is three times better than fat for bones

Date: Jan-21-2014
While it is well known that heavier people develop stronger bones, a burning issue for osteoporosis researchers over the last 20 years has been whether muscle or fat has the greater impact on bone mineral density. Australian and Vietnamese scientists have now shown that the impact of 'lean mass' is 3 times higher than the impact of 'fat mass', finally concluding the protracted debate.

Medtronic CoreValve® system obtains early FDA approval on exceptional clinical performance

Date: Jan-21-2014
Medtronic, Inc. has announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the self-expanding transcatheter CoreValve® System for severe aortic stenosis patients who are too ill or frail to have their aortic valves replaced through traditional open-heart surgery. Untreated, these patients have a risk of dying approaching 50 percent at one year. The FDA granted approval of the CoreValve device without an independent device advisory panel review after reviewing the clinical outcomes in the Extreme Risk Study of the CoreValve U.S.

Is Europe equipped with enough medical oncologists to face the increasing cancer burden? The horizon is still unknown

Date: Jan-21-2014
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has welcomed a recent survey that shows the number of medical oncologists in Western Europe appears to be keeping pace with the rising toll of cancer.But the society has also warned that a worrying lack of information about the situation in Eastern Europe must be urgently addressed.Published in the Annals of Oncology [1], the survey provides the first detailed information on the current number of medical oncologists in 12 European Union countries, mostly in Western Europe, and their predicted availability by 2020.

Football fans get FFITer and lose weight

Date: Jan-21-2014
An initiative that helps male football fans feel better and live a healthier lifestyle by losing weight, taking more exercise, and improving their diet has been a resounding success, according to new research published in The Lancet and BMC Public Health.The Football Fans in Training programme (FFIT) has run for three seasons at Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs.