Health News

Study results inform discussions regarding US policy on lung transplantation in children

Date: Dec-17-2013
A new analysis has found no evidence that children aged 6 to 11 years seeking a deceased donor lung transplant are disadvantaged in the current US lung allocation system. The findings, which are published in the American Journal of Transplantation, help inform ongoing discussions regarding potential changes to the nation's lung allocation policy.

New diagnostic test can detect chlamydia trachomatis in less than 20 minutes

Date: Dec-17-2013
Researchers have developed a new assay for rapid and sensitive detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in humans. This procedure takes less than 20 minutes and can be easily performed at the point of care (POC) during the patient's visit, reports The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.C. trachomatis affects 5% to 10% of the population and is particularly common in young adults under 25 years. It is a major public health concern due to its prevalence and potential severe long-term consequences.

Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code

Date: Dec-17-2013
Scientists have discovered a second code hiding within DNA. This second code contains information that changes how scientists read the instructions contained in DNA and interpret mutations to make sense of health and disease.A research team led by Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, University of Washington associate professor of genome sciences and of medicine, made the discovery. The findings are reported in the Dec. 13 issue of Science. The work is part of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project, also known as ENCODE.

Speeding up gene discovery

Date: Dec-17-2013
Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, which identified nearly 20,000 protein-coding genes, scientists have been trying to decipher the roles of those genes. A new approach developed at MIT, the Broad Institute, and the Whitehead Institute should speed up the process by allowing researchers to study the entire genome at once.The new system, known as CRISPR, allows researchers to permanently and selectively delete genes from a cell's DNA.

Younger, early breast cancer patients often undergo unnecessary staging, imaging procedures at time

Date: Dec-17-2013
More than one third of younger, early stage breast cancer patients undergo unnecessary imaging procedures - including position emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine bone scans (NMBS) and tumor markers (TM) - at the time of staging and diagnosis, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.Presented at a poster session at the 2013 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by Carlos Barcenas, M.D.

Bioethics Commission on incidental findings: Anticipate and communicate

Date: Dec-17-2013
Researchers conduct a memory study, scan a participant's brain, and find more than they bargain for: a tumor. What do the researchers owe the participant? What does the participant want to know? This is an increasingly common scenario for practitioners across contexts and for recipients of unexpected results that can be discovered through a variety of procedures and tests.

Fox Chase study shows families don't understand genetic test results or their implications

Date: Dec-17-2013
A study done by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center shows that many relatives of patients who undergo testing for a gene linked to breast and ovarian cancers misinterpret the results, and less than half of those who could benefit from genetic testing say they plan to get tested themselves - despite the fact that knowing your genetic status may help catch the disease in its earliest stages. The study results were presented on Thursday, December 12 at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Ear acupuncture 'boosts weight loss'

Date: Dec-17-2013
Ear acupuncture can help people lose weight, with better results if practitioners stimulated five points instead of just one, researchers from Korea claim in a study published in the BMJ journal Acupuncture in Medicine.Auricular acupuncture was first used in France in 1956 by Dr. Paul Nogier. He noticed that patients' backache was cured when they received a burn on the ear. Intrigued, he started mapping the ear, pinpointing the spots that correlate to various organs or systems in the body. Dr.

Study sheds light on risk of life-threatening blood clots in hospitalized children

Date: Dec-17-2013
Life-threatening blood clots occur so rarely in children that the condition, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), is often not on pediatricians' mental radar screens - an absence that can lead to woefully delayed recognition and treatment.Now findings of a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study, published online Dec. 12 in The Journal of Pediatrics, may help clinicians determine which hospitalized children are at greatest risk of VTE and require vigilant monitoring or preemptive treatment with anticlotting medications.

Longer maternity leaves lower women's risk of postpartum depression

Date: Dec-17-2013
The more leave time from work that a woman takes after giving birth -- up to six months -- the better protected she will be from experiencing post-partum depression, according to a study led by Dr. Rada K. Dagher, assistant professor of health services administration at the University of Maryland School of Public Health."In the United States, most working women are back to work soon after giving birth, with the majority not taking more than three months of leave," Dr. Dagher said.