Health News

Differences revealed in brains of preterm infants

Date: Nov-29-2013
Premature birth appears to trigger developmental processes in the white matter of the brain that could put children at higher risk of problems later in life, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).Preterm infants - generally those born 23 to 36 weeks after conception, as opposed to the normal 37- to 42-week gestation - face an increased risk of behavioral problems, ranging from impulsiveness and distractibility to more serious conditions like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Fast food consumed by majority of very young children in California at least once a week

Date: Nov-29-2013
A surprisingly large percentage of very young children in California, including 70 percent of Latino children, eat fast food regularly, according to a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The study found that 60 percent of all children between the ages of 2 and 5 had eaten fast food at least once in the previous week. The majority of the state's young children also do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, with only 57 percent of parents reporting that their child ate at least five fruit and vegetable servings the previous day.

Brain cancer 'diagnosed in 30 minutes' with new test

Date: Nov-29-2013
Brain cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death in the US population. Current methods can diagnose the cancer within 2 to 3 days, but researchers say they have created a new technique in which the disease could be diagnosed in just half an hour.Brain cancer is defined as one or more cancerous tumors within the brain or central spine canal. The cancer can develop at any age, but the risk increases as a person gets older.According to the National Cancer Institute, this year will see 23,130 new brain cancer diagnoses in the US, with 14,080 deaths from the condition.

Genetic mutation could increase understanding of ADHD

Date: Nov-29-2013
Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that a mutation in a single gene involved in the functioning of the brain's nervous system can lead to hyperactivity symptoms that are characteristic of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Getting the nervous system wired up properly is a big job. The brain contains billions of different types of nerve cells, which all have to be connected in a very precise fashion. This circuitry self-assembles as an embryo grows, based on a developmental programme involving the actions of thousands of different genes.

Study underway to develop personalised treatments for psoriasis

Date: Nov-29-2013
Queen Mary University of London is working to create a new test which helps pinpoint the most effective treatment to tackle the skin condition psoriasis - as part of a world-leading partnership between King's College London, the University of Manchester, Liverpool University and Newcastle University.The partnership will develop a targeted approach to psoriasis treatment - an approach also known as stratified medicine - with the aim of eventually using the test to help the 1 million NHS patients who suffer from the painful skin condition.

Latin America and the Caribbean advance toward universal access to HIV treatment

Date: Nov-29-2013
Three out of four people who need antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Latin America and the Caribbean are receiving it, according to a new report from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). That leaves one in four without the life-saving treatment but represents a 10% improvement in just two years and puts Latin America and the Caribbean ahead of all other developing regions in levels of ART coverage.

FDA study helps provide an understanding of rising rates of whooping cough and response to vaccination

Date: Nov-29-2013
A new study is helping to provide a better understanding of vaccines for whooping cough, the common name for the disease pertussis. Based on an animal model, the study conducted by the U.S.

Velphoro (PA21) receives US FDA approval for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis

Date: Nov-29-2013
Velphoro® (sucroferric oxyhydroxide) has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the control of serum phosphorus levels in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) on dialysis. Velphoro® will be launched in the US by Fresenius Medical Care North America in 2014.Velphoro® (previously known as PA21) is an iron-based, calcium-free, chewable phosphate binder. US approval was based on a pivotal Phase III study, which met its primary and secondary endpoints.

Winter is not the concern for A&E it's the elderly, UK

Date: Nov-29-2013
In a panel discussion tackling the Emergency Care Crisis at Hospital Directions recently three NHS Trust CEO's argued that the all year round influx of elderly patients was the real concern facing A&E.The panel included Stuart Bain, CEO of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust, Dr Alfa Sa'adu Medical Director Ealing Hospital NHS Trust and Mary Edwards CEO, Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation, and all concluded that the talk of specific winter crisis is incorrect.

Death toll for 2009 pandemic flu much higher than official worldwide estimates

Date: Nov-29-2013
A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study, which appears online in PLOS Medicine, suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.