PHILADELPHIA – Some bacteria may help protect against the development of a type of esophageal cancer, known as adenocarcinoma, according to a new review of the medical literature. These bacteria, which are called Helicobacter pylori, live in the stomachs of humans.
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Cambridge, MA...Free prescription drug samples distributed to children may be unsafe, according to a study by physicians from Cambridge Health Alliance and Hasbro Children's Hospital. The national study, the first to look at free drug sample use among children, appears in the October 2008 issue of Pediatrics.
Boston, MA--A simple blood test may help detect serious bacterial infections (SBIs) like urinary tract infections and blood stream infections in young infants who come to the emergency department (ED) with fevers that have no clear cause. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, collaborating with investigators at George Washington University, show that a new diagnostic marker called procalcitonin can help identify infants at high risk for SBIs while potentially reducing unnecessary and aggressive testing, medication and hospitalization in low risk infants.
STANFORD, Calif. Hospitalized kids with painful ailments from broken bones to cancer are often dosed with strong, painkilling drugs known as opiates. The medications block pain, but they can have nasty side effects. Constipation, for instance, is one side effect that can cause discomfort and even extend a child's hospital stay.
BOSTON, Mass. (October 6, 2008) — Asthmatic children whose parents have high expectations for their ability to function normally are less likely to have symptoms than other children dealing with the condition, according to a new study. Children also are more likely to use asthma controller medications appropriately if they have a routine for taking medicine and if their parents clearly understand how well symptoms can be controlled.
Chemicals used in the environment to kill bacteria could be making them stronger, according to a paper published in the October issue of the journal Microbiology. Low levels of these chemicals, called biocides, can make the potentially lethal bacterium Staphylococcus aureus remove toxic chemicals from the cell even more efficiently, potentially making it resistant to being killed by some antibiotics.
DURHAM. N.C. -- A little exercise goes a long way toward helping severely obese individuals improve their quality of life and complete important daily tasks, according to researchers at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center.
In a pre-program assessment where patients reported, on average, just under one hour of exercise per week, individuals who were more active reported better overall-quality of life. They also reported improvements in their ability to perform daily tasks as measured on a physical functioning scale.
St. Louis, Oct. 5, 2008 — Scientists report online this week in Nature that they have linked the health of specialized gut immune cells to a gene associated with Crohn's disease, an often debilitating and increasingly prevalent inflammatory bowel disorder.
In most cities, the corner store, with its chips, soda and candy, is ubiquitous. Convenient for the neighborhood residents, but also researchers are discovering, a major snack source for school age children.
Researchers from Temple University and The Food Trust recently examined the eating habits of urban children before and after school as part of a larger project to make corner store snacks healthier. Their findings will be presented at The Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting on Saturday, October 4, 2008.
People struggling with obesity often underestimate how many calories they are actually consuming, which can hinder weight loss efforts. It should follow that the same person would overestimate the amount of exercise they're doing, right?
Boston, MA -- If current levels of smoking and biomass and coal fuel use in homes continues, between 2003 and 2033 there will be an estimated 65 million deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 18 million deaths from lung cancer in China, accounting for 19% and 5% of all deaths in that country during this period.
New Rochelle, NY, October 3, 2008—Novel platform technologies and key advances in genomics are rapidly driving the development of molecular diagnostics, reports Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (GEN). The payoff for successful molecular diagnostic products can be significant as Kalorama Information predicts that this market currently exceeds $3.2 billion worldwide and will reach $5.4 billion in four years, according to an article in the October 1 issue of GEN.
To understand where fat comes from, you have to start with a skinny mouse. By using such a creature, and observing the growth of fat after injections of different kinds of immature cells, scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefeller University have discovered an important fat precursor cell that may in time explain how changes in the numbers of fat cells might increase and lead to obesity.
Using computer models and live cell experiments, biomedical engineers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered more than 100 human protein fragments that can slow or stop the growth of cells that make up new blood vessels.
Reporting online last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say the findings could lead to developing treatments to fight diseases that depend on the growth of new blood vessels, including cancer, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis.
Baltimore, MD. – Knowing how an investigator is paid for running a research study surprisingly plays a small role in patients' willingness to take part in clinical trials. However, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study more participants are troubled when they are told that the investigator could profit or lose money depending on the results.