Telemonitoring may reduce the mortality of patients with heart failure by 20%. Silke Schmidt et al. present their study results in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[8]131-8).
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Sexual problems are frequent after operations for carcinoma of the rectum. Christian Schmidt et al. describe the consequences for quality of life in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[8]: 123-30).
UCSF scientists have discovered how a mutated gene known as Kras is able to hijack mouse cells damaged by acute pancreatitis, putting them on the path to becoming pancreatic cancer cells.
A team of engineers from the CEIT-IK4 technological centre and doctors from the University Hospital of Navarra have designed a new tool for operating on the inner ear with maximum precision, reducing the possibility of damage to the auditory function during the surgery. This is the first micromanipulator specifically for operations involving cochlear and middle ear implants, of which about a hundred are carried out in this hospital annually.
The secret world of inflammation is slowly being revealed by the application of advanced techniques in microscopy, as shown in a study published March 12 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Researchers at the Hull York Medical School and the University of York used 2-photon microscopy to identify how killer T lymphocytes behaved when they enter sites of inflammation caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani, and which infected cells they were able to recognise.
New research reveals Small Colony Variants (SCVs) of P. aeruginosa to be a hallmark of chronic infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Results, published March 12th in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, suggest that SCV-mediated persistence might be a good target for antimicrobial chemotherapy.
A study by Norwegian and French researchers hopes to provide new understanding of how blood cells adjust gene expression in response to various clinical, biochemical and pathological conditions. The Norwegian Woman and Cancer (NOWAC) postgenome study, published March 12 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, highlights numerous blood gene sets affected by one's physical condition, lifestyle factors and exposure variables.
More high risk cases of human papilloma virus (HPV) could be detected by offering home testing kits to women who do not come forward for cervical screening, according to research published on bmj.com today.
While cervical cancer screening programmes in Western countries have contributed to a decrease in deaths from cervical cancer, one of the major drawbacks remains the number of women who do not come forwards for smears.
Women in the UK who have ever used the oral contraceptive pill are less likely to die from any cause, including all cancers and heart disease, compared with never users, according to research published on bmj.com today.
The results show a slightly higher risk in women under 45 years old who are current or recent users of the pill. The authors stress that the effects in younger women disappear after about 10 years. Furthermore, the benefits in older women outweigh the smaller excess risks among younger women.
The promise of stem cells lies in their unique ability to differentiate into a multitude of different types of cells. But in order to determine how to use stem cells for new therapeutics, scientists and engineers need to answer a fundamental question: if a stem cell changes to look like a certain type of cell, how do we know if it will behave like a certain type of cell?
A group of Argentine scientists, including health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society, have announced that yellow fever is the culprit in a 2007-2008 die-off of howler monkeys in northeastern Argentina, a finding that underscores the importance of paying attention to the health of wildlife and how the health of people and wild nature are so closely linked.
Bethesda, Maryland — The Board of Directors of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) has approved a set of guidelines to govern programs accepting the donation of bodies for education and biomedical research. The guidelines cover the minimum requirements that should be met by any Willed Body Program.
Conventional biological wisdom holds that living cells interact with their environment through an elaborate network of chemical signals. As a result many therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases in which cell behavior goes awry focus on drugs that block or disrupt harmful chemical signals. Now, a new road for future therapies may have been opened with scientific evidence for a never seen before way in which cells can also sense and respond to physical forces.
What:Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito – the main vector of malaria – have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood. The formation of this protein barrier, the researchers found, is part of the normal digestive process that allows so-called "healthy" or commensal gut bacteria to grow without activating mosquito immune responses.
Mt. Prospect, Ill. – As critical care professionals develop a better understanding of the progression of H1N1, they are becoming better prepared to treat children with severe cases, according to a new study that will be published in the March issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM).