Culture | Science Codex

Helping Hands reaches out to patients with cerebral palsy

HOUSTON – (May 9, 2012) – With the aid of multiple force sensors and a digital dinosaur, a team of Rice University seniors known as Helping Hands hopes to restore strength and flexibility to the hands and wrists of children with cerebral palsy.

"These kids have a real problem with their hands," said Jenna Desmarais, a senior at Rice majoring in mechanical engineering. "The fingers and wrists are locked into a sort of claw-like position. Even after surgery to correct it, they need physical therapy to get stronger."

ICU stays for worst asthma drop 74 percent, review finds

SAN ANTONIO (May 10, 2012) — A review of 30 years of life-threatening asthma cases in a San Antonio intensive care unit found that annual ICU admissions for the condition have dropped 74 percent. The study, by UT Medicine San Antonio physicians who reviewed cases at University Hospital between 1980 and 2010, also showed intubation in the emergency department to help patients breathe did not result in longer hospital stays.

UT Medicine is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

Heart attack patients taken to PCI hospitals first treated faster

Heart attack patients in North Carolina who were rushed directly to hospitals equipped to do percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) received treatment significantly faster than patients first taken to hospitals unequipped to perform PCI and then later transferred for treatment, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research 2012 Scientific Sessions.

A healthy look at social media

The creation of a social media videoconferencing platform geared towards healthcare might pave the way for enhanced use of social media in the world of healthcare according to a study published this month in the International Journal of Electronic Finance.

OU researcher examines the healthy and unhealthy snack choices of fourth- and fifth-grade students

A health nutrition education program to fight childhood obesity in America is a possible outcome of a study by a University of Oklahoma researcher and a colleague. The study looked at factors affecting a child's decision when choosing healthy or unhealthy snacks.

Paul Branscum, assistant professor, OU Department of Health and Exercise Science, College of Arts and Sciences, surveyed 167 fourth- and fifth-grade students in the Midwest to find out what snacks the students were eating between meals. Branscum asked the students to record their choices over a 24-hour-period.

Mechanistic discovery links psoriasis to increased risk of cardiovascular disease

The link between psoriasis and cardiovascular events has been observed for years, however the mechanics were unknown. For the first time, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers have discovered preclinical evidence demonstrating that the inflammatory skin disease leads to cardiovascular disease. Further, the research demonstrated that aggressive reversal of psoriasis reduces the cardiovascular risk as well. Psoriasis is a chronic disease of the immune system that appears as raised, inflamed, scaly red patches of skin and is often associated with intense itch.

University of Tennessee professor looks at how stars' endorsements can help -- or hurt -- politicians

Actor George Clooney is planning a fundraising dinner to raise $10 million for President Barack Obama. Comedian Chelsea Handler and actor Tom Hanks are also Obama supporters.

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, rocker Ted Nugent and country singer Trace Adkins have said they back the likely Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.

Star-studded endorsements may be attention grabbing, but does it influence voters?

Yes, it does, according to research recently published by a political scientist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Screening for esophageal disease with unsedated transnasal endoscopy is safe and feasible

OAK BROOK, Ill. – May 10, 2012 – Researchers report that unsedated transnasal endoscopy is a feasible, safe, and well-tolerated method to screen for esophageal disease in a primary care population. This study is the largest reported experience with transnasal endoscopy in the United States. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

Novel imaging could better identify patients who would benefit from ICDs

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

ICDs are used to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in patients with advanced heart disease, but many patients' devices are never triggered. New research suggests that imaging the loss of nerve function in the heart may identify those patients at greatest risk of developing a life-threatening arrhythmia.

Hospitals performing expensive heart procedures are more costly for all patients

Hospitals that perform expensive, invasive cardiovascular procedures on a disproportionate number of patients are more costly for all heart failure patients, including those treated with noninvasive methods, according to a new Yale study.

ASBMR responds to NEJM's study on biphosphonates

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2012 – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that physicians should reassess patients with osteoporosis who are being treated with a class of drugs called bisphosphonates after three to five years of therapy to determine whether they should continue treatment. Bisphosphonates are a widely prescribed class of drugs that are proven to be effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis and at high risk of fractures.

Long-term use of osteoporosis medication may reduce bone fracture risk for some patients

Continuing a popular but controversial treatment for osteoporosis could reduce spine fracture risk for a particular group of patients, but others could see little to no change if they discontinue it. Based on available evidence, a UCSF researcher reevaluated his 2006 finding from a randomized 10-year study of alendronate, a type of bisphosphonate – a class of drugs that prevent loss of bone mass.

Study: No difference in results by race with standard heart failure treatment

DETROIT – A traditional treatment for heart failure appears to be equally protective in preventing death or hospitalization among African-American patients, as compared to white patients, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Non-verbal communication between conductor, musician leads to better music

Musicians execute their performances better when the non-verbal sensorimotor communication between conductor and musician is maximized, according to research published May 9 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

OHSU study: Misdiagnosis of MS is costing health system millions per year

PORTLAND, Ore. — It is relatively common for doctors to diagnose someone with multiple sclerosis when the patient doesn't have the disease — a misdiagnosis that not only causes patients potential harm but costs the U.S. health care system untold millions of dollars a year, according to a study published online today in the journal Neurology.