Culture | Page 2452 | Science Codex

La Jolla Institute finds new molecular candidates for treatment of asthma and allergies

SAN DIEGO – (December 1, 2011) La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology scientists have identified the histamine releasing factor (HRF) molecule as a promising target for developing new treatments for a number of allergic reactions including asthma.

The research team, led by Toshiaki Kawakami, M.D., Ph.D., is also the first to clarify the role of the HRF molecule in promoting asthma and some allergies, including identifying its receptor – a major finding that answers a long-held and important question in the allergy research community.

Danish HIV patients can live as long as the general population when treated optimally

Researchers who have been following Danish HIV patients for more than fifteen years now see that the patients may live as long as other Danes if they take their medicine.

"It is my impression that patients often ask themselves a range of questions: 'What are my long-term prospects? Will I be dead in five years' time? Will the disease cause brain damage? Will I have heart trouble'?" says Professor Niels Obel, the University of Copenhagen and Rigshospitalet. He continues:

New study finds timely acute care could cut the cost of stroke cost

New research published in the journal Age and Ageing suggests that timely acute care immediately after a stroke reduces the level of disability in stroke survivors and the associated need for long-term care, therefore reducing aftercare costs.

Health gap has grown among young US adults, study finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Levels of health disparity have increased substantially for people born in the United States after 1980, according to new research.

The study also found that health disparity tends to increase as people move into middle age, before declining as people reach old age.

These two results suggest that the gap between the healthiest and least healthy people in the United States as a whole will grow larger for the next one or even two decades as the younger generations grow older and replace previous generations.

Health gap has grown among young US adults, study finds

WASHINGTON, DC, November 29, 2011 — Levels of health disparity have increased substantially for people born in the United States after 1980, according to new research.

The study also found that health disparity tends to increase as people move into middle age, before declining as people reach old age.

These two results suggest that the gap between the healthiest and least healthy people in the United States as a whole will grow larger for the next one or even two decades as the younger generations grow older and replace previous generations.

Prior hospitalization for mental illness increases death risk in patients with chest pains

New research from Scotland has shown that the rate of death in men and women hospitalised for chest pain unrelated to heart disease is higher in those with a history of psychiatric illness than without.

MAKS: Drug-free prevention of dementia decline

There are many different causes of dementia and, although its progression can be fast or slow, it is always degenerative. Symptoms of dementia include confusion, loss of memory, and problems with speech and understanding. It can be upsetting for both the affected person and their relatives and carers. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that a regime of behavioral and mental exercises was able to halt the progression of dementia.

Researchers examine role of inflammatory mechanisms in a healing heart

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that an inflammatory mechanism known as inflammasome may lead to more damage in the heart following injury such as a heart attack, pointing researchers toward developing more targeted strategies to block the inflammatory mechanisms involved.

Study shows hospice caregivers need routine care interventions

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2011) — A study led by the University of Kentucky researcher Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles found that hospice family caregivers are "second order patients" themselves and require their own unique care needs.

The study, published in a recent issue of Qualitative Health Research, assessed the individual stressors that caregivers experience. The researchers recorded discussions between hospice caregivers and the intervention team. The caregivers were asked to identify and describe the most pressing problems or concerns they faced.

Clinical trial for muscular dystrophy demonstrates safety of customized gene therapy

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that it is safe to cut and paste together different viruses in an effort to create the ultimate vehicle for gene therapy. In a phase I clinical trial, the investigators found no side effects from using a "chimeric" virus to deliver replacement genes for an essential muscle protein in patients with muscular dystrophy.

New report: Community health plans improving care for patients with chronic illnesses

Community health plans are partnering with physician practices to initiate a range of care management programs for people living with chronic diseases; these programs have resulted in decreased emergency room (ER) use, improved health and lower costs. The findings, released today by the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), are part of a report that is a comprehensive look at the way community health plans partner with providers to improve care.

Improving patient care by improving nurses' work environment

While nurse-to-patient ratios are widely recognized as an important factor in determining the quality of patient care, those ratios are not always easy to change without significant cost and investment of resources. What's more, the projected nursing shortage will make it even more difficult for hospitals to increase nurse staffing. A study published in the current issue of Health Care Management Review indicates that there are other aspects of registered nurses' (RNs) work environments that RNs perceive can also have a significant impact on the quality of care they deliver.

Health-care providers should be alert to risk of suicide among pregnant women and new mothers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Increased screening of pregnant women and new mothers for major depression and conflicts with intimate partners may help identify women at risk for suicide, a University of Michigan Health System-led analysis of federal data concludes.

Only a small percentage of women who take their own lives are pregnant or have recently become mothers, but their frequent interactions with the health care system may provide important opportunities for providers to intervene if risk factors are better understood, the researchers say.

Self-referral leads to more negative exams for patients

CHICAGO – Physicians who have a financial interest in imaging equipment are more likely to refer their patients for potentially unnecessary imaging exams, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Heart attack risk differs between men and women

CHICAGO – Findings on coronary CT angiography (CTA), a noninvasive test to assess the coronary arteries for blockages, show different risk scenarios for men and women, according to a study presented today at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).