Pioneering research with combined positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans provides accurate detection and localization of foot infection in diabetic patients, according to an article in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. PET/CT scans could potentially offer a single-step, noninvasive technique for the diagnosis of infection, said Society of Nuclear Medicine member Zohar Keidar, M.D., Ph.D., the article’s lead author.
Keidar expl
Researchers find drugs boost survival in those with congestive heart failure and mitral regurgitation with normal ejection fraction
Beta-blockers, medications that block the action of certain hormones on the heart, can benefit patients with certain serious heart problems such as diastolic heart failure, according to cardiologists at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Researchers presented two rep
Findings presented at ACC Scientific Sessions show improving serum sodium levels may improve outcomes
Research presented on Monday at the American College of Cardiology’s Scientific Sessions in Orlando pinpoints a major marker of a poor prognosis for heart failure, hyponatremia, or a lower than normal concentration of serum or blood sodium. Researchers found that hyponatremia, which is found in almost a quarter of patients with severe heart failure, doubled death rates withi
Important information that could optimise the diagnosis and management of chest pain patients is often lacking on referral between primary and secondary care, according to an influential multidisciplinary working group of the Angina Forum. In a bid to tackle the situation, the group has developed a template for use by both general practices and rapid access chest pain clinics (RACPCs).
The move follows a meeting of the Forum’s expert working group, which highlighted the major prob
The University of Manchester’s School of Environment and Development will host the second of its annual lectures on 9 March.
Renowned academic Professor Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago and Centennial Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, will present ‘Immigrants and Citizens – A new architecture for political membership’. The lecture will take place in Crawford House lecture theatre 1 at 3.30. Professor Sassen is a wo
How do babies see colour and which ones do they prefer? The Surrey Baby Lab, part of UniS’ Department of Psychology, was set up to investigate exactly this. With over 250 babies having visited so far, some very fascinating findings have been produced. Interestingly, it has been shown that infants, at just four-months old, can already categorise a range of colours.
Led by Dr Anna Franklin and her team, the aim of the current study is to find out which colours babies prefer and why. B
The occurrence of a super-eruption would have severe environmental effects and might threaten global civilisation. This is the assessment of a Geological Society of London working group [Notes 1,2] composed of senior Earth Scientists. The effects of a super-eruption would be comparable to those predicted for the impact of a 1km-diameter asteroid with the Earth. In fact, super-eruptions are 5-10 times more likely to occur than such an impact. The assessment of the working party has been presen
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are not inevitable with aging.
In recent years, researchers have identified many factors that may slow or prevent the development of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The March issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter outlines some.
* Control diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and obesity. There’s increasing evidence that these major risk factors for heart disease and stroke may also predispose people to dementia
Companies in America’s fast-growing retail and wholesale trade sector have been the major drivers of U.S. productivity growth since 1995, and the transformation of U.S. retailing is a major reason the U.S. maintains a substantial productivity lead over Europe.
A comprehensive study by The Conference Board, released today, shows that more than 50% of America’s productivity growth lead over Europe is due to gains in retail and wholesale trade.
The transformation of U.S.
Forty-one percent of entrepreneurs are women, according to a cross-national study of thirty-four countries. The first Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on women’s entrepreneurial activity was released today by The Center For Women’s Leadership at Babson College.
The GEM 2004 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship provides an in-depth global look at women’s entrepreneurship and highlights the important role that women play in developing and developed economies.
Two centuries ago, it took Lewis and Clark three years to cross half of North America. It’s taking Michigan Technological University’s Russell Alger and his teammates only a little longer to blaze a trail to the South Pole.
Of course, Antarctica poses special challenges. Ninety-eight percent of the continent is buried under thousands of feet of ice. And it doesn’t help that the trail builders can only work for a few weeks during the summer and have to start over again every year f
Researchers at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), in Montreal, have identified a new gene to combat cancer. In a new study, published in the on-line edition of the journal Clinical Cancer Research this week, the researchers document a reduction in the growth of both colon and lung cancer tumors with inhibition of the gene.
The new target gene is called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, or MTHFR. Researchers were able to inhibit the function of the gene by creating a
Corautus Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:VEGF) announced today the publication of the two year follow-up results of the Corautus’ earlier Phase I study of VEGF-2 in patients with severe angina. In this trial, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-2 (VEGF-2), in the form of “naked” plasmid DNA (a non-viral delivery vector) was delivered in defined doses by direct injection into the heart muscle. Results of the follow-up study, as reported by the investigators in the current issue of the Journal of Intervent
The link between health problems and children in low income, single-mother families is not surprising; these children are also more apt to be exposed to violence and maltreatment within the community and their families. A study in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics examines whether traumatic stress reactions in children due to these adverse childhood experiences also play a role in predicting their health.
Sandra Graham-Bermann, Ph.D. and Julia Seng, Ph.D., CNM, f
Researchers who studied a man-made wetland in Ohio for two years concluded that the created wetland filtered and cleaned water as well as or better than would a natural marsh.
The wetland, which was built in an agricultural area, reduced levels of phosphorus by nearly 60 percent and nitrates by 40 percent. Phosphorus and nitrates are prime ingredients in both fertilizers and in water pollution.
High levels of these nutrients can cause algae to flourish, often to the detr
Through an innovative catheterization procedure, a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s Heart Center in Houston repaired a severe liver condition in a 14-year-old male. The doctor used a catheter and septal occluder device that is generally used to close holes in children’s hearts. Similar procedures have been reported only six times in medical literature. But this is the first time the procedure has been performed with this particular device.
“Sammy was born wit
Feedback
