STICH trial enrolling patients at 90 leading centers around the world
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is the only Chicago-area hospital participating in a National Institutes of Health sponsored research study to find a definitive answer to whether medical therapy or surgery is the better option for treating congestive heart failure. In addition, the study will compare coronary artery bypass surgery alone to bypass surgery plus a new procedure called surgical ventricular restorat
Researchers suspect that the number of people infected during the recent Midwest outbreak may be higher than first reported
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University are trying to gain a better understanding of last summer’s monkeypox outbreak. The researchers traveled to the Midwest twice during the past few months to obtain blood samples from residents exposed to the disease. A third trip is planned for December. The samples will be used to better understand the human i
UCLA study looks at quality of life of younger women after breast cancer
Very young women diagnosed with breast cancer may be more likely to have persisting physical and psychological problems years after cancer, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center.
In a survey of nearly 600 women who were all age 50 or younger when they first were diagnosed with breast cancer, researchers found that the majority of women report they have a good quali
Ultimate goal: a public online database
A computational technique used to predict everything from books that a given customer might like to the function of an unknown protein is now being applied by MIT engineers and colleagues to the search for new materials.
The team’s ultimate goal: a public online database that could aid the design of materials for almost any application, from nanostructure computer components to ultralight, high-strength alloys for airplanes.
Damaging winds can occur in previously overlooked places within a thunderstorm, according to a Purdue University earth scientist. The finding could help meteorologists save lives and reduce injuries by issuing more accurate storm warnings.
Based on new data on the behavior of winds in developing storms, Purdue’s Robert J. “Jeff” Trapp has found that the north side of a storm front can host cyclonic winds that are more intense than those at the storm’s “apex,” or leading point, whi
A multi-centre research team from the UK and the USA has discovered the first method to deliver medication directly into the encysted stage of the infectious parasites that cause toxoplasmosis and a novel target for medicines in the parasite. It has major implications for the way that we treat this devastating disease as it could lead to new medications and approaches to better tackle it. The study will be published online on November 17 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Penn State simulation testing suggests that barriers, called underride guards, placed on the rear end of heavy trucks to prevent cars from sliding underneath and being crushed in rear-end collisions may be less effective if placed lower or higher than 16 inches (400 mm) from the ground.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration regulations set a maximum ground clearance of 22 inches (560 mm) and no minimum for underride guards on new trucks.
The Penn State simulati
More than 150 researchers from across Europe, Canada, the United States, China and as far away as Chile have come together to recount their many and varied uses of a single instrument – a desk-sized camera called MERIS, hurtling through space aboard Envisat at more than seven kilometres per second.
The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) is one of ten sensors on Envisat, looking down from the earthward face of the spacecraft. It works by recording visible and near-infrared radiati
Ohio State University software is helping some of the world’s fastest supercomputers confront big scientific questions, from global climate change to the structure of intricate molecules.
The software, called MVAPICH, works by connecting traditional supercomputing software with innovative networking technology that speeds data flow.
While supercomputers were once built only as large-scale mainframe structures that were extremely expensive — some costing tens to hundreds of millions
Proteomic signature for ALS identified
Detection of protein abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may allow physicians to more rapidly diagnose and better monitor drug efficacy in clinical trials for the disease, according to a novel study presented by a University of Pittsburgh researcher in Milan, Italy, today.
These findings may lead to the first test for early stage ALS, also know as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
With an estimated 170 million people around the world already infected with hepatitis C, Saint Louis University is testing, for the first time in humans, an investigational vaccine that researchers hope will prevent infection with the virus. The successful development of such a vaccine would represent a major step in combating this growing health problem.
Saint Louis University is the only site in the country conducting this pilot study.
“There is currently no licensed vaccine to
The idea of working from a distance with the help of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been with us for three decades now.
According to the most optimistic predictions by some scholars and policy makers, it was envisaged that by the turn of the millennium most, if not all, clerical workers would be familiar with teleworking. However, from today’s perspective it is clear that this has not happened. Much like getting rid of paper in offices, escaping the constr
Curing human diseases using gene transfer into human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remains a promising avenue for development. In the November 14 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, two independent studies – the first by Stanton Gerson and colleagues at Case Western University and the second by Hans-Peter Kiem and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – have accomplished, for the first time, the selection and expansion of gene-corrected HSCs from large animals (dogs a
By screening the genomes of mice with heart failure, Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered multiple stretches of DNA containing genes that modify the heart’s pumping ability and survival with the disease. The findings could point researchers to genes that determine the severity of heart failure in patients, according to the Duke team.
“Our goal is to find novel genes that modify human heart failure by letting the mouse point us in the right direction,” said Duke ca
Reduction of agitation leads to less stress for caregiver; better care for patient
Results from a Phase II, multi-center study found dronabinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana, reduces agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the research concluded that reduced agitation may contribute to the relief of caregiver burden associated with the condition. The findings were presented at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists’ 3
East African naked mole-rats, the only known cold-blooded mammal, have shown a rather heated response in lab tests that may have important implications for treating chronic pain in humans.
The blind, furless creatures that live underground in colonies lack a body chemical called Substance P, a neurotransmitter normally in the skin that sends pain signals to the central nervous system. The rats feel no immediate pain when cut, scraped or subjected to heat stimuli. They only feel some aches.
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