An ultrasound training program for non-physicians gives astronauts and sports trainers the tools to assess injuries using real-time remote assistance from medical experts.
Researchers with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have developed a computer-based training method that teaches non-physicians to operate ultrasound as if they were technicians. Crew members for four International Space Station (ISS) missions have trained with the program and have perfor
The risk of human bird flu infection is small in Australia and people can still safely eat chicken and keep pet birds, according to bird medicine specialist Dr Bob Doneley.
“The chances of getting bird flu off a pet bird or your neighbours birds are so infinitesimally small,” UQ School of Veterinary Science Adjunct Professor Dr Doneley said.
“You’re more likely to have a light plane hit by a meteor and fall on your head than somebody getting bird flu off their cockatiel.”
Lung cancer patients with extenuating health problems may have an alternative to traditional radiation therapy through a lung-sparing procedure pioneered at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer responded well to high doses of radiation administered through extracranial stereotactic body radiation therapy, according to an article published in the Nov. 15 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Ph
The active metabolite of vitamin D, calcitriol, and other vitamin D analogs are promising chemopreventive agents that may prevent prostate cancer, according to a study presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research’s 4th annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in Baltimore.
Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute conducted both in vitro (outside the body) and in vivo (inside the body) studies to determine the effects of calcitriol and
Study supports annual flu vaccination for children with neurological conditions
As another flu season approaches, patients with neurological and neuromuscular disease are especially vulnerable to respiratory failure caused by influenza. Researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia identified this high-risk group of patients, who have recently been added to the list of groups for whom the federal government recommends receiving annual influenza vaccine.
Doctors in Canada have discovered that treating high-risk prostate cancer patients with radiation therapy and adding hormone therapy for more than one year allows patients to live longer, have better control of their prostate specific antigen levels and lowers the rate of death specifically from prostate cancer, according to a study published in the November 1, 2005, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.
A total of 307 p
Here are a few tips on how to make your fall and winter seasons a bit healthier and happier this year, courtesy of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
An apple a day…
The cold season is nothing to sneeze at, but here’s something that might help: researchers say some apples might do a better job of keeping the doctor away than others. Red Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida Red, pack a greater wallop of disease-fighting antioxidants tha
Researchers studying a mouse model of neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), a genetic condition that causes childhood brain tumors, have found their second new drug target in a year, a protein called methionine aminopeptidase-2 (MetAP2).
An established drug, fumagillin, is already known to suppress the activity of MetAP2. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that fumagillin significantly slowed the rapid proliferation of cultured mouse brain cells tha
Large study pinpoints genetic and environmental factors
A case-control study of more than 2000 people has identified a number of factors that may induce primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in genetically susceptible individuals. These include a history of urinary tract infections, hormone replacement therapy, tobacco use, and nail polish use. The study is published in the November 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseas
Side effects are common, but mostly mild
Nearly half of 118 children with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with a combination of interferon-alpha-2b and an optimized dose of ribavirin achieved sustained viral response, and side effects were generally mild. These results are reported in the November 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology
Altering bright light exposure and taking a nonprescription drug
A simple, at-home treatment — a single light box and the over-the-counter drug melatonin — allows travelers to avoid jet lag by resetting their circadian body clock before crossing several time zones, according to new research being published in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. This treatment can also help those with delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), a persistent
In the event of an influenza pandemic, the world’s vaccine manufacturers will be in a race against time to forestall calamity. But now, thanks to a new technique to more efficiently produce the disarmed viruses that are the seed stock for making flu vaccine in large quantities, life-saving inoculations may be available more readily than before. The work is especially important as governments worldwide prepare for a predicted pandemic of avian influenza.
Writing this week (Oct.
Diffusion MRI is good early predictor of whether cancer will progress
A special type of MRI scan that measures the movement of water molecules through the brain can help doctors determine halfway through treatment whether it will successfully shrink the tumor or a patient’s cancer will continue to grow, a new study shows. The test identifies after only three weeks of treatment – more than two months earlier than traditional tests — who is responding to the chemotherapy or
Research with female monkeys at the Tulane National Primate Research Center has for the first time shown that three different anti-viral agents in a vaginal gel protect the animals against an HIV-like virus. The research suggests that a microbicide using compounds that inhibit the processes by which HIV attaches to and enters target cells could potentially provide a safe, effective and practical way to prevent HIV transmission in women, according to study investigators. The study, published online O
Five principles guide decisions that improve patient safety and lower costs, say Group Health experts
With the cost of prescription drugs rising faster than any other part of health care, more insurers and health systems have begun adopting restrictive policies for coverage of newer drugs. How can consumers and health care organizations be sure that such policies don’t lean too far in either direction–either restricting necessary treatment or wasting consumers’ premiums
Early diagnosis and treatment of heart disease may lead to longer life in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients, say experts at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston in a report that appeared online in the journal Circulation.
Cardiac disease, particularly dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure, is the major cause of mortality in patients with muscular dystrophy and is present in most boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a
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