Little evidence exists to support the widespread use of bronchodilators to treat children and adults with cystic fibrosis, according to a new systematic review of published research.
“Recurrent wheeze and breathlessness are common in people with cystic fibrosis, and bronchodilators are commonly prescribed,” according to lead author Clare Halfhide, M.D., of the Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital in England. “Despite their wide-scale and often long-term use, there is limited ob
Hip replacement outcomes could become far more predictable thanks to a revolutionary virtual surgery system developed by European researchers.
The IST-funded MULTISENSE project combined virtual reality, force-feedback systems, tissue profiling and stereoscopic vision to create virtual patients that mimic the tissue of real patients. Surgeons can now perform a hip-replacement operation on a virtual copy of their real patient.
More importantly, after the virtual surgery doc
Scientists have discovered that schizophrenia sufferers are not fooled by a visual illusion and are able to judge it more accurately than non-schizophrenic observers. The study by UCL (University College London) and King’s College London suggests that in everyday life, schizophrenics take less account of visual context. If this is part of a more general failure to deal appropriately with context, it could explain why some sufferers might misattribute people’s actions or feel persecuted.
There is another use for botulinum toxin which has brought relief to some who suffer from migraines and eye spasms. Botulinum toxin can also successfully treat intense facial pain called trigeminal neuralgia, according to a study published in the October 25, 2005, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Trigeminal neuralgia is a disorder characterized by sudden, severe, stabbing, or shock-like pain usually felt on one side of the jaw or che
A Mayo Clinic allergist and colleagues representing the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology announce they are revising the old classification of asthma patients by disease severity to determine treatment and moving to a new expectation for all asthma patients: excellent symptom control. Complete or total control is also a realistic goal for a subset of patients, according to new guidelines for treating asthma published in t
Electronic medical records are touted as a great way to prevent medical errors, but researchers are reporting that this new technology may also be just what the doctor ordered for clinical trial recruitment.
A new study led by Peter Embi, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and researcher at UC’s Institute for the Study of Health, shows that by using the tools of an electronic medical record system in a new way, it’s possible to increa
Sildenafil citrate (Viagra), a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in millions of men, reduces the stimulatory effects of hormonal stress on the heart by half, according to results of a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.
While sildenafil is more widely known for helping genital blood vessels expand to maintain an erection and, more recently, as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension, it has been thought to have little direct effect on the human heart.
In
The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) has designated, as an orphan medicine, one of the 18 patents of the Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA) at the University of Navarre. This approval, achieved by the Digna Biotech biotechnological company, will facilitate the clinical development of its p144 peptide in the treatment of two symptoms of skin disease: local and systemic scleroderma.
The aim of Digna Biotech (www.dignabiotech.com) is the d
According to Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas, Director of the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital (University of Navarra), molecular studies in cancer of the colon will contribute to the establishment of more efficient and less toxic treatments.
A deep understanding of the tumour process facilitates knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that need to be activated in order to reverse the cancerous process. The following step is to look for new therapeutic strategies base
New scientific evidence that may shed light on why men are more likely than women to develop aggressive forms of skin cancer has been published today in Carcinogenesis. The research carried out by scientists in UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research shows that a gene found only in men is altered by a chemical process, which is in turn linked to aggressive forms of melanoma.
Dr William Gallagher, UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science and UCD Conway Insti
Lidocaine and similar local anesthetics are effective for treating pain that emanates from damaged nerves, according to a systematic review of current evidence.
Neuropathic pain, which can occur with chronic diseases or conditions, is frequently unresponsive to treatment and worsens over time.
“Intravenous lidocaine and oral derivatives relieve pain from damage to the nervous system,” found authors Ivo W. Tremont-Lukats, M.D., of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Hou
A new device that uses near-infrared light to non-invasively monitor the oxygenation of the brain during surgery appears to be a promising alternative to the more invasive techniques currently in use, according to a new study by Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologists.
The researchers said their findings offer the potential for accurate and reliable monitoring of brain oxygenation during cardiac surgeries, to more effectively protect the brain against reduced oxygen l
Researchers at the University of Ulster have found that drugs being developed to combat diabetes could also prevent nerve degeneration caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurobiologist Dr Christian Holscher, who heads the Alzheimer Research Group at the University’s Coleraine campus, has teamed up with the University’s internationally renowned diabetes research group to investigate links between two diseases.
Recent research has shown a surprising link between Alzheimer’s a
The possibility of a patient lowering their blood pressure at the flick of a switch has been raised by research led by Oxford University, which shows that stimulating parts of the brain with electrodes can change a patient’s blood pressure.
In a paper published today by Neuroreport, researchers at Oxford University and Imperial College London report that they have found the exact area of the brain that controls blood pressure and how to make use of it.
A team of neurosur
The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) has designated, as an orphan medicine, one of the 18 patents of the Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA) at the University of Navarre. This approval, achieved by the Digna Biotech biotechnological company, will facilitate the clinical development of its p144 peptide in the treatment of two symptoms of skin disease: local and systemic scleroderma.
The aim of Digna Biotech (www.dignabiotech.com) is the devel
Mother to child transmission of HIV accounts for a large proportion of HIV infections in children, with many infected as a result of breastfeeding, which requires transfer of the virus across mucosal barriers. DC-SIGN, a DC lectin receptor, interacts with HIV and is found at high expression levels in tonsillar tissue.
In a paper appearing online on October 20 in advance of print publication of the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, William Paxton and coll
Feedback
