Researchers at Johns Hopkins have dispelled the widespread belief among obstetricians that, in premature infants, brain injury results from a lack of oxygen, also called hypoxia, when, in fact, infection plays a larger role.
“Infection plays a much larger role than lack of oxygen in brain injury among premature infants,” said high-risk obstetrician Ernest Graham, M.D., an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and lead author of the study, presen
A repetitive drop in blood oxygen levels in newborn rats, similar to that caused by apnea (brief pauses in breathing) in some human infants, is followed by a long-lasting reduction in the release of the brain neurotransmitter dopamine, according to an Emory University research study. Because dopamine promotes attention, learning, memory and a variety of higher cognitive functions, the researchers believe repetitive apnea during neonatal development may be one factor leading to the development
Severe calorie restriction prevents certain aging-related changes in the brain, including the accumulation of free radicals and impairments in coordination and strength, according to a mouse study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. However, the dietary changes did not seem to prevent mice from developing some cognitive deficits associated with age, such as declines in memory. The study will be presented at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 24 at Neuroscience 2004, the Society fo
While breast cancer screening in rural America remains underutilized, barriers to screening mammography in poor, rural areas are marked by significant racial disparities, according to a new study. These barriers include poor knowledge about breast cancer and screening, difficulty accessing facilities, and lack of encouragement and funds to get screened. These factors are particularly striking among Native Americans. The study will be published in the December 1, 2004 issue of CANCER, a peer-re
The voice laboratory at the University of Navarre University Hospital has designed a novel and efficient protocol to evaluate and rehabilitate the voice of patients who have undergone laryngectomy. This involves a monitoring procedure based on patterns of phonatory flow. The study forms part of the PhD thesis by Dr. Francisco Vázquez de la Iglesia. The title of the work is “Physiological Bases of the Pharyngoesophageal Segment. Characterisation of the erigmophonic voice as a function of its a
Authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) may carry a risk of subsequent thrombosis if stenting is accompanied by a withdrawal of antiplatelet therapy.
More than 1•5 million people a year have stents implanted to improve coronary artery blood flow. A recently published pooled analysis of 11 trials (see Lancet 2004; 364: 583-91) suggested that DES—increasingly used in coronary angioplasty—have benefits ov
Research from Australia in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggests that tall girls given oestrogen therapy in adolescence to reduce adult height are more likely to experience later fertility problems than the general population.
Treatment with oestrogen to reduce the adult height of tall girls has been available since the 1950s. No randomised trials have examined the effect of oestrogen therapy. Such therapy alters the development of the long bones and has been reported to re
Results of a European study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provide further evidence that patients with early symptoms of multiple sclerosis given a weekly injection with interferon beta are less likely to progress to full clinical disease after two years follow-up. The study showed that the drug reduced patients’ loss of brain tissue compared with individuals given placebo.
Early findings from the ETOMS (early treatment of multiple sclerosis) trial (see Lancet 2001; 357: 1576-82)
For many patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, deep brain stimulation can mean the difference between having difficulty walking and being able to run. Since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997, the treatment has been used by 20,000 patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease or other movement disorders to help control their symptoms. Now, researchers have discovered that surgically implanting electrical stimulators on just one side of a patient’s brain could help alle
Cleveland researchers study musculoskeletal pain following significant weight loss
Over 18 months, researchers at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University studied the frequency and prevalence of musculoskeletal (MSK) complaints in obese patients before and after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. The researchers concluded that the complaints, which involved joint and tendon pain, decreased significantly following surgery and initial weight loss, even i
Ailing health care industry will adopt operations research and manufacturing techniques by 2010, says expert
Bowing to crushing increases in the cost of delivering medical services to Americans, the troubled health care system will begin to adopt operations research and other techniques that have proven successful in the relatively unfashionable manufacturing sector, predicts a leading expert. “By the end of the decade, the health care industry will realize that operations resea
Metabolic monitoring may be indicated for patients
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say a group of drugs known as “atypical antipsychotics” that are commonly used to treat children with aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.
Results of the study linking insulin resistance to the use of these antipsychotics are sc
Conclusion
The project presented here examines the research cooperation between the Institute for Product Development, Technische Universität München, and a cardiology centre in Munich, Deutsches Herzzentrum München. The main aim of the project was the optimization of the interaction of the heart lung machine (HLM) and the human organism. The extracorporeal circulation (ECC) – where the HLM takes over the blood circulation, gas exchange and thermoregulation of the blood outside of t
When treating an infection, physicians may face a choice between using a bactericidal (bacteria-killing) drug, a bacteriostatic (bacteria-inhibiting) drug or a combination of the two. The solution is not always obvious, particularly since a drug that is bactericidal for one strain of bacteria may only inhibit the growth of another strain, according to an article in the November 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Although it might seem logical that bacter
Occlusion of the basilar artery (BAO) is a relatively infrequent but the most catastrophic form of ischemic stroke with a dismal natural course, carrying from 85 to almost 95 % mortality. Complete BAO precipitates a sudden or gradually worsening clinical syndrome with bilateral motor weaknesses, visual or speech disturbances, deficits in motor coordination and balance, and often leads to reduced consciousness. The most devastating end-point is the locked-in state, in which the patient is consc
In preparation for the Women International Space Simulation for Exploration (WISE) study, which starts on 22 February next year, an official call for candidates to participate as test subjects was issued on 3 August.
Over 700 women have responded in the 10 weeks since then, demonstrating strong interest in the study among potential participants. However, most of the applications are from France, where the WISE study is to take place, and ESA wishes to ensure that women from all o
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