Current methods of delivering health care to kids are woefully unable to cope with a pediatric disease pendulum that has swung from acute to chronic illnesses, says a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. In addition, some of the most effective clinical advances for children may increase the disparity between children teetering on the bottom rung of the social and economic ladder and their more fortunate peers.
“There&#
Probiotics are not always the right approach.
Millions of women around the world have probably used yoghurt as a folk remedy to prevent thrush while taking antibiotics. A Melbourne GP and PhD student has proven that Lactobacillus acidophilus, a key bacterium in yoghurt, was not effective in the prevention of thrush (‘vulvovaginitis’) after antibiotics. Her findings were published recently in the eminent British Medical Journal (BMJ). “It’s a reminder that all medicines, even natura
A new non-invasive test for kidney disease, developed by clinicians at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College London, is providing a simple, safe, cheap and reliable method of detecting kidney disease. The new test, reported today in the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, can detect disease before symptoms become apparent, and offers a quicker way of finding out if patients are responding to treatment – which could mean that some patients might not need costly dialysis.
IL-7, a hormone-like protein involved in cell-cell interaction, has been associated with increased survival and expansion of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL). Now, in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, a team of scientists, not only confirms the essential role of this protein in the disease but also, for the first time, identifies the biochemical pathway affected by IL-7 in T-ALL cells, a discovery which could lead to the development of potential new treatments
There’s increasing evidence that green tea offers health benefits, reports the September issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource. Recent studies have reported that polyphenols, compounds found in green tea, may offer protection against certain cancers and may aid in the destruction of cancer cells.
Now, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that another component in green tea helps kill the most common form of leukemia in the United States. The component, known as epigallocatechin-3-
Physical symptoms (such as headache, back pain, stomach problems, joint or muscle pains, and dizziness) are nearly as common in depression as emotional symptoms and are the predominant complaint depressed patients present with in the primary care setting.
A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined the prevalence, impact on quality of life, and outcome of physical symptoms in depressed patients during nine months of antidepressant therapy. While physical sy
A program that targets allergens and tobacco smoke in the home resulted in fewer asthma symptoms in children participating in the intervention than in those who were not, according to a new study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in seven metropolitan areas nationwide. Children taking part in the intervention had 21 fewer days of asthma symptoms over the one-year course of intervention.
The study–co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis
But first study of indoor air before and after a smoking ban finds carcinogens eliminated by smoke-free laws
The level of cancer-causing particles is much higher in the air of smoke-filled bars and casinos than on truck-choked highways and city streets, according to the first published comparison of indoor air quality before and after smoke-free workplace legislation. The study, conducted in a casino, six bars and a pool hall in Wilmington, Delaware, is published in the September 2
Study demonstrates effectiveness of the antidepressant duloxetine for improving symptoms and relieving pain
Fibromyalgia is a chronic, incapacitating musculoskeletal disorder. Nearly six times more common in women than in men, fibromyalgia is marked by widespread body pain and muscle tenderness, often accompanied by headaches, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. While its cause remains a mystery, fibromyalgia has been linked to abnormalities in the brain’s neurotransmitters, seroto
Researchers from the University of Chicago and Stanford University found that one of the new programs to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation has disadvantages for candidates with blood type O who are waiting for an organ from a deceased donor. The researchers’ findings appear in the Sept. 15, 2004, issue of Transplantation.
Through a process called list-paired exchange, a person waiting for a kidney transplant gets a higher priority on the wait list for
Dangerous multi-drug-resistant bacteria are also developing immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics, according to new research presented today (Wednesday, 08 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.
Some of the most worrying microbes around, the drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) have been discovered in heavily disinfected hospital locations such as catheters and on
Ionising radiation has long been recognised as a cause of leukaemia in exposed children. But delegates at a conference in London today (Tuesday 7 September) will hear how ground-breaking research is now providing evidence that the children of men exposed to radiation may also be at increased risk of developing leukaemia.
The causes of leukaemia in children are, in general, poorly understood. The disease is known to be multi-causal, and it is widely accepted that it is multi-stage, i
Traditional treatment of movement problems for people who have suffered traumatic brain injury or strokes has mainly focused on making the best use of motor functions the patient has retained. A team at the University of Surrey is now examining a method which focuses on improving the weaker arm of patients with upper body hemiparesis (hand/arm disability resulting from brain damage). Professor Annette Sterr and her Clinical Neuroscience Research Group are carrying out a five-year study into the pract
The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has been routinely given to young children since 2000, reduces the incidence of middle ear infection and pneumonia, a new study shows.
“This highlights that the vaccine significantly decreases illnesses in children and reinforces its importance in our public health efforts,” said Dr. Kathy Poehling, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville. The study appea
Pushing neurons’ physiological limits provides researchers with new ways to repair nerve damage
Sometimes it is the extremes that point the way forward. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have induced nerve fibers – or axons – to grow at rates and lengths far exceeding what has been previously observed. To mimic extreme examples in nature and learn more about neuronal physiology, they have mechanically stretched axons at rates of eight millimeters per d
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) present significant new discoveries on West Nile virus, monkeypox, and yellow fever in four papers in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The articles are summarized below, and can be found on the EID web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm.
• In “Year-Round West Nile Virus Activity, Gulf Coast Region, Texas and Louisiana
Feedback
