Screening newborns for a rare but treatable genetic disease benefits families and society, according to a team of pediatricians and health care economists who analyzed patient records and data from mass screening programs in several states. The study appears in the November issue of Pediatrics.
The researchers, from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, analyzed the cost-effectiveness of screening for medium-chain acyl-CoA-
In a study that points to the importance of considering both mind and body in children’s health, researchers report today that they have found a clear link between childhood obesity and behavior problems.
Results published today in the journal Pediatrics show that children who have significant behavior problems, as described by their parents, are nearly three times as likely to be overweight as other children. In addition, children with behavior problems are as much as five times
The way of life, physical and mental health, and financial and family circumstances of senior citizens are the core topics of the European Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) study, launched last year. Thanks to support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) an Austrian group was able to join this long-term, international multidisciplinary research project at the start of 2003.
The survey, due to run for a minimum of four years, will involve at least six academic discipl
When conventional therapies for glaucoma have been exhausted, ophthalmologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have a new surgical technique in their arsenal to arrest this blinding disease caused when there is too much pressure on the inside of the eye.
UT Southwestern ophthalmologists are among a few in the Dallas area to use the recently approved Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma Shunt, a metal cylinder smaller than a grain of rice. It is surgically implanted in the eye and offers an es
Investigators at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), Pfizer Global Research and Development and Stanford University have collaborated in studying a new immunosuppressant drug, CP-690,550, that may avoid some of the common side effects associated with other medications that curb the immune system. The new drug, discovered by Pfizer researchers, may be of major importance for those who are treated with immunosuppressants for organ transplants or autoimmune
Oregon patients are first on West Coast to take part in clinical trial
Two Oregon Health & Science University patients are the first on the West Coast to receive a new stroke prevention treatment that uses a spongy, polymer compound to seal a brain aneurysm.
The patients, Joyce Turner, 68, of Kings Valley and Rob Pardee, 48, of Talent, underwent back-to-back procedures Oct. 23 at OHSU Hospital to repair aneurysms – weakened areas of an artery wall that balloon out and fill w
More than 60 percent of liver transplant patients with advanced liver cancer are still alive after five years, compared to nearly zero survival for those patients who did not undergo transplant, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.
“This is good news for patients with liver cancer. If diagnosed early, transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with liver cancer and advanced cirrhosis,” says Paul Thuluvath, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and
Women who take part in egg sharing programmes run by fertility clinics are not compromising their chance of having a baby by donating some of their eggs, according to UK research published today (Thursday 30 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[1].
The Lister Fertility Clinic in London, a private clinic that has been running a formal egg sharing scheme since January 1998[2], has evaluated 276 egg sharing cycles involving 192 women who agreed to share
Women who take more than a year to conceive have a higher than normal risk of having a premature birth, a full-term baby with low birthweight[1], or a Caesarean section, according to a large Danish study reported today (Thursday 30 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[2].
More than one in ten babies are born to infertile[3] couples and the researchers are warning that doctors should be especially alert to potential problems within this group of women
Lung cancer screening could be the impetus to help some cigarette smokers quit, according to a Mayo Clinic study to be published in the Dec. 1, 2003, issue of the journal Cancer.
One year after undergoing lung cancer screening, 14 percent of smokers in the study had stopped smoking. “That quit rate is double what we would expect to see in a community sample of smokers,” says Matthew Clark, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic clinical psychologist and a lead investigator in the study.
Participants
Infants fed human milk fortified-in-hospital developed comparably to those fed infant formula
Premature infants fed breast milk made developmental gains equal to or greater than those fed formula specially designed for low-birth-weight infants, an international study finds.
“Definitely, appropriately fortified breast milk is the feeding of choice for these premature, low-birth-weight babies,” says U of T nutritional sciences professor Deborah O’Connor, lead author of a
Fruits contain a number of vitamins and minerals that are used as supplements to treat everyday illnesses. Now, research suggests that common fruit extracts may have significant clinical benefits in decreasing risk for skin cancer. These studies are presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Second Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
“The incidence of skin cancer is rising faster than any other solid tumor in the United States. It
The first new oral drug in 50 years to prevent blood clots after knee-replacement surgery was superior to the standard treatment in a clinical trial of about 2,300 patients led by the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Researchers also have tested the new drug, ximelagatran, for prevention of stroke, heart attacks and deep vein thrombosis, and if approved by the FDA it would offer millions of patients an alternative to the commonly prescribed anticoagulant, warfarin.
Results
Osteocalcin, a small bone-specific protein that influences bone formation, may facilitate the development of drugs to combat bone-related diseases, such as osteoporosis and bone metastases of cancer, say McMaster University researchers. Their study is to be published in the October 30 issue of Nature, a high-impact scientific journal.
Although it’s generally accepted that osteocalcin, discovered in 1976, binds to the mineral component of bone, called hydroxyapatite, the biological function
Technical Insights’ Genetic Technology Alert
Biotech companies and researchers across the world are focusing on the development of new therapies for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) cancer, a lethal and malignant disease that is spreading at an alarming rate.
“About 300,000 people in the United States are affected by NHL and it causes about 23,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone,” says Technical Insights Analyst Al Hester. “This has created a greate
Drinking green tea may do more than just thwart a head cold, according to research presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Second Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Green tea already is believed to help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, fight bacteria and dental cavities, and possibly aid weight loss. New studies are now suggesting the various potential anti-cancer benefits of the age-old beverage.
“Laboratory studi
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