People

Child Care :: Needs of families with disabled children remain largely unmet

The social and economic needs of families with a disabled child are high, but remain largely unmet, argue researchers in this week’s BMJ.More disabled children and young people live in the UK than ever before (about 770,000 according to criteria defined in the Disability Discrimination Act) and the number of children with the most severe or complex needs is also increasing, write social policy experts from the University of York.

Health :: Computer with brain connections changing quality of life of paralyzed

Fundamental theories regarding consciousness, emotion and quality of life in sufferers of paralysis from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as “Lou Gerhig’s disease”) are being challenged based on new research on brain-computer interaction. ALS is a progressive disease that destroys neurons affecting movement. The study appears in the latest issue of Psychophysiology. The article reviews the usefulness of currently available brain-computer-interfaces (BCI), which use brain activity to communicate through external devices, such as computers.

Stroke :: Doctors launch new effort to treat stroke more effectively

Just a small fraction of patients who have a stroke receive the only drug — TPA — available to treat the condition. Now doctors and scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have developed a potential new treatment that will reach a milestone in the next few months, when the experimental treatment is tested for the first time in people who have suffered a stroke or “brain attack.”

Gingivitis :: Common antacids could help keep gingivitis at bay

Chemicals commonly used to treat heartburn also display fighting power against the oral bacteria linked with gum disease, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and G?teborg University in Sweden.

Lung Transplant :: Proteins may predict lung transplant rejection

Researchers have identified three proteins that appear to be highly predictive of chronic lung rejection up to 20 months before the rejection occurred. Lung transplants are a common therapy for many end-stage lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. If doctors can predict which patients are beginning to reject the transplanted organ, they could try to head it off.

Cystic Fibrosis :: Newly discovered proteins associated with cystic fibrosis

Researchers have found a highly unusual distribution of two proteins in the lungs and airways of people with cystic fibrosis, a discovery that could be a step in determining how the disease progresses. The proteins, first uncovered as a result of the human genome project, are thought to play a role in the body’s immune system.

Flu :: Your genes may hold key to how sick you get from the flu

With the help of some high tech equipment, well-defined mouse models and analytical know how, researchers are trying to understand why a flu virus kills some people but not others. Studies to be presented at “Physiological Genomics and Proteomics of Lung Disease” found that a strain of mice more likely to die of influenza infection mounts a dramatically enhanced immune response in the lungs compared to a strain of mice that generally develops milder disease.