Preventing cavities could one day involve the dental equivalent of a military surgical strike. A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.
A new NIH-funded study shows that a specific gene variant in humans affects both sensitivity to short-term (acute) pain in healthy volunteers and the risk of developing chronic pain after one kind of back surgery. Blocking increased activity of this gene after nerve injury or inflammation in animals prevented development of chronic pain.
Beginning with the winter season of 2004-2005, influenza vaccination has been recommended for all children 6 to 23 months old in the United States. However, its safety in young children has not been adequately studied in large populations. A study was conducted by Simon J. Hambidge to screen for medically attended events in the clinic, emergency department, or hospital after administration of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in children 6 to 23 months old.
Dr. Kathryn King, a University of Calgary researcher developed the new compression bra as a result of complaints from women who experience numbness, tingling and shooting sensations in their breasts after heart surgery. King’s design stops the weight of the breast from putting pressure on the surgical wound and also allows women to wear a bra immediately after the operation, instead of three or four days later.
Stay thin and trim to cut cancer risk as fat tissue may be preventing the death of damaged cells, a new study has said. In studies with mice, shedding a bit of weight acted as a preventive measure against cancers. And they didn’t even have to exercise to get the benefit: the mouse equivalent of liposuction did the trick.
Testosterone apparently is not just a virility hormone. It also helps older men keep their balance and avoid falls. According to a new study from Oregon Health & Science University, older men with low testosterone are much more prone to falling. The study, published in the American Medical Association journal “Archives of Internal Medicine”, strengthens the link between levels of the naturally produced male hormone and the health of men 65 years and older.
Scientists at Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have developed a panel of genomic tests that analyzes the unique molecular traits of a cancerous tumor and determines, which chemotherapy will most aggressively attack that patient’s cancer.
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) will showcase innovative cardiac solutions designed to streamline workflow and facilitate advanced information management at Cardiovascular Research Foundation?s (CRF) eighteenth annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium in Washington, D.C.Shown for the first time ever in the U.S., the pre-release of the Philips Xcelera 2.1 Cardiovascular Information Solution is one of the key components to Philips integrated catheterization (cath) lab, which includes physiomonitoring, reporting and cardiovascular X-ray technologies to improve patient care and lab management.
Malignancies of the breast can be more aggressive and associated with poorer outcome in African-Americans than other races, according to a new study. Published in the December 1, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reviewed patient data from two different clinical trial protocols – to control for healthcare access biases – and found that African-Americans have tumors with poorer prognostic cellular characteristics and more aggressive clinical presentations, pointing to the possibility that racially influenced tumor biology may contribute to observed racial disparities in breast cancer outcome.
A person suffering from tennis elbow may not have to look any further than his or her own body for the most effective treatment, according to a study published in the November issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine. Specially prepared platelets taken from the patient which are then re-injected into the tendon of the affected elbow provides more relief than more commonly-used therapies which have failed to yield results, often resulting in surgery, concludes study authors Allan Mishra MD and Terri Pavelko, PAC, PT, of the Menlo Medical Clinic, Stanford University Medical Center, Menlo Park, Calif.