Despite self-harm being one of the strongest predictors of completed suicide, 90% of young people who self-harm as adolescents cease self-harming once they reach young adulthood. However, those who start self-harming as young adults will have often experienced mental health problems as adolescents, such as anxiety or depression, which should be treated.
We all know the 3-D body suits from behind-the-scenes footage of Hollywood movies. Now body suits are going to be put to use for healthcare research and improvements of sporting activities as well. Researchers from the University of Sunderland in the UK are using a body suit because it allows them to take 3-D motion capture out of the lab.
Twenty-five percent of people who were hospitalized for depression were readmitted or visited an emergency room again for depression within 30 days of discharge, according to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The results are published in this month's edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests.
Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461 for treatment-resistant depression. ALKS 5461 is the combination of ALKS 33, a proprietary opioid modulator, and buprenorphine. TRD, which is also known as refractory depression, refers to depressive episodes that are not adequately controlled by standard antidepressant therapy. The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is designed to assess the safety and potential efficacy of ALKS 5461 in subjects with TRD. Alkermes expects to provide topline results from this study in the second half of calendar 2011.
Even people who show a clear treatment response with antidepressant medications continue to experience symptoms like insomnia, sadness and decreased concentration, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found after analyzing data from the largest study on the treatment of depression.
A team of researchers from the University of Montreal and McGill University have discovered a type of "cellular bilingualism" -- a phenomenon that allows a single neuron to use two different methods of communication to exchange information. "Our work could facilitate the identification of mechanisms that disrupt the function of dopaminergic, serotonergic and cholinergic neurons in diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's and depression," wrote Dr. Louis-Eric Trudeau of the University of Montreal's Department of Pharmacology and Dr. Salah El Mestikawy, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and professor at McGill's Department of Psychiatry. An overview of this discovery was published in the Nature Reviews Neuroscience journal.
A top medical researcher at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, has launched a clinical trial to pinpoint brain activity in depressed people by using scientifically designed sad and heartrending photos and music. Results will be used to help neurosurgeons at the new Barrow Center for Neuromodulation treat clinically depressed patients with deep brain stimulation.
Jobless African-American men might be at a greater risk of suffering from depression, new research shows. More surprising, at the other end of the income spectrum, African-American men making $80,000 and upward are also among those at higher risk.
Backed by the medical research group Human Metabolome Technologies (HMT), researchers at Keio University have developed a test which measures the concentration of phosphoric acid in the blood as an indicator of depression.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a mouse model of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is based on a rare genetic mutation that appears to cause MDD in the majority of people who inherit it. The findings, which were published online May 19 in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics EarlyView, could help to clarify the brain events that lead to MDD, and contribute to the development of new and better means of treatment and prevention. This report also illustrates an advance in the design of recombinant mouse models that should be applicable to many human diseases.
Participants in the first hospital-initiated, low-intensity collaborative care program to treat depression in heart patients showed significant improvements in their depression, anxiety and emotional quality of life after 6 and 12 weeks, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
A team of over 250 researchers from more than 20 countries have discovered that common genetic variations contribute to a person's risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Women who experience depression and anxiety after a miscarriage continue to experience these symptoms even if they subsequently go on to have a healthy child, according to a study of pregnant women from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
Researchers have for decades hypothesized that negative emotions lead to inflated reports of common physical symptoms, like headaches or an upset stomach. But a new University of Iowa study suggests that two negative emotions -- depression and anxiety -- influence symptom reporting in different ways.
We all have our ups and downs--a fight with a friend, a divorce, the loss of a parent. But most of us get over it. Only some go on to develop major depression. Now, a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests part of the reason may be that people with depression get stuck on bad thoughts because they're unable to turn their attention away.
People who are depressed are less likely to adhere to medications for their chronic health problems than patients who are not depressed, putting them at increased risk of poor health, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Depression may have more far-reaching consequences than previously believed. Recent data suggests that individuals who suffer from a mood disorder could be twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to individuals who are not depressed.
A new study using MRI scans, led by Professor Jianfeng Feng, from the University of Warwick's Department of Computer Science, has found that depression frequently seems to uncouple the brain's "Hate Circuit". The study entitled "Depression Uncouples Brain Hate Circuit" is published today (Tuesday 4th October 2011) in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Research by the University of Reading shows that children of postnatally depressed mothers are more likely to suffer from depression themselves than those of non-depressed mothers.
Depression in patients with diabetes is associated with a substantively increased risk of development of dementia compared to those with diabetes alone.
Eight out of ten Australians would radically change their risky behaviour if tests showed they had a genetic susceptibility to depression, a national study has found.
A study into depression is shedding new light on a fascinating facet of human psychology - that we can readily delude ourselves into thinking we control events, even when we know we do not.
Problems like anxiety and depression are caused by psychological and environmental factors, and are known to be influenced by genetic proclivities. However, it is still not clear how each factor affects the brain's functions to induce anxious and depressive symptoms.
Despite improvements to diagnostic tools and therapies in the two last decades, significant disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of depression remain.
Depression and anxiety may result from short-term digestive irritation early in life, according to a study of laboratory rats by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings suggest that some human psychological conditions may be the result, rather than the cause, of gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Add "Facebook depression" to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.
A study in mice has pinpointed a pivotal new player in triggering the rapid antidepressant response produced by ketamine. By deactivating a little-known enzyme, the drug takes the brakes off rapid synthesis of a key growth factor thought to lift depression, say researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Taking two medications for depression does not hasten recovery from the condition that affects 19 million Americans each year, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a national study.
New research involving the University of York explores the interplay between genes and environment when determining whether a mother is at high or low risk for post-natal depression.
Exercise can be as effective as a second medication for as many as half of depressed patients whose condition have not been cured by a single antidepressant medication.
Teenage girls who feel depressed are twice as likely to start binge eating as other girls are, according to a new nationwide study. The reverse is also true: Girls who engage in regular binge eating have double the normal risk of symptoms of depression.
Depression is increasingly recognized as an illness that strikes repeatedly over the lifespan, creating cycles of relapse and recovery. This sobering knowledge has prompted researchers to search for markers of relapse risk in people who have recovered from depression. A new paper published in Elsevier's Biological Psychiatry suggests that when formerly depressed people experience mild states of sadness, the nature of their brains' response can predict whether or not they will become depressed again.
More than 15 percent of Norwegian teenagers ages 15 to 16 reported "mental distress," or symptoms of depression and anxiety, with significantly more girls reporting distress than boys, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Girls with mental distress were also more likely than their male counterparts to be prescribed psychotropic drugs--those that alter chemical levels in the brain, affecting behavior and mood.
Depression affects 121 million people worldwide. In can affect a person's ability to work, form relationships, and destroy their quality of life. At its most severe depression can lead to suicide and is responsible for 850,000 deaths every year. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine compares social conditions with depression in 18 countries across the world.
All of us, at times, ruminate or brood on a problem in order to make the best possible decision in a complex situation. But sometimes, rumination becomes unproductive or even detrimental to making good life choices. Such is the case in depression, where non-productive ruminations are a common and distressing symptom of the disorder. In fact, individuals suffering from depression often ruminate about being depressed. This ruminative thinking can be either passive and maladaptive (i.e., worrying) or active and solution-focused (i.e., coping). New research by Stanford University researchers, published in Elsevier's Biological Psychiatry, provides insights into how these types of rumination are represented in the brains of depressed persons.
Positive activity interventions (PAIs) offer a safe, low-cost, and self-administered approach to managing depression and may offer hope to individuals with depressive disorders who do not respond or have access to adequate medical therapy, according to a comprehensive review article in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Increased screening of pregnant women and new mothers for major depression and conflicts with intimate partners may help identify women at risk for suicide.
Women who have higher levels of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin have fewer symptoms of depression, and this apparent inverse relationship is not related to body mass index (BMI), a new study finds.
I expected the worst this morning: a subject line of "Uh oh" on a professional listserv posting from a respected colleague. Seems there's a new study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, one that failed to show any difference between anti-depressant medication, psychotherapy, and placebo in treating depression.
A new pilot study is getting underway in Rhode Island aimed at improving depression in nursing home rehabilitation patients, all through telemedicine. Geriatric mental health specialists from Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals will work with patients in the Evergreen House Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in East Providence to test the program.
The United States is a world leader in rates of antidepressant use, but as many as two-thirds of Americans with severe depression are not on medication, said a government study released Wednesday.
All of us, at times, ruminate or brood on a problem in order to make the best possible decision in a complex situation. But sometimes, rumination becomes unproductive or even detrimental to making good life choices. Such is the case in depression, where non-productive ruminations are a common and distressing symptom of the disorder. In fact, individuals suffering from depression often ruminate about being depressed.
It's possible that depression could be cured by reducing mild swelling in your brain. Neuroscientists have linked depression to brain inflammation before, and now a new study suggests further evidence for this theory. Here you can see the distinctive signature of a glial cell responding to swollen tissue in a brain the cell's center is elongated, and it has many more branching fibers than a typical glial cell.
In a new study published in Nature, Lisa Monteggia from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center looks at how the drug ketamine, typically used as an anesthetic or a popular recreational drug for its hallucinogenic affect, works in the brain to treat severe clinical depression.
Decreasing expression of a protein associated with susceptibility to depression made old mice resistant to depressive-like behavior while improving their hormonal response to stress, a study led by researchers at the University of South Florida found. The lack of this protein, FKBP51, did not adversely affect their memory, learning, or basic motor functions.
Latinas who endure violence at the hands of a partner during or within a year of pregnancy are five times more likely to suffer postpartum depression than women who have not experienced such violence, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA Center for Culture.
Your odds of becoming disabled before you retire are about one in three. That might be higher than you expect. You might also be surprised by the most likely causes of disability.
Certain cases of major depression are associated with premature aging of immune cells, which may make people more susceptible to other serious illness, according to findings from a new UCSF-led study.
If you have lupus, it's normal to feel sad or down sometimes. After all, lupus may force you to make big adjustments in your life. Lupus can put a strain on your personal relationships, and make it hard to do some of the things you enjoy. All this can take a toll on you emotionally. But feelings of sadness or depression that last more than a few weeks should be evaluated and treated.
A collaborative research team from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), reports a breakthrough in the development of an effective therapy against a deadly virus, Hendra virus. The results of their research appear in Science Translational Medicine today.
A newly published paper from Rhode Island Hospital reports that Web-based assessments for outcome measurements of patients in treatment for depression are valid and reliable. The findings indicate that the Internet version of the depression scale was equivalent to the paper version, and that patients preferred the Internet version.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered molecular-level changes in the brains of women with major depressive disorder that link two hypotheses of the biological mechanisms that lead to the illness. Their results, published online this week in Molecular Psychiatry, also allowed them to recreate the changes in a mouse model that could enhance future research on depression.
Women who have breastfeeding difficulties in the first two weeks after giving birth are more likely to suffer postpartum depression two months later compared to women without such difficulties.
Major depressive disorder is a major public health problem that affects 7% of the population during any 12-month period and affects around 1 in 6 people throughout their lifetime. A Seminar published Online First by the Lancet reviews recent developments relating to this seriously disabling condition, and concludes that most patients need several sequential treatment steps for remission of their major depression.
A new study using MRI scans, led by Professor Jianfeng Feng, from the University of Warwick's Department of Computer Science, has found that depression frequently seems to uncouple the brain's "Hate Circuit". The study entitled "Depression Uncouples Brain Hate Circuit" is published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) continues its 25-year mission to alleviate the suffering of mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research.
Naurex Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative treatments to address unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology, today announced that it has initiated a Phase II clinical trial of its lead compound GLYX-13. GLYX-13, a Glycine-site Functional Partial Agonist (GFPA) selective modulator of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR), is initially being developed as a therapy for patients who are not achieving an adequate response to their current antidepressant agents. Screening and enrollment of subjects in the Phase II study are currently underway.
Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Yale University have identified a new target area in the human genome that appears to harbor genes with a major role in the onset of depression.
A new book co-authored by the director of the University of Louisville Depression Center recognizes that depression is different for everyone and provides techniques and strategies for each person to develop a personalized action plan to combat depression.
German scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich have compared the genomes of a total of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world and identified a new risk gene variant for depression.
Primary care doctors have long been on the front lines of depression treatment. Depression is listed as a diagnosis for 1 in 10 office visits and primary care doctors prescribe more than half of all antidepressants.
Researchers from the University of Southampton, in collaboration with psychologists from six other universities, have started a study to assess the impact of a new psychological therapy for chronic, or treatment-resistant, depression (Refractory Depression.
Kidney disease can lead to heart disease, and vice versa. And on World Kidney Day, Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., director of the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases asks people to consider the link, and what they can do to protect kidney health. March 10 marks World Kidney Day this year; it's part of National Kidney Month.
Patients with major depression who fail to see improvement after taking an antidepressant often have their initial medication switched or combined with a second drug. Many clinicians weigh the possibility of adverse side effects when deciding between strategies.
Online messaging can deliver organized follow-up care for depression effectively and efficiently, according to a randomized controlled trial of 208 Group Health patients that the Journal of General Internal Medicine e-published in advance of print.
About half of Medicaid-covered children and adolescents in Ohio who are in treatment for depression complete their first three months of prescribed antidepressants, and only one-fifth complete the recommended minimum six-month course of drugs to treat depression, new research suggests.
According to a new study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers, led by Gunther Meinlschmidt, PhD, may have found a connection between the brain chemical oxytocin and postpartum depression.
A new book co-authored by the director of the University of Louisville Depression Center recognizes that depression is different for everyone and provides techniques and strategies for each person to develop a personalized action plan to combat depression.
Fortunately, postnatal depression often resolves itself in the weeks following childbirth. But for mothers with more profound or prolonged postnatal depression the risk of subsequent development of depression in their children is strong. A recent study by Lynne Murray and colleagues published in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the first to demonstrate that the effects of maternal depression on the likelihood of the child to develop depression may begin as early as infancy.
A recently released paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), "The Role of Mother's Genes and Environment in Postpartum Depression," explores the interplay between genes and environment when determining whether a mother is at high or low risk for post-partum depression. Daniel Notterman, vice dean for research at Penn State College of Medicine, was part of a multi-university team including Princeton, Columbia and University of York (UK) that conducted the study.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) such as Prozac are regularly used to treat severe anxiety and depression. They work by immediately increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain and by causing long term changes in brain function. However it can take weeks of treatment before a patient feels any effect and both beneficial effects and side effects can persist after treatment is stopped. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Brain investigates physiological changes within the brain that may be caused by SSRI treatment.
Thinking happy thoughts, focusing on the good and downplaying the bad is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis and improve overall mental health. But a new study by University of Washington psychologists reveals that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures.
Veterinary medicine students are more likely to struggle with depression than human medicine students, undergraduate students and the general population, according to several recent collaborative studies from Kansas State University researchers.
Archives Of Pediatrics And Adolescent Medicine: Hospital-Based Programs For Children With Special Health Care Needs: Implications Of Health Care Reform -- This study looks at 33 hospital-based comprehensive care programs for children with special needs to evaluate their effectiveness. The authors find that evidence that these hospital programs improve care for special needs children "is generally positive" but point out that there are limited studies looking at a broad based population of such children. They write that hospital programs may have a role in "efforts to improve quality and to reduce costs using global payments and shared savings," but more study needs to confirm that.
Continuing a series of groundbreaking discoveries begun in 2010 about the genetic causes of the third most common form of inherited muscular dystrophy, an international team of researchers led by a scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified the genes and proteins that damage muscle cells, as well as the mechanisms that can cause the disease.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a mouse model of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is based on a rare genetic mutation that appears to cause MDD in the majority of people who inherit it. The findings, which were published online today in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics EarlyView, could help to clarify the brain events that lead to MDD, and contribute to the development of new and better means of treatment and prevention. This report also illustrates an advance in the design of recombinant mouse models that should be applicable to many human diseases.
Research shows that about one in 10 children and adolescents suffer from an anxiety disorder. Further, about five to eight percent suffer from depression. Both these relatively common psychological disturbances have serious long term consequences for children and adolescents if left untreated.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and King's College London have independently identified DNA on chromosome 3 that appears to be related to depression.
Residents of Sri Lanka who were internally displaced during the civil conflict that occurred in their country from 1983 to 2009 have a higher prevalence of war-related mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
Practicing positive activities may serve as an effective, low-cost treatment for people suffering from depression, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside and Duke University Medical Center.
Routine screening for depression in primary care patients has not been shown to be beneficial or an effective use of scarce health care resources, which would be better focused on providing more consistent treatment of people with depression, concludes an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
For the first time in a human model, scientists have discovered how anti-depressants make new brain cells. This means that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression.
A new study reveals a novel gene associated with major depression. The research, published in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for major depression and may guide future therapeutic strategies for this debilitating mood disorder.
Parts of the brain appear to shrink when people suffer from severe depression, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the National Institute for Health Research.
Imaging studies have repeatedly found that people with depression have smaller hippocampal volumes than healthy individuals. The hippocampus is a brain region involved in learning and memory, spatial navigation, and the evaluation of complex life situations or "contexts." However, because in prior studies hippocampal volume was only measured in people once they became depressed, it has been unclear whether a small hippocampus renders a person vulnerable to developing depression, or whether it is a consequence of depression.
Attending a non-denominational spiritual retreat can help patients with severe heart trouble feel less depressed and more hopeful about the future, a University of Michigan Health System study has found.
Women who discontinue using antidepressants during pregnancy do not appear to have greater risk of having a depressive episode during and after term than those who continue using medications, a new Yale University study shows.
A new study published in the Journal of Religion and Health has connected the regular attendance of religious services with an increased level of optimism and a decreased risk of depression.
Over a 10-year period, spending for Medicaid-enrolled patients with depression increased substantially but only minimal improvements in quality of care were observed.
Certain cases of major depression are associated with premature aging of immune cells, which may make people more susceptible to other serious illness, according to findings from a new UCSF-led study.
New research from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine, shows that adults over the age of 50 with at least one chronic illness (such as migraine) are more likely to experience a major depressive episode, than those living without a chronic illness.
A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found that employees with depression who receive treatment while still working are significantly more likely to be highly productive than those who do not. This is the first study of its kind to look into a possible correlation between treatment and productivity.
A University of Toronto study shows that when formerly depressed people experience mild states of sadness, their brain's response can predict if they will become depressed again.
Jesse Stewart, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and an Indiana University Center for Aging Research affiliated scientist, has received a $110,000 grant from the American Heart Association to explore whether treatment of depression before one experiences a heart attack can reduce the likelihood of future heart disease.
Vanderbilt researchers conducting an extensive analysis of studies on traumatic brain injury (TBI), report today that 30 percent of TBI patients, or approximately 360,000 patients each year, will also suffer from depression after their injury.
Washington State University researchers have taken a promising step toward creating an animal model for decoding the specific brain circuits involved in depression. By electrically stimulating a brain region central to an animal's primary emotions, graduate student Jason Wright and his advisor Jaak Panksepp saw rats exhibit a variety of behaviors associated with a depressed, negative mood, or affect.
Children whose mothers are successfully treated for depression show progressive and marked improvement in their own behaviors even a year after their moms discontinue treatment, new UT Southwestern Medical Center-led research shows.
A group of researchers headed by Dr. Jordan S. Orange at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have gained detailed insight into the immune system by making use of the stimulation emission depletion (STED) microscope.
We all know people who are able to roll with life's punches, while for others, every misfortune is a jab straight to the gut. Research examining this issue has found that although most people require significant adversity to become depressed -- the death of a loved one, say, or getting fired -- roughly 30 percent of people with first-time depression and 60 percent of people with a history of depression develop the disorder following relatively minor misfortunes. But no one knew why.
The numbers are, well, depressing: More than 2 million people age 65 and older suffer from depression, including 50 percent of those living in nursing homes. The suicide rate among white men over 85 is the highest in the country -- six times the national rate.
Getting six to nine hours of sleep per night is associated with higher ratings for quality of life and lower ratings for depression, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Antidepressants have been used for a number of years to treat mood disorders like depression and anxiety, and we’re relying on them more and more as the go-to treatment. This being the case, researchers know oddly little about how they work – or, more specifically, why they work.
If you are depressed, or schizophrenic or have Alzheimer's, scientists say you probably have a shrunken hippocampus. The good news: a drug that just entered human trials promises to re-grow that part of the brain.
University of British Columbia researchers have identified three major patterns that emerge among couples dealing with male depression. These can be described as "trading places," "business as usual" and "edgy tensions."
People who try to boost their self-esteem by telling themselves they've done a great job when they haven't could end up feeling dejected instead, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
The study suggests an innovative psychological treatment called 'concreteness training' can reduce depression in just two months and could work as a self-help therapy for depression in primary care. The research shows how this new treatment could help some of the 3.5 million people in the UK living with depression.
One in six people worldwide will experience depression over the course of a lifetime. This alarming fact has led to recent research by Dr. Paul Biegler from the Center for Human Bioethics at Monash University. Dr. Biegler argues that the under use of psychotherapy, and the over-prescription of antidepressants, is cause for serious ethical concern.
New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol, which has been charting the health of 14,500 children since their birth in the early 1990s, shows that the link between low levels of vitamin D and depression is established in childhood and that ensuring children have a good intake of vitamin D could help reduce depression in adolescence and adulthood.
If you've ever taken an antidepressant, you know that the first several days or even weeks can be rough. Antidepressants take time to work and some can cause unpleasant side effects like dizziness, nausea, sweaty palms, and diarrhea. When you put all that together, you may start to doubt the value of a medication that takes a month to make you feel better.
Women with urinary incontinence after giving birth are almost twice as likely to develop postpartum depression as those without incontinence, according to a new study led by Wendy Sword, a professor in McMaster University's School of Nursing.
The music playing in the background as we do our Christmas shopping may tell us it's "the most wonderful time of the year." But it's also prime time for depression, a UC Health psychiatrist says.
Women with celiac disease -- an autoimmune disorder associatedwith a negative reaction to eating gluten -- are more likely than the general population to report symptoms of depression and disordered eating, even when they adhere to a gluten-free diet.
Scientists at the University of Portsmouth have published the first study to provide a promising predictor of whether the most commonly prescribed therapy -- guided self-help -- will help a person recover.
Many hearing aid users have experienced the frustration of having their hearing aids malfunction and become damaged due to moisture and perspiration. One Tulsa company is employing nanotechnology to solve the problem.
For millions of people hearing disorders make a negative impact on their lives. Scientists are looking into new ways of treating hearing disorders, by using different sorts of nanoparticles as original inner ear delivery devices. Their hope is that nanoparticles will be able to deliver drugs that can improve or restore hearing.
ReSound, the technology leader in hearing solutions, has released results from a recent study into the iSolate™ nanotech protective coating for hearing instruments.
Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. has just announced the upcoming launch of the company's new Aquaris system, which the company claims is the first waterproof, dustproof, and shock-resistant hearing aid. The Aquaris uses Siemens' BestSound algorithms which have proven effective at improving sound quality in previous hearing aids, and conforms to the internationally recognized IP57 standard for dust and water resistance.
Today's ubiquitous MP3 players permit users to listen to crystal-clear tunes at high volume for hours on end — a marked improvement on the days of the Walkman. But according to Tel Aviv University research, these advances have also turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group.
A protein isolated from beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and dairy products could offer a new, oral therapeutic option for inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), suggests a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researcher Fang Yan, M.D., Ph.D.
The American College of Gastroenterology published a new evidence-based systematic review on the management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) as a supplement to The American Journal of Gastroenterology (AJG) for April 2011, a special issue entirely dedicated to IBD. This clinical monograph, based on a comprehensive meta-analysis, offers new graded recommendations on medical management of IBD, a chronic digestive disorder which includes Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).
Growing evidence for the effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplants as a treatment for patients with recurrent bouts of Clostridium difficile (C.difficile) associated diarrhea is presented in three studies -- including a long-term follow-up of colonoscopic fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) for recurrent C. difficile Infection that included 77 patients from five different states-- unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.
University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects up to 20% of the population.
In a finding that could have implications for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Yale University researchers have identified a previously unknown sensor regulating the composition of certain intestinal bacterial microflora (the microbes that live in our gut). They also found the absence of this regulating sensor results in a dramatic alteration of the microbial environment of the intestines -- increasing the risk of developing IBD. The study is available online in Cell on May 12, and will appear in the May 27 print edition.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), along with clinicians from Boston Medical Center (BMC), have found gastroenterologist knowledge of the appropriate immunizations to recommend to the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient is limited. These findings, which currently appear online in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, may be the primary reason why the majority of gastroenterologists believe that the primary care provider (PCP) should be responsible for vaccinations.
CEA-Leti recently unveiled a program to use a nanocarrier-based method to help treat inflammatory bowel disease. The Delivering Nano-pharmaceuticals through Biological Barriers project, BIBA, has eight collaborators in France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which affects more than 1 million patients in North America, results from an uncontrolled immune response triggered by environmental factors, such as bacteria, in people genetically predisposed to the disorder. Ulcerative colitis, or inflammation of the lining of the colon, is one such condition.
In four different studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC, researchers explored the effectiveness of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea; as an anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome; and for people with abdominal discomfort and bloating who have not been diagnosed with a functional bowel disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
CEA-Leti today announced a new project designed to develop a novel nanocarrier-based approach to improve the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and increasingly common condition in Europe.
The psychological and emotional traumas experienced over a lifetime -- such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disaster, house fire or car accident, physical or mental abuse -- may contribute to adult irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to the results of a study unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), along with clinicians from Boston Medical Center (BMC), have found gastroenterologist knowledge of the appropriate immunizations to recommend to the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient is limited. These findings, which currently appear on-line in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, may be the primary reason why the majority of gastroenterologists believe that the primary care provider (PCP) should be responsible for vaccinations.
Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- two fatal neurodegenerative disease with distinct symptoms -- are triggered by a common mutation in many cases, according to researchers who say they have identified the mutated gene.
A team of researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats modeled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," a degenerative, lethal, neuromuscular disease, have tested four different immunosuppressive protocols aimed at determining which regimen improved long-term therapeutic effects.
An international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to reveal for the first time how reduced levels of a specific protein may play a central role in causing at least one inherited form of the disease.
The ability to produce neuroprotectors, proteins that protect the human brain against neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and ALS, is the holy grail of brain research. A technology developed at Tel Aviv University does just that, and it's now out of the lab and in hospitals to begin clinical trials with patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Bionovo, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women's health and cancer, today announced that enrollment has started for the Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety of two doses of Menerba in postmenopausal women for the treatment of menopausal hot flushes (study # MF101-008), also known as "menopausal hot flashes."
"Are you on your period?" It's a question most women have been asked at one point or another by their boyfriend or spouse during a disagreement. It turns out that some men actually can tell when it's a woman's time of the month--and it's not because of bratty behavior.
As many women know, the Women's Health Initiative Study from 2002 showed that estrogen was not the dream treatment for menopausal symptoms that we once thought it was; estrogen treatment after menopause, especially when combined with a progesterone (needed for women with an intact uterus), increases a woman's risk of several diseases, including breast cancer, stroke, dementia, blood clots, and possibly lung cancer.
Millions of Americans - mostly women - could find the key to more energy, easier weight control, sharper thinking, less depression, less infertility, lower blood pressure and lower incidence of heart disease. It all depends on who wins a 10-year-old medical debate.
A team of scientists has discovered that D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) is a novel neurotransmitter that could potentially be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia. The research paper, published in the Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (The FASEB Journal), is signed by the experts Jordi García-Fernàndez, Salvatore D'Aniello and Ildiko Somorjai, from the UB's Department of Genetics and the Institute of Biomedicina of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and by Enza Topo and Antimo D'Aniello, from the Department of Neurobiology of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Research Station in Naples.
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have found that men taking gabapentin (trade name Neurontin) -- a medication commonly used to treat neuropathic pain, seizures and bipolar disease in older and elderly patients -- seems to have a higher incidence of anorgasmia, or failure to experience orgasm, than previously reported
Offers women information and tips on resistance exercise and building motivation. Also, reviews on nutritional supplements and exercise equipment. Focuses on using resistance exercise to slim & tone.
Rates of smoking have been reducing in men but increasing in young women in some countries, and now a new review of earlier studies has shown that smoking cigarettes poses a larger risk factor for heart disease in women than in men.
A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that several unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as weight problems, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and hard drugs are associated with sexual dysfunctions in men. Additionally, an unhealthy lifestyle is more common in persons who are sexually inactive.
A national survey found that women were three times more likely to see a doctor on a regular basis than men. Even though men on average die younger than women and have higher mortality rates for heart disease, cancer, stroke and AIDS, trying to get a man to a doctor can be harder than pulling teeth. So, why do men hate it so?
You might not be intimately familiar with the name, but chlamydia is actually the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the U.S. Each year, about 1.2 million infections are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But because chlamydia often has no symptoms, at least as many people could be living with the disease without even realizing it.
The depression and anxiety experienced by many women after a miscarriage can continue for years, even after the birth of a healthy child, according to a study led by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers and published online today by the British Journal of Psychiatry.
In the first study to consider the impact of gender on patient outcomes in major gastrointestinal surgeries, researchers at UC San Diego Health System have found that women are more likely to survive after the procedure than men. The pattern is even more pronounced when comparing women before menopause with men of the same age.
Results of a large study among older women suggest that those who ate more of the "sunshine vitamin" were less likely to experience depression symptoms than women who consumed less of the vitamin, according to findings published this week by Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson at the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, with colleagues from several other U.S. academic centers.
More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2010, according to an analysis of prescription data, including more than one in four women.
Medicine and technology are converging in patient care at a faster pace than most people realize. Space age advancements from point-of-care health technologies like telemedicine to medical robots performing surgery are fast becoming commonplace in many hospitals. What's next?
A simple eight-question survey administered soon after injury can help predict which of the 30 million Americans seeking hospital treatment for injuries each year may develop depression or post-traumatic stress, report Therese S. Richmond, PhD, CRNP, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and her colleagues in General Hospital Psychiatry.
If you have eczema, you know how itchy and painful it is. But simple lifestyle changes can go a long way toward treating the condition. Try these 10 tips to help keep your skin feeling soft and comfortable.
In laboratories at MIT and around the world, scientists are deciphering the molecular structures of proteins involved in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes, and many other disorders. Much of that research would not be possible without the pioneering nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) work of John Waugh, MIT Institute Professor Emeritus.
Tropical Depression Nalgae weakened rapidly when it made landfall on Hainan Island, China yesterday and NASA's TRMM satellite observed lighter rainfall rates that coincided with its lower intensity.
Stress makes many of us miserable — but it can also kill you. Besides just causing horrible anxiety and depression, the physiological basis for stress has also been linked to diseases as varied as obesity, postpartum depression, Cushing's syndrome, epilepsy, and osteoporosis. But what if we could just turn your brain's stress response off?
Enterprising engineers are constantly figuring out ways to generate electricity from just about anything that has a little extra energy to give, from ocean waves and river currents to much smaller micro-generators that harvest ambient vibrations from automobiles crossing a bridge. Now Swiss researchers want to tap an even tinier source of energy: the human bloodstream. Using a tiny turbine installed in a blood vessel, researchers could generate the microwatts needed to keep implanted medical devices ticking.
An international team of researchers have developed a versatile and high-sensitivity sensor for detecting analytes ranging from gaseous to biological molecules.
Imagine a world without antibiotics. Common infections are life threatening. Pneumonia, urinary tract infections and venereal diseases are incurable. Cancer chemotherapies do not exist. The life expectancy for Canadian men is 47 and 50 for women.
AA Pharma Inc., a leading distributor of pharmaceuticals in Canada, is pleased to announce the launch of LITHMAX, a sustained release formulation containing 300mg of lithium carbonate. LITHMAX is indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of Bipolar Disorder, as well as the maintenance treatment for individuals with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. This extended-release formulation is an AA Pharma Inc. exclusive and has been available in drugstores across Canada since January 2011. Lithmax is scheduled to be on most Provincial Government Formulary lists by the end of 2011, making LITHMAX a cost effective treatment option for Bipolar 1 and 2.
Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) today announced that the companies have entered into a joint development and commercialization agreement for ACE-536 for the treatment of anemia. The companies already have a collaboration around sotatercept (ACE-011) entered in 2008. Under the new agreement, the companies will collaborate to develop both products and potentially others for treating anemia across a wide range of indications.
Doctors warned of a potential public health epidemic in a recent report on patients in Los Angeles and New York who developed serious skin reactions after smoking or snorting cocaine believed to be contaminated with a veterinary medication drug dealers are using to dilute, or "cut," up to 70% of the cocaine in the U.S.
The first study to examine the activity of hundreds of individual human brain cells during seizures has found that seizures begin with extremely diverse neuronal activity, contrary to the classic view that they are characterized by massively synchronized activity. The investigation by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brown University researchers also observed pre-seizure changes in neuronal activity both in the cells where seizures originate and in nearby cells. The report will appear in Nature Neuroscience and is receiving advance online publication.
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Foundation has announced the 2011 Student Research Fellowship Award recipients. Funded by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the awards are intended to stimulate interest in research careers in digestive diseases.
Patients who have had a gastric bypass operation take longer to process alcohol, potentially leading some of them to overindulge when drinking, according to the results of a new study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Back in February I wrote about AMD's work with Barco's medical imaging division to bring AMD Eyefinity technology to its customer base through Barco's MXRT Series display controller products. This technology, combined with AMD FirePro™ professional graphics, allows clinicians working with MRI, CT and Mammography medical imaging systems to view data and images across multiple windows at the same time, improving efficiency and accuracy, and helping deliver better care for patients.
An analytical technique using high brilliance infrared light produced by the SOLEIL synchrotron has been developed by teams from the CNRS, Paris Sud University, Tenon Hospital in Paris, and the Stoke-on-Trent Cancer Centre (GB) to study the calcification present in the kidneys of patients with renal failure.
If you've ever had the pleasure of experiencing endoscopy, you'll think there must be a better way to check out your insides than having a camera shoved up your ass. Now there is, and it's robotic!
Whether eating at home or dining out, Rhonda Lewis of Toronto, Canada, has completely removed nuts from her family's meals and snacks. She discovered that her daughter, diagnosed at age 4, is allergic to them.
There's such a long list of awesome things about smoking weed that I'm starting to lose track of all the benefits. One thing I'm pretty sure I never heard of before though: marijuana might be able to cure post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patients with recent use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), or anti-clotting drugs such as clopidogreal (Plavix) do not appear to have an increased risk of bleeding during or after removal of precancerous lesions in the digestive tract, according to results of a Mayo Clinic study. The findings, culled from a review of 1,382 procedures of patients treated at Mayo Clinic in Florida, are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Washington, D.C.
An antioxidant may prevent damage to the liver caused by excessive alcohol, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The findings, published online April 21, 2011, in the journal Hepatology, may point the way to treatments to reverse steatosis, or fatty deposits in the liver that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer.
Most people are rather vague when reporting on food and drink consumption, smoking and exercise habits. General practitioners, however, are skilled at interpreting phrases such as "I only have a few drinks rarely...each week" and "I get to the gym regularly" and can estimate based on symptoms and a person's physical appearance just how precise those claims are. However, it is crucial for healthcare research and epidemiology that relies on patient self-reporting that we find a more objective, rather than intuitive, way to identify bias in self-reporting.
Children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have poor lung function early in life are more likely also to have poor lung function in adolescence, regardless of whether they are exposed to a common infection caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa in early childhood. Earlier studies had indicated infection with the bacteria early in life was strongly associated with poor lung function later on.
BD Biosciences, a division of BD Dickinson has introduced the BD FACSVerse Flow Cytometer which is a reliable, flexible and scalable system capable of analyzing up to 10 parameters and supporting an extensive range of research applications.
For the thousands of patients who receive kidney transplants in the United States each year, preventing organ rejection without compromising other aspects of health requires a delicate balance of medications. Immunosuppresive drugs that protect transplanted organs can also cause serious side effects, including compromising patients' immunity to infection, cancer, and other threats. Finding the best combination and dosage of drugs has often proved difficult for physicians.
Compared to European Americans, African Americans are four to five times more likely to develop kidney failure. Also, family members of African Americans with kidney failure have an increased risk of developing kidney failure, which suggests that genetics may play a role in this skewed risk between races. Previous studies identified variants in a gene called APOL1 that may play a role. The APOL1 gene creates a protein that is a component of HDL, or good cholesterol.
A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease. The discovery will help understanding of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well.
provides scientific consulting, software development, data processing and computing support services for molecular biologists and biotechnology companies.
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have identified more than 70 genes that play a role in regenerating nerves after injury, providing biomedical researchers with a valuable set of genetic leads for use in developing therapies to repair spinal cord injuries and other common kinds of nerve damage such as stroke.
Bioness out of Valencia, California has received U.S. FDA approval for its NESS L300 Plus System, a combination of the NESS L300 Foot Drop System with a thigh stimulation device. Intended for patients with upper motor neuron injury, post stroke, and other conditions, the system helps with knee flexion and extension, as well as ankle dorsiflexion.
Pick your poison from this smorgasbord of recent salmonella outbreaks in the United States: ground turkey; fresh papayas; alfalfa sprouts. That's in 2011 alone, and the list goes on, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But perhaps not for long, thanks to a promising new biosensor nanotechnology that could identify the presence of salmonella bacteria before contaminated food or animals reach the marketplace.
Bipartisan Tradition Of Generous NIH Funding Starting To Crumble Voting to boost funding for the National Institutes Health has long been a source of pride for Democrats and Republicans alike. But the drive to shrink the federal government is now eroding bipartisan backing for an agency that supports scientific research to prevent illnesses such as strokes, heart attacks and cancer. Even as the White House struggles to modestly increase NIH funding amid significant pressure to lower the nation's debt, Republicans are increasingly skeptical the agency should be spared from budget cuts (Reichard, 7/29).
A new study by motor control and psychology researchers at Indiana University suggests that postural control problems may be a core feature of bipolar disorder, not just a random symptom, and can provide insights both into areas of the brain affected by the psychiatric disorder and new potential targets for treatment.
Treatment of neurological conditions such as sleep--wake control, cognition, and depression could be possible by modulation of the TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ ion channel (TASK-3, or K2P9.1).
Mad cow disease is serious business in the U.K., the human form, known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob after Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and Alfons Maria Jakob, who independently first described its existence in humans, has killed 176 people in that country since 1995, and worse, authorities suspect that thousands more may have it right now.
A research team led by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered four new "ZIP codes" in their quest to map the vast blood vessel network of the human body.
Zoom down to one artery in your body, and the commotion is constant: blood cells hurtle down the passage with hundreds of their kin, bumping against other cells and the walls as they go. The many variables--and the sheer immensity of the human circulatory system--have kept scientists from closely documenting the rough-and-tumble life inside blood vessels.
The Bulletin of the American Ceramic Society is reporting on a clinical trial of a novel mesh made from borate glass nanofibers, being evaluated for treatment of venous stasis wounds. The material reportedly slows bleeding, fights infections, and promotes healing without having to use equipment like negative pressure wound devices. The material one day might become useful not only for venous stasis wounds, but also for other skin problems such as decubitus ulcers or postoperative wounds:
Here's a new device for submucosal and extramural gastrointestinal lesions sampling. Boston Scientific has announced U.S. and international launch of its Expect Endoscopic Ultrasound Aspiration Needle, a biopsy system designed to take tissue samples in organs adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract. The needle itself is made from a cobalt chromium allow, providing both strength and sharpness, and sports an etched pattern that makes it clearly visible under ultrasound.
A new study by motor control and psychology researchers at Indiana University suggests that postural control problems may be a core feature of bipolar disorder, not just a random symptom, and can provide insights both into areas of the brain affected by the psychiatric disorder and new potential targets for treatment.
Brain implants designed to control external devices like computers and bionic prostheses have typically focused on the brain's motor regions as the input. At Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis clinical researchers decided to use the brain's speech networks for input and were able to differentiate between four spoken or thought sounds.
Demonstrating an important milestone for the longevity and utility of implanted brain-computer interfaces, a woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate system continued to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the BrainGate implant, according to a team of physicians, scientists, and engineers developing and testing the technology at Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been a promising new technology that's been undergoing trials for such disparate conditions as depression, smoking cessation, ADD, Alzheimer's, cocaine addiction, and multiple sclerosis. Now the FDA has issued approval to Brainsway, a leader in TMS based in Israel, to evaluate the device as a therapy option for people with bipolar disorder.
Ahead of World Malaria Day (25 April), EU-funded researchers have discovered that drugs originally designed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells can also kill the parasite that causes malaria. They believe this discovery could open up a new strategy for combating this deadly disease, which, according to World Health Organisation statistics, infected around 225 million and killed nearly 800,000 people worldwide in 2009.
A device developed by Aïmago, a start-up in EPFL's Science Park, shows how blood is circulating in the skin. It already facilitates the work of burn specialists and plastic and reconstructive surgeons at CHUV.
Cameras ingested in the form of a pill make it possible to examine areas of the stomach and intestines that cannot be reached using traditional equipment. Norwegian researchers are busy developing the next-generation camera pill.
Cambrios Technologies Corporation announced today that it has reached an agreement to provide Cambrios ClearOhm™ coating materials to Toray Advanced Film Co., Ltd. of Japan, part of the Toray group, which provides innovative materials and components globally. Toray Advanced Film, the world's leading supplier of various base films and cutting-edge processed film products, will use ClearOhm material to produce a line of transparent conductive PET films. Among other uses, transparent conductive films are a high value component of touch screens, including the projected capacitive type used in smart phones and tablet computers. Toray has also made a strategic investment in Cambrios.
Positive emotions like joy and compassion are good for your mental and physical health, and help foster creativity and friendship. But people with bipolar disorder seem to have too much of a good thing. In a new article to be published in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist June Gruber of Yale University considers how positive emotion may become negative in bipolar disorder.
In the visually breathtaking new film Melancholia, director Lars von Trier wastes no time addressing depression and work. Right at the start -- at her wedding reception, of all places
A drug approved to treat certain types of cancer has shown promising results in the treatment of patients with scleroderma, according to results from an open-label Phase II trial. While the drug's efficacy must be demonstrated in a Phase III trial, the gold standard for testing a drug, researchers are optimistic that Gleevec- (imatinib) could potentially be a weapon against the chronic connective tissue disease for which a treatment has remained elusive.
According to scientists, carbon monoxide (CO), a tasteless, colorless and odorless gas, is not only a danger to the environment but also highly toxic to human beings. Found in the exhaust of vehicles and generators, CO has been dubbed the "silent killer" because excessive inhalation is lethal, poisoning the nervous system and heart.
The world's first potential vaccine for celiac disease has shown promising results for treating celiac disease in a Phase I clinical trial and is expected to move to Phase II trials within the next year.
Speaking at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual science meeting later today, Professor Miguel Forte will describe research into a new cell therapy for chronic inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease. Patient's own blood cells are used to produce a type of cell -- Type 1 T regulatory lymphocyte -- that can reduce the extent of the disease.
Families that can't afford to pay from $30 per month for Comcast's Internet access services now have a less expensive alternative. The cable provider launched a new plan dubbed Internet Essentials, which will cost low-income families only $10 per month for Web access.
Within the immune system, a subtle balance exists between the cells that destroy alien pathogens and those that preserve the body's own tissues. When the balance gets out of whack, the cells that normally target viruses or bacteria can go astray, attacking innocent cells and causing autoimmune and inflammatory disease.
Crossing your arms reduces the intensity of pain you feel when receiving a painful stimulus on the hand, according to research by scientists at University College London.
At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ computerized machine learning (ML) methods to study these patterns and identify the cognitive state -- or sometimes the thought process -- of human subjects.
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how cells 'pinch in' at the middle in order to split into two new cells. Their research is published in Developmental Cell today.
Biologists at the Technische Universität Darmstadt have discovered means for speeding the transport of the active ingredients of drugs into live cells that might allow drastically reducing drug dosages in the future.
Sometimes with Smartphone apps the line between seriousness and gimmick is difficult to discern. Take for example the Smartphone Brain Scanner developed by Jakob Eg Larsen and his colleagues at the Technical University of Denmark. It's a hardware/software gadget that allows anyone with a Nokia N900 Smartphone and associated hardware, to run an electroencephalography (EEG) scan of their brain in the comfort of their home. The hardware consists of a head harness with probes for applying to the scalp. It sends wireless signals to the N900 which then displays a virtual image of the brain based on electrical activity.
is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
Traditionally, both air and tap water have been used as oral contrast agents to achieve adequate gastric distension for preoperative computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). Despite introduction of multi-detector row CT techniques and the use of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images, the detection rate of EGC on hydrostomach CT has still been unsatisfactory.
Every year, millions of Americans come down with the "stomach flu," or viral gastroenteritis. It causes diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, fever, headache, and overall misery. It's also highly contagious. What treatments will make life with the stomach flu a little less awful? More importantly, how can you avoid getting it in the first place? Here are some answers.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have created a disposable lab-on-a-chip sensor that can test levels of potentially harmful heavy metals in humans in as few as 10 minutes.
You come into contact every day with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) -- they illuminate alarm clocks, new televisions, traffic lights, and smartphone displays. Increasingly, you will see white-light versions of LEDs becoming available for energy-efficient home lighting, car headlights, and streetlamps.
A new iPhone system lets doctors check electrocardiographic records with their smartphones, as the medical tools flooding the mobile market become more and more sophisticated.
There are potential legal ramifications for physicians of patients who drive with cognitive impairment, according to a study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
Dolomite, a world leader in microfluidic design and manufacture, has added a range of Optical Systems to its standard product range allowing for the high quality capture of still and moving images of microfluidic experiments.
The health recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day is "thoroughly debunked nonsense," a doctor wrote this week in a commentary in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers from A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a lateral silicon-based drug screening tool that has demonstrated simultaneous capture of 12 individual cells -- 12 times higher throughput than conventional patch clamping. The device can be scaled up to allow 1536 cell-recordings simultaneously, permitting 16 times higher throughput than existing planar patch clamp approach. The chip enables compact design and automation, thanks to the lateral layout that allows microfluidic integration. When tested with two different anti-diabetic drugs, corresponding electrophysiological readings could be determined by the device, showing its potential for multiple drug screening. With automation, the proposed device can dramatically shorten drug development cycle for rapid screening of ion-channel drug candidates. The world-wide ion channel drug market is estimated to be worth USD 12 billion.
Conventional coronary artery stenting involves quite a few steps: advancing a guidewire, dilating the lesion with a balloon, removing the balloon catheter, then doing the actual stenting. Svelte Medical Systems, Inc.'s All-in-One Drug-Eluting System is designed to make the process much more straightforward by incorporating the guidewire, balloon, and stent itself into one assembly that is advanced en bloc. T
Deadly human fungal infections caused by certain strains of Aspergillus fungi appear to be developing resistance to current drug treatments at an alarming rate, say scientists.
Neuros Medical, Inc., a neuromodulation company based in Cleveland, OH, has received Investigational Device Exemption approval from the FDA for its high frequency Electrical Nerve Block technology for use in acute treatment of residual limb pain in amputees.
Advances in medical diagnostic technology will likely allow individuals to perform preliminary medical diagnoses themselves, in their own home, in the future.
Imagine if there were electronics able to prevent epileptic seizures before they happen. Or electronics that could be placed on the surface of a beating heart to monitor its functions. The problem is that such devices are a tough fit. Body tissue is soft and pliable while conventional circuits can be hard and brittle--at least until now.
Surgeons at the University of Kentucky used a novel dual lumen veno-venous extracorporeal catheter as a bridge to lung transplantation in a patient with a severe pulmonary lung disease. The device was invented by two university faculty members, Dr. Joseph Zwischenberger and Dr. Dongfang Wang.
There is a hope for patients and clinicians who are treating pancreatic pseudocysts, a terrible and debilitating condition in patients recovering from acute pancreatitis. Xlumena of Mountain View, California won the CE Mark for its AXIOS Stent and Delivery System, an endoscopic ultrasound-guided translumenal system. By performing a minimally invasive procedure with AXIOS, physicians can establish a drainage conduit for pseudocysts, potentially decreasing chances for complications, such as secondary infections or bleeding.
NeurogesX, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, today announced the completion of patient enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical study of NGX-1998, a topical liquid formulation of high-concentration capsaicin, in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). NGX-1998 is being developed to provide safety, efficacy and tolerability that is at least comparable to Qutenza® (capsaicin) 8% patch with a shorter treatment time. A total of 183 patients were enrolled in the Phase 2 study.
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that members of an enzyme family found in humans and throughout the plant and animal kingdoms play a crucial role in regulating cell motility. Their findings suggest an entirely new strategy for treating conditions ranging from diabetic ulcers to metastatic cancer.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it plans to obtain information on nanoscale materials in pesticide products. Under the requirements of the law, EPA will gather information on what nanoscale materials are present in pesticide products to determine whether the registration of a pesticide may cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment and human health. The proposed policy will be open for public comment.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by unexplained and debilitating tiredness and is associated with headaches, disrupted sleep, muscle pain and difficulty in concentrating. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that ethnicity, depression, lack of exercise or social support, and social difficulties are major risk factors for CFS.
An article demonstrating how tools for modeling traffic on the Internet and telephone systems can be used to study information flow in brain networks will be published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on 2nd June 2011.
Over millennia, mice have thrived despite humanity's efforts to keep them at bay. A Rice University scientist argues some mice have found two ways to achieve a single goal -- resistance to common poison.
Neuropsychiatric disorders are the second largest cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. The scientific community has widely accepted that people who battle neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and substance abuse and hyperactivity disorder can also have poorly regulated biological rhythms, which leads to altered sleep/wake cycles and hormonal rhythms.
Whether you have a mild headache or you are running a fever, there is a high chance that the drug that is used to treat you comes from nature. Today, about half of the drugs on the market were discovered by screening collections of small molecules made by bacteria, fungi, snails, leeches and other such species.
Blood tests are important diagnostic tools. They accurately tease-out vanishingly small concentrations of proteins and other molecules that help give a picture of overall health or signal the presence of specific diseases. Current testing procedures, however, are expensive and time-consuming, while sophisticated test equipment is bulky and difficult to transport.
The Siemens Biograph mMR system, offering both a PET scan and an MRI that work simultaneously, has been given approval by the FDA. The idea behind this machine and the ability to run both tests at the same time is expected to save diagnostic time as well as reduce a patient's exposure to radiation.
Federal health officials on Monday approved the first generic versions of the blockbuster drug Zyprexa, an expensive treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder.
Lannett Company, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Abbreviated New Drug Application for Phentermine Resin Extended-Release Capsules, 15 mg and 30 mg, representing the fourth product approval the company has received in the last five weeks. Phentermine Resin Extended-Release Capsules, 15 mg and 30 mg, are therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug, Ionamin® Capsules, 15 mg and 30 mg, of UCB, Inc. This product will be sold through bariatric clinics.
Solta Medical, Inc., the pioneer in fractional resurfacing and non-invasive skin tightening and a global market leader in aesthetic skin treatments today announced it has received FDA 510(k) clearance of its new Clear + Brilliant laser aesthetic treatment, which will officially launch at the World Congress of Dermatology in Seoul, Korea on May 25, 2011. Clear + Brilliant, which previously received CE mark, is an effective treatment based on fractional laser technology that is performed in a professional setting.
The SBS 5.0 Sheathed Bipolar Sealer gives spine surgeons the ability to optimize speed and continuity in surgical cases by providing hemostatic sealing capabilities for both incised soft tissue (e.g., cut muscle) and epidural veins with a single device.
Sudhir Dutta, M.D., head of the Division of Gastroenterology at Sinai Hospital, performed fecal transplant procedures for two patients with severe clostridium difficile (C. difficile) colitis that did not respond to routine antibiotic and other treatments. C. difficile causes symptoms ranging from mild diarrhea to more serious, sometimes life threatening colon inflammation.
The heart's inner workings are mysterious, perhaps even more so with a new finding. Engineers at the University of Washington have discovered an electrical property in arteries not seen before in mammalian tissues.
Uterine fibroid embolization--an interventional radiology treatment for the noncancerous yet very common growths that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus--improves a number of women's lower urinary tract problems that are specifically caused by those fibroids, confirm researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, Ill.
For the first time in the Delaware Valley Region, a patient has undergone a complex and intricate bilateral hand transplant that could significantly enhance the quality-of-life for persons with multiple limb loss. The procedure was performed by Penn's Hand Transplant Program which operates under the leadership of the Penn Transplant Institute and in collaboration with Gift of Life Donor Program, the nonprofit organ and tissue donor program which serves the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
The Geneva-based not-for-profit foundation FIND and Japanese diagnostics company Eiken announced today that a next-generation molecular test designed specifically for sleeping sickness -- a deadly parasitic disease also known as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) - is ready to enter accelerated field trials in sites across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. If all goes well, the LAMP (Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) test - which has completed design and development phases - will be available for clinical use in 2012.
Professor Takayoshi Wakagi and Associate Professor Shinya Fushinobu of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo and colleagues were the first to clarify how an enzyme of hyperthermophilic archaea origin that is thought to be positioned close to the origin of life can catalyze two reactions while metamorphosing itself.
Texas Instruments Incorporated today introduced the first quad-channel, 16-bit analog-to-digital converter for medical imaging applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging. The ADS5263 meets designers' needs for clear, crisp signals and faster acquisition times by delivering a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 84.6 dBFS with 10-MHz input and a sampling frequency of up to 100 MSPS.
With the start of a new year, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute experts are encouraging people to ring in new healthy habits and offer a number of free and low-cost strategies to help people maintain good health and possibly reduce various cancer risks.
offers benchmarking and consulting services for hospitals and healthcare organizations, with an emphasis in department-level costs, productivity, and skill mix.
Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract causes serious health problems—and even early deaths—for many patients with kidney failure, according to a study. The findings indicate that greater efforts are needed to prevent and treat upper GI bleeding in these patients.
The gastrointestinal tract is lined with intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) that maintain gut health by keeping bacteria and pro-inflammatory immune cells from infiltrating gut tissues. Now, a team of researchers in Japan has shown that a protein in these cells, which is responsible for sorting many proteins to particular portions of the IEC surface, plays a key role in IEC modulation of gut inflammation.
GE Healthcare has received the FDA OK for its Optima CT660 computed tomography (CT) system. The CT660, which is already available in Europe, Latin America and Asia, distinguishes itself by its compact footprint combined with a modular design and low dose imaging. In addition, it is also one of the most energy efficient CT scanners available and has an "environmental design" that eases refurbishment and end-of-life recycling. The scanner itself is scalable from 32 to 128 slices through purchasable options and features automatic table positioning and a color 12-inch integrated gantry display monitor.
Low levels of a brain protein that regulates gene expression may play a role in the origin of bipolar disorder, a complex and sometimes disabling psychiatric disease. As reported in the latest issue of Bipolar Disorders, the journal of The International Society for Bipolar Disorders, levels of SP4 (specificity protein 4) were lower in two specific regions of the brain in postmortem samples from patients with bipolar disorder. The study suggests that normalization of SP4 levels could be a relevant pharmacological strategy for the treatment of mood disorders.
A team of researchers from the United States and Europe has identified a single genetic mutation in the CUBN gene that is associated with albuminuria both with and without diabetes. Albuminuria is a condition caused by the leaking of the protein albumin into the urine, which is an indication of kidney disease.
An international research team has discovered the genetic risk factors for restless legs syndrome (RLS), a disorder that triggers unpleasant sensations in people's legs at night. The study, presented in the journal PLoS Genetics, highlights how carriers of risk variants have a stronger chance of developing RLS. Researchers say the findings could help fuel more investigations on this disorder, potentially leading to new and improved treatment methods.
Two genes in which variation affects intake of caffeine, the most widely consumed stimulant in the world, have been discovered. A team of investigators from the National Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined genetic variation across the entire genome of more than 47,000 individuals from the U.S., as described in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. "will donate 445,000 vials of AmBisome over five years to help the World Health Organization (WHO) treat more than 50,000 patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar," a Gilead press release states, adding, "If sold at Gilead's no-profit access price, today's donation would cost more than $8 million."
The Georgia Institute of Technology will receive funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. Mark Prausnitz, Regents' professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will pursue an innovative global health research project focused on using microneedle patches for the low-cost administration of polio vaccine through the skin in collaboration with researchers Steve Oberste and Mark Pallansch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Every year, nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria in the soil and seas churn out more than ten billion kilograms of nitrous oxide (N2O) gas as they respire in these oxygen-deficient environments.
A brain cell type found where habits are formed and movement is controlled has receptors that work like computer processors to translate regular activities into habits.
Mobile apps for tablets and smartphones are rapidly transforming how clinics and hospitals conduct business, treat patients, and provide post-op therapy and follow ups. A challenge has arisen with apps, though, that pits ease of use against privacy and security considerations. Hospitals want to control access to software used by their clinicians and patients while keeping usability painless and intuitive for everyone involved.
HealthOneMed has launched the Dispense-A-Pill, a personal medication manager that dispenses drugs at preset times and in preset quantities. Pills are poured directly into the DAP and the device automatically sorts and dispenses the medications as directed. It skips the error-prone step of manually setting out the medication thus increasing safety.
This might some as something of a surprise to those who are invested in the war against drugs but the inert gas helium actually causes more deaths each year in the UK than cannabis, ecstasy and mephedrone put together.
Your favorite hip-hop artist could save a life someday — or at least control a person’s bladder — through the power of heavy bass beats, according to new research. Acoustic waves from rap music shudder through your body with ease, and can readily power a new implantable medical device.
Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers have found that the cell's structural elements are critical for controlling the movement of cell surface receptors, proteins that allow cells to get signals from different parts of the living organism. This finding helps to learn about the response of cells to biochemical signals and creates an impact on drug production as well as in tumor and other disease therapy.
In the best of circumstances, raising a toddler is a daunting undertaking. But parents under long-term stress often find it particularly challenging to tap into the patience, responsiveness, and energy required for effective child rearing.
Freiburg biologist Dr. Aristides Arrenberg and his American colleagues studied mechanisms used by the brain to store information for a short period of time. The cells of several neural circuits store information by maintaining a persistent level of activity: A short-lived stimulus triggers the activity of neurons, and this activity is then maintained for several seconds. The mechanisms of this information storage have not yet been sufficiently described, although this phenomenon occurs in very many areas of the brain.
Following years of futile attempts, new research from the Monell Center demonstrates that living human taste cells can be maintained in culture for at least seven months. The findings provide scientists with a valuable tool to learn about the human sense of taste and how it functions in health and disease.
When Watson was competing on Jeopardy!, its massive databanks were filled with encyclopedias, novels, film scripts, and history books. These days, Watson is more into medical journals and misspelled Yahoo Answers blog posts about weird rashes and vague abdominal pains. Watson is maturing, and prepping for his first non-trivia, real-world application: medical diagnoses. He's all *sniff* grown up!
Inflammation occurs in the human brain during illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury. Now, a research team in Japan has developed a probe that can bind to the pro-inflammatory enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX). The probe, 11C-ketoprofen methyl ester, enables researchers to observe when and where the enzyme is acting in the brains of living animals using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
Imaging utilization on stroke patients is affected by age and imaging capacity -- the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) machines at any given facility, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Fatigue and poor health, anxiety and depression (physiological, affective and cognitive factors) may have a major impact on patients with functional dysphonia (FD), leading to time off work, reduced activity, and social withdrawal, all of which could further perpetuate and/or cause anxiety, low mood, fatigue and reduced voice use, according to new research published in the June 2011 issue of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.
For the first time, demographer Emilio Zagheni of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock (MPIDR) has calculated a profile that illustrates the relationship between age and average per capita CO2 emissions. This profile applies to U.S. citizens, as data for this group were easily accessible. But the demographic-economic model developed for the analysis is universally valid, and can be applied to other countries.
The IDSA Education and Research Foundation supports research and education activities that improve patient care and provide information about infectious diseases for the benefit of physicians, scientists, health care professionals and the public.
Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, chronic respiratory disorders and cancer represent the major global health problem of the 21st century and affect all age groups. The cost of treating these diseases is substantial, and for many countries is an under-appreciated cause of poverty.
The German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg has developed an augmented reality iPad app, called "MITK pille", that helps clinicians visualize internal body parts of patients while working on them.
Have you ever wanted to know if you were within your target heart rate range while you exercise? Unfortunately for those of us who work out, a heart rate monitor can be expensive, costing anywhere from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on the quality of the monitor.
The number of cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has continued to rise significantly in the first decade of the 21st century and could lead to more deaths than ovarian cancer, lymphoma, leukaemia, or kidney cancer, reveals research published ahead of print in the Thorax journal.
An international team of scientists has for the first time crystallised a key enzyme of the pathogen for African sleeping sickness in a living cell and investigated it with the world's strongest X-ray laser.
Kansas State University doctoral student Keijia Li has developed a multifunctional monitoring device that's about the size of a pack of gum. Nicknamed the GumPack, the battery-operated device is a reconfigurable unit with slots for up to four biosensors, such as a pulse oximeter or an electrocardiograph. The GumPack also has a camera and microphone, as well as Wi-Fi capabilities to transmit data over the internet. All the data and signal processing is done on the device itself, as opposed to most wearable wireless medical devices that usually transmit raw bits of information to a larger computer for processing.
The kidney performs several vital functions. It filters blood, removes waste products from the body, balances the body's fluids, and releases hormones that regulate blood pressure. A number of diseases and conditions can damage the kidney's filtration apparatus, such as diabetes and immune disorders. This damage leads to a condition called nephrotic syndrome, which is characterized by protein in the urine, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and swelling (edema). People with nephrotic syndrome retain salt and water in their bodies and develop swelling and high blood pressure as a result.
Minced meat, bread, fruit juice and many other foods are packaged in a protective gas which extends their shelf life. There is currently no good method to check whether the packaging has the correct gas content. However, researchers in Atomic Physics and Packaging Logistics have developed a new laser instrument which could solve the problem. The first product is expected to be ready for market launch later in the autumn.
Our brains process many more stimuli than we become aware of. Often images enter our brain without being noticed: visual information is being processed, but does not reach consciousness, that is, we do not have an impression of it. Then, what is the difference between conscious and unconscious perception, and can both forms of perception be changed through practice? These questions are important not only for basic research, but also for the treatment of patients with perceptual deficits due to brain lesions e.g. following a stroke. Scientists at the MPI for Brain Research in Frankfurt/Main could now show that seeing can be trained. Their tests revealed that the brain regions underlying the learning effects on conscious perception are different than the ones underlying the learning effects on the mere processing of stimuli.
services in forensic anthropology, analysis of human remains from historic and archaeological sites, and biomedical writing and editing for general and technical audiences.
Asking about symptoms of low testosterone might seem embarrassing. Just talking about it might make you feel like you're light in the manhood department. But if you're wondering about low testosterone, you're far from alone.
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered the mechanism by which a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN), an agent used clinically (off-label) to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, exerts a profound inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. It has been postulated that opioid receptor blockade by LDN provokes a compensatory elevation in endogenous opioids and opioid receptors that can function after LDN is no longer available. Using a novel tissue culture model of LDN action, the mechanism of LDN has been found to target the opioid growth factor (OGF, [Met5]-enkephalin) and OGF receptor (OGFr) axis. This discovery, reported in the September 2011 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, provides new insights into the molecular pathway utilized by an increasingly important clinically prescribed agent that serves as a basic biological regulator of cell proliferative events related to pathobiological states such as cancer and autoimmune diseases
A common deformity that cases a depression in the chest wall inhibits lung function as the cavity grows deeper, a national study of 327 patients published in the Journal of Pediatrics found.
Malaria mosquitoes utilise CO2 from exhaled air to localize humans from afar. In the vicinity of their preferred host they alter their course towards the human feet. Researcher Remco Suer discovered how female malaria mosquitoes use foot odours in the last meters to guide them to their favoured biting place. Suer, who will defend his doctoral thesis the 9th of May at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, sees possibilities to disrupt the host seeking behavior of the malaria mosquito.
A group of researchers from EPFL's Global Health Institute (GHI) and Inserm (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, the French government agency for biomedical research) has discovered that a class of chemotherapy drugs originally designed to inhibit key signaling pathways in cancer cells also kills the parasite that causes malaria. The discovery could quickly open up a whole new strategy for combating this deadly disease.
Mayo Clinic announced the expansion of Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota, to Arizona, creating a branch to be called Mayo Medical School -- Arizona Campus. The expansion signals Mayo's continued commitment to enhancing its national and international leadership in patient-centered academic excellence. It will provide Mayo with a platform to continue to redefine the field of medical education, training the medical professional workforce of tomorrow in team-based, high quality and affordable care for patients across a broad demographic.
Mayo Clinic has identified a new benefit of social media and online networking: a novel way to study rare diseases. Through patient-run websites dedicated to heart conditions and women's heart health, a team of cardiologists led by Sharonne Hayes, M.D., is reaching out to survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissection, also known as SCAD, a poorly understood heart condition that affects just a few thousand Americans every year.
It is well established that a mood disorder can increase an individual's risk for substance abuse, but there is also evidence that the converse is true; substance abuse can increase a person's vulnerability to stress-related illnesses. Now, a new study finds that repeated cocaine use increases the severity of depressive-like responses in a mouse model of depression and identifies a mechanism that underlies this cocaine-induced vulnerability.
Scientists now have a better understanding of the way that stress impacts the brain. New research, published by Cell Press in the January 26 issue of the journal Neuron, reveals pioneering evidence for a new mechanism of stress adaptation and may eventually lead to a better understanding of why prolonged and repeated exposure to stress can lead to anxiety disorders and depression.
Medicinal Genomics, a private company headquartered in Marblehead, Mass., USA and the Netherlands, announced today that it has sequenced the entire genomes of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, representing two strains of the therapeutic plant. The genome assemblies, comprising over 131 billion bases of sequence, are the largest known gene collection of the Cannabis genomes and will be made publically available to the scientific community this fall. The genomic data is expected to aid in the advancement of research on the therapeutic benefits of the Cannabis plant for a wide range of health conditions, including cancer and inflammatory diseases.
There have been gloves and shavers for one-off use for a long time. In future, there will also be disposable endoscopes for minimally invasive operations on the human body. A new microcamera is what makes it possible. It is as large as a grain of salt, supplies razor-sharp pictures and can be manufactured very inexpensively.
Medtronic has released a new spinal fusion system aimed at people with cervical problems. The titanium ATLANTIS VISION ELITE is designed for an anterior approach and its components come in a variety of sizes to fit a patient's unique anatomy.
MEDX, Inc., a leading provider of nuclear medicine equipment, today introduced the next generation T-Quest™ compact gamma camera. The FDA-cleared T-Quest, includes enhanced thyroid imaging and now features expanded imaging capabilities to perform parathyroid, sentinel node, MUGA, gastric emptying, hepatobiliary, bone spots and other small organ studies. The Company also announced the first installations for the powerful new T-Quest at two leading acute care hospitals, Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, MD and St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ.
Researchers in Chile have successfully tested a vaccine against meningococcus B, a strain of bacteria that causes meningococcal diseases, including one of the commonest forms of meningitis, a disease in which membranes covering the brain and spinal cord become inflamed. Meningitis can be caused by viruses or bacteria, but the bacterial forms, such as meningococcus B, are more severe and cause the deaths of many young children every year.
New technology out of Georgia Tech may reduce the number of pills people with multiple prescriptions need to take every day--or that Ray Kurzweil takes to try and live long enough to become immortal. That's because researchers have developed a new gelcap with multiple compartments that can be used to take different drugs at the same time.
Mexicans who migrate to the United States are far more likely to experience significant depression and anxiety than individuals who do not immigrate, a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Archives journal, has found.
A lopsided self-propelled micromotor could drive itself through blood vessels, making repairs or delivering drugs along the route, according to researchers at Penn State. The small particles leach out a trail of material, like a microspider spinning a thread.
A team of Swinburne researchers has shown that low-temperature microwaves can be used to open up pores in bacterial cells, which could lead to significant improvements in the design of drug delivery systems.
They make up less than one-hundredth of 1 percent of the microbes that live in the colon, but the bacteria and archaea that sop up hydrogen in the gut are fundamental to colon health. In a new study, researchers take a first look at these "hydrogenotrophic" microbes, mapping where they live and how abundant they are in different parts of the lower intestine.
Children whose mother or father is affected by bipolar disorder may need to keep their stress levels in check. A new international study, led by Concordia University, suggests the stress hormone cortisol is a key player in the mood disorder. The findings published in Psychological Medicine, are the first to show that cortisol is elevated more readily in these children in response to the stressors of normal everyday life.
The future mood swings of people with bipolar disorder can be predicted by their current thoughts and behaviour, a study published today (Tuesday) has found.
There are two major problems with creating nanoscale Innerspace-like craft that course through our vascular system: finding a small enough source of power -- batteries are large, clunky, inefficient things -- and, by association, autonomous control. We have written about nanobots before, but don't be deceived: they are, for the most part, completely dumb and have to be controlled by magnets outside the body, by an incredibly steady-handed surgeon.
NanoSort has received a two year, small business innovation research (SBIR) grant worth $698,000 from National Institutes of Health. The grant was offered by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of NIH.
Circulating tumor cells, which play a crucial role in cancer metastasis, have been known to science for more than 100 years, and researchers have long endeavored to track and capture them. Now, a UCLA research team has developed an innovative device based on Velcro-like nanoscale technology to efficiently identify and "grab" these circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, in the blood.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology have found that commensal gut flora in mice is an essential part of the immune triggering process that leads to multiple sclerosis (MS). In their paper published in Nature, the team led by Gurumoorthy Krishnamoorthy and Hartmut Wekerle write that microbial environmental factors that lead to the disease aren't able to do their work in the absence of common gut bacteria, thus they find that such bacteria are a necessary link in the chain of events that lead to the broad spectrum neurological disease known as MS.
NT-MDT announces that it has released the SOLVER Nano SPM. The Solver Nano is an SPM that offers advanced features and capability for users with research needs or for new SPM users in an ergonomic compact design at an affordable price.
It has come to health officials' attention nationwide that there is a serious rise of abuse of painkillers, especially opioids. Federal officials recently stepped up plans to monitor frequent prescribers and users.
A University of Houston engineering researcher is trying to bring color to the black-and-white world of magnetic resonance imaging to make MRIs easier to read.
When Vernia Moore suffered a stroke she took full stock of her functions in the recovery room. Arms and hands moving? Check. Legs and feet okay? Check. Memory intact, with full comprehension? Check, check. All seemed good, but when the nurse asked her a simple question, the words would just not come. Though her brain was trying to speak, Moore was literally at a loss for words.
Johns Hopkins University graduate students have invented a device to reduce the risk of infection, clotting and narrowing of the blood vessels in patients who need blood-cleansing dialysis because of kidney failure.
What's killing us? For decades, global health leaders have focused on diseases that can spread - AIDS, tuberculosis, new flu bugs. They pushed for vaccines, better treatments and other ways to control germs that were only a plane ride away from seeding outbreaks anywhere in the world.
Researchers have developed a new type of imaging technology to diagnose cardiovascular disease and other disorders by measuring ultrasound signals from molecules exposed to a fast-pulsing laser.
Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for producing large quantities of human-derived gelatin that could become a substitute for some of the 300,000 tons of animal-based gelatin produced annually for gelatin-type desserts, marshmallows, candy and innumerable other products. Their study appears in ACS's Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
A post in the "Malaria Matters" blog announces "a new open access journal on malaria: Malaria Chemotherapy, Control and Elimination," which "has been recently launched by Ashdin Publishing." According to the blog, "[t]he journal aims to bridge basic and applied malaria research in tropical and other settings" (Brieger, 8/21).
As a researcher in neurogastroenterology for 40 years, professor Khalil Bitar has spent his professional life studying the causes of perplexing and what frequently become embarrassing problems for humans--issues such as constipation, diarrhea and colon disease.
A new protein, called aquaporin-4, is making waves and found to play a key role in brain inflammation, or encephalitis. This discovery is important as the first to identify a role for this protein in inflammation, opening doors for the development of new drugs that treat brain inflammation and other conditions at the cellular level rather than just treating the symptoms.
New research from the University of Southampton could lead to enhanced MRI scans, producing brighter and more precise images, and potentially allowing the detection of cancerous cells before they cause health problems.
Mental illnesses -- led by anxiety disorders and depression -- now affect one-quarter of the US population according to new research. In Europe a similar proportion -- about 27 percent -- suffers from these same illnesses, a second new study concludes.
From fossilized brachiopods, fish lungs and iPhones to mouse hearts and habanero chilies, Cornell's micro-CT (computer tomography) scanner provides spectacular and colorful 3-D datasets from the inside out.
Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis, the world leader in Microanalysis systems announces the launch of AZtec, its next generation materials characterisation system. AZtec is designed to integrate all microanalysis techniques and unleash the potential of the latest detectors. The first release offers EDS and EBSD: users can collect chemical and structural information simultaneously without compromising speed or functionality.
Older people can face risks related to hot weather. As people age, their bodies lose some ability to adapt to heat. They may have medical conditions that are worsened by heat. And their medications could reduce their ability to respond to heat.
For the first time, researchers have found five regions in the human genome that increase susceptibility to immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, a major cause of kidney failure worldwide -- systematically identifying those that point to a tendency for IgA nephropathy, or a protection against it.
NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical device company, today announced it has received a notice of award for an NIH Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). This will support further development of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS™) therapy for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, for which NeuroSigma is the exclusive worldwide licensee of intellectual property developed by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The STTR program requires that the small business collaborates with a non-profit research institution, which must perform at least 30% of the work. UCLA's role as a subcontractor in this project is primarily focused on conducting the human clinical studies.
Masimo announced today that a new study published in this month's issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Annals of Emergency Medicine, demonstrates that noninvasive Masimo carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®) measurements provide an "effective means for screening at-risk populations for CO poisoning" with "acceptable bias and precision" compared to invasive blood gas analysis. The prospective diagnostic accuracy study is more than ten times larger than any other published SpCO accuracy study to date and provides a strong rationale for clinical use of SpCO in the evaluation of emergency department (ED) patients.
Norovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period
A critical step in advancing medical treatment is the development of novel drug delivery methods. While a simple tablet, taken by the patient with a sip of water, may be the easiest way to administer a drug, this may not always be the most suitable.
Patients who complain of upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often face a diagnosis of either gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or functional dyspepsia. Because the two conditions often overlap, it can be difficult to distinguish between them and diagnose them properly. Yet ambulatory care facilities and hospitals have reported a dramatic increase in the number of GERD-related visits/discharges in recent years.
The Olympus LEXT OLS4000 is being used as a benchmark tool for the development of good practice guidelines and new reference standards in optical metrology. With both of these projects being detailed at the upcoming 13th International Conference on Metrology and Properties of Engineering Surfaces, hosted by the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) at Twickenham Stadium, Olympus is at the forefront of developments in metrology. The LEXT OLS4000 has therefore aided the development of various tools to improve the reliability and usability of optical metrology techniques.
A software package designed to minimize the potential risks of synthetic biology for the nation's defense and security is now available to the gene synthesis industry and synthetic biology community in an open-source format.
As your hygienist probably told you, tooth decay happens when bacteria in plaque dissolve your enamel, creating cavities. Eventually the cavity gets big enough that your dentist has to take out the decay and drill a hole that can be filled with resin, gold or something else. But a new treatment developed at the University of Leeds in the UK reverses the decay, allowing your teeth to rebuild themselves.
In 2009, the DNA alphabet expanded. Scientists discovered that an extra letter or "sixth nucleotide" was surprisingly abundant in DNA from stem cells and brain cells.
Pharma IQ has just published the results of an Industry-wide Pharmaceutical Distribution Survey, conducted recently among 3,000 pharmaceutical distribution specialist with over 83 % of those surveyed directly responsible for distribution at their respective companies.
On average, a drug on the market works effectively for only 50% of the people who take it. Would you want to prevent a potential adverse drug effect or even toxicity through a simple test? It's not science fiction, but a reality. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is the study of an individual's variation in DNA sequence related to drug response. The goal is to select the right drug at the right dose, and to avoid adverse drug reactions or ineffective treatment.
Two scientists at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh discussed the state of xenotransplantation--the use of cells, organs, or tissue from one animal in another--in a review in The Lancet. In that review, they touch on the history of one particular subject: pig-to-human transplants. Their conclusion? Clinical trials of pig-to-human transplants could begin in just a few years.
Beginning this month, the journal Medicine® launches a series of podcasts featuring pioneering infectious disease physician John Bartlett, MD. Medicine® is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Where you live could play a larger role in health disparities than originally thought, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They examined a racially integrated, low-income neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland and found that, with the exception of smoking, nationally reported disparities in hypertension, diabetes, obesity among women and use of health services disappeared or narrowed.
Newly synthesized polymer, fitted with molecular pincers of carefully tailored structure, effectively captures nicotine molecules and its analogues. The polymer can be used for fabrication of sensitive and selective chemical sensors to determine nicotine in solutions, and in the near future also in gases. Moreover, the polymer is suitable for slow, controlled release of nicotine, e.g., for therapeutic purposes.
A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that, for the first time, 5a-reductase inhibitors commonly used to treat urinary problems in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and found in popular medications to treat hair loss, can produce, persistent erectile dysfunction (ED), depression and loss of libido, even after the medication has been discontinued.
A new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine shows that rapamycin and its derivative everolimus, which is currently used to treat cancer and transplant rejections, may work to reverse the aging effects seen in children with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, better known as simply progeria.
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing orphan therapeutics for rare gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders, today announced positive top-line results from REPLACE, a Phase 3 registration study of NPSP558, the company's bioengineered replica of human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH 1-84), in adult hypoparathyroidism patients. NPS has received orphan drug status for NPSP558 for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism, a rare endocrine disorder in which the body produces insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone, the principal regulator of calcium and phosphorus, and for which there is no FDA-approved replacement therapy.
Experiencing a psychiatric episode within the first 30 days post-partum appears to be associated with an increased risk of developing bipolar affective disorder.
Protein folding is one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino acids that make up proteins in all living things fold into more complex three-dimensional structures. By understanding how proteins fold, and what structures they are likely to assume in their final form, researchers are then able to move closer to predicting their function.
A recent trial shows cognitive-behavioral therapy reduces functional disability and depressive symptoms in adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia. The psychological intervention was found to be safe and effective, and proved to be superior to disease management education.
Problems like anxiety and depression are caused by psychological and environmental factors, and are known to be influenced by genetic proclivities. However, it is still not clear how each factor affects the brain's functions to induce anxious and depressive symptoms.
The FCC has kindly allocated a chunk of radio spectrum in the 413-457 megahertz range specifically for use by wireless devices that would relay nervous signals to paralyzed limbs.
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that abnormal sequences of DNA known as rare copy number variants, or CNVs, appear to play a significant role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.
One of the front lines of global health is in this dusty northern Nigerian village, where a man dressed in a turban and caftan walks the streets, delivering a warning through a megaphone.
Only a small number of manageable side effects can be conclusively linked to routine childhood vaccinations, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine, a non-profit chartered by Congress forty years ago to give advice about scientific controversies.
New research points to a potential role for UV light exposure and vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions; Crohn's disease, a serious inflammatory condition in the small intestine; and ulcerative colitis (UC), which similarly affects the colon. In two separate studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 76th Annual Scientific Meeting, a group of investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital probed the connection between geography, UV exposure and incidence of inflammatory bowel disease while another group from Weill Cornell Medical Center looked at different levels of supplementation with Vitamin D to determine impact on severity of Crohn's disease.
Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists advances a strategy for taming the side effects and enhancing the therapeutic benefits of steroids and other medications that work by disrupting the activity of certain hormones.
University of Illinois scientists report the first identification of a cellular mechanism linked to the toxicity of a major class of drinking water disinfection byproducts. This study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, suggests a possible connection to adverse health effects, including neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Cancer, heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death among Canadians. These are also the deadly diseases that Victor Yang's research team aims to alleviate.
In the latest issue of Nature, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania clarify the role of two proteins key to T-cell development. They found that one well-known protein called Notch passes off much of its role during T-cell maturation to another protein called TCF-1. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, and understanding how these proteins influence the production of infection-fighting cells could improve treatments for immune-suppressed patients.
A $7.5 million award will help researchers harness the body's own defenses to counteract nerve agents and create new types of antidotes for exposure to pesticides and other poisons.
Neena Singh, MD, PhD and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. sCJD is one of the causes of dementia and typically leads to death within a year of disease onset.
People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal household study. The first findings reveal that people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, respiratory or cardiovascular disease report similar mental health scores to those without physical illness. The survey's findings suggest that those people who may not be able to function well physically because of an illness do not necessarily suffer problems with their mental health -- for example with their concentration, confidence and feelings of strain.
An experimental drug designed to fit a DNA patch in a flawed gene has cleared an important hurdle in tests on boys struck by a tragic muscle-wasting disease, a British study on Monday says.
A Franco-British team of researchers has discovered a mysterious gene responsible for the extremely rare congenital Grey Platelet Syndrome that causes a bleeding disease. Only 50 cases have been reported to date. The team hopes that the results of their study will lead to the development of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test able to diagnose the disease. The findings are published in the journal Nature Genetics.
A new study provides fascinating insight into the genetic basis of bipolar disorder, a highly heritable mood disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression.
Because of its high water content and polymer network, peptide hydrogel is a promising material for protein storage and transfer without significant loss of their biological activity. These hydrogels have potential as injectable materials for medical applications, e.g., liquid injection agents that become gelatinous in the human body to keep drugs around cancerous tumors.
Researchers at the University of Leeds investigating the genetic causes of bipolar disorder have identified two new drugs -- one of which has already been found safe in clinical trials -- that may be effective in treating the disorder.
An Orange County-based charity that puts smiles back on the faces of underprivileged kids in need of major orthodontic care is the first charitable organization featured as part of a unique social media campaign designed to inspire people to get involved with nonprofits.
Many a parent has lamented the crowding of their children's teeth indicating impending orthodontia bills, but few no doubt have wondered quite as deeply as Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, an anthropologist from the U.K., on why this seems to be such a common malady for modern people.
From a glance at the magazine stands, Americans appear obsessed with losing weight, cutting their cardiac risks and seeking to improve their odds against cancer. But where's the focus on brain health?
There are quite a few laparoscopic surgery simulators out there, but curiously, open surgery is still completely learned by practicing on live subjects (whether it be patients or animals). Simquest (Silver Spring, Maryland) is changing that by releasing the first open-incision surgical sim. It looks like the device utilizes haptic technology from Sensable to have force feedback in the digital 3D environment. Because of the larger surgical field and the number of possible actions for open surgery this simulator was significantly more difficult to develop than laparoscopic simulators. From the press release:
People who suffer from sleep disturbances are at major risk for obesity, diabetes, and coronary artery disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. For the first time in such a large and diverse sample, analyzing the data of over 130,000 people, the new research also indicates that general sleep disturbance (difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and/or sleeping too much) may play a role in the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.
Lloydspharmacy and Proteus Biomedical has announced the upcoming release in the UK of a new kind of medication compliance monitoring system that relies on sensor-enabled tablets and special body worn patches that detect their ingestion.
The lab-on-a-chip model has been praised as the future of simplified diagnostic medicine--place a sample of saliva, blood, or urine on a small chip-like device that traps disease biomarkers, and send it off to a lab for analysis and diagnosis.
Generic anti-epilepsy drugs, pharmaceutical products similar to brand-name versions, save consumers billions of dollars each year, but some are different enough from branded formulations that they may not be effective, particularly if patients switch between two generic drugs, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. A report on the study, published online and in an upcoming issue of Annals of Neurology, raises questions about whether some generic products are safe and effective when a narrow dose range separates patients from help and harm.
A University of Sydney PhD student has discovered the different diets and lifestyles of South Asians compared to Europeans could lead to the two groups requiring very different doses of medicines commonly used to treat illnesses such as depression and psychosis.
Use of criteria such as family history of mania and early onset of illness resulted in the diagnosis of 31 percent more cases of bipolar disorder in individuals experiencing a major depressive episode, according to results of a large international study reported this year.
The FDA has cleared Nexera Medical's (Richmond, British Columbia) SpectraShield 9500 surgical respirator, a face mask the outside of which has been shown to kill three types of bacteria (Streptococcus pyogenes, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Haemophilus influenzae). The device is also a certified N95 respirator, blocking at least 95% of dust particles.
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Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are emerging as promising candidates for various biomedical applications such as enhanced resolution imaging or targeted drug or gene delivery due to their biocompatibility, low cost of production, ability to immobilize biological materials on their surfaces, and potential for direct targeting using external magnets. Over the past few years, researchers demonstrated that magnetofection is an appropriate tool for rapid and specific gene transfection with low dose in vitro and site-specific in vivo applications.
The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize has challenged researchers to build a tool capable of capturing "key health metrics and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases".
An informational site about the cause and effects of Stevens Johnson Syndrome. If you have been diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome you should fill out our form and contact a lawyer.
While many 16-year-olds are content with PlayStation, Toronto-area student Marshall Zhang used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network to invent a new drug cocktail which could one day help treat cystic fibrosis.
Despite international variation in prevalence rates of bipolar spectrum disorder, the severity and associated disorders are similar and treatment needs are often unmet, especially in low-income countries, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
A new study has shown the Flexible-Fiber CO2 laser to safely cut and coagulate during endoscopic assisted transsphenoidal craniotomies (TSC) without the line of sight problems encountered with conventional CO2 lasers. The findings, reported by researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), appear in the July/August issue of World Neurosurgery. This is the first study to report the utility of flexible-fiber CO2 laser-assisted ablation in TSC.
A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Moghaddam Laboratory, led by biochemist Bita Moghaddam have found after studying rat brains that minor differences in activity levels in certain brain parts, between adults and teens might help explain why teens tend to be more susceptible to both addiction and mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia.
Surgery death rates have dropped nationwide over the past decade, according to a University of Michigan Health System study that reveals cancer surgeries have seen the most dramatic improvement in safety.
The vaccines of the future against infections, influenza and cancer can be administered using an electrical pulse and a specially-produced DNA code from the University of Oslo. The DNA code programs the body's own cells to produce a super-fast missile defence against the disease.
Endoscopes - small cameras or optic fibres that are usually attached to flexible tubing designed to investigate the interior of the body - can be dangerously invasive. Procedures often require sedative medications and some recovery time. Now a researcher at Tel Aviv University is developing a "capsule endoscope" that can move through the digestive tract to detect problems independent of any attachments.
Blood clotting is a complicated business, particularly for those trying to understand how the body responds to injury. In a new study, researchers report that they are the first to describe in atomic detail a chemical interaction that is vital to blood clotting. This interaction -- between a clotting factor and a cell membrane -- has baffled scientists for decades.
What would a tumor feel like? Sadness? Despair? Hope? Surgeons will soon know, thanks to a device invented by Leeds University, England, which lets users judge the cancerous state of tumors, along with the best way to go about treatment.
Many cell types in higher organisms are capable of implementing directed motion in response to the presence of certain chemical attractants in their vicinity. A team led by Dr. Doris Heinrich of the Faculty of Physics and the Center for NanoScience (CeNS) at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München has developed a novel technique to expose an ensemble of living cells to rapidly varying concentrations of chemoattractants.
Heart transplant recipients and their physicians are likely more concerned with the function of the donated organ than with the donor's DNA sequences that tag along in the new, healthy tissue. However, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that an increase in the amount of the donor's DNA in the recipient's blood is one of the earliest detectable signs of organ rejection.
DNA extracted from canned human brains could help researchers studying mental health disorders, if scientists can figure out how to mine it. Preserved brains taken from autopsied patients -- some dating to the 1890s -- could serve as a new archive of old data related to mental health.
Two doctors at Haukeland University Hospital have made great progress in their work to solve chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Trials cancer medicine has improved the health of two out of three CFS patients.
Researchers from China report that in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding in whom endoscopy failed to control the bleeding, transarterial embolization is a safe procedure which reduces the need for surgery without increasing overall mortality and is associated with few complications. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
The Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness has approved the listing of LITHMAX (Lithium Carbonate Sustained-Release 300mg Tablets) in the Nova Scotia Formulary, effective April 19th, 2011. This announcement comes as welcome news to patients in need of the sustained-release formulation of Lithium Carbonate who require help to pay for prescribed medications. LITHMAX is indicated for the treatment of manic episodes of Bipolar Disorder, as well as the maintenance treatment for individuals with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. This extended-release formulation, only available from AA Pharma Inc., has been available in drugstores across Canada since January 2011, and scheduled to be on all provincial formulary lists by the end of 2011, making LITHMAX a cost effective treatment option for Bipolar 1 and 2.
It likely comes as no surprise that low back pain is the most common form of chronic pain among adults. Lesser known is the fact that those withchronic pain also experience cognitive impairments and reduced gray matter in parts of the brain associated with pain processing and the emotional components of pain, like depression and anxiety.
Our brain is divided into two hemispheres, which are linked through only a few connections. However, we do not seem to have a problem to create a coherent image of our environment -- our perception is not "split" in two halves. For the seamless unity of our subjective experience, information from both hemispheres needs to be efficiently integrated. The corpus callosum, the largest fibre bundle connecting the left and right side of our brain, plays a major role in this process. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt investigated whether differences between individuals in the anatomy of the corpus callosum would predict how observers perceive a visual stimulus for which the left and right hemisphere need to cooperate. As their results indicate, the characteristics of specific callosal fibre tracts are related to the subjective experience of individuals.
Emerald BioStructures today announced a three-year extension of its ongoing collaboration with UCB. The strategic aspects of this renewed relationship will provide Emerald with research funding over the three-year period and the opportunity to receive milestones and royalties on future drug product revenues.
Terason of Burlington, Massachusetts has released the Terason t3200 Ultrasound System - Breast Series. The system is built around an Apple MacBook Pro, providing easy sharing of images and access to an EMR. Plus it can be used as a standard laptop for other tasks.
"An outbreak of polio in three children from the south of Madagascar has raised concerns over a possible resurgence of this crippling disease," BBC News reports, adding, "UNICEF spokesman Daniel Timme says three cases of polio without symptoms have been identified ... during UNICEF's Mother and Child Health week following tests and urine samples". "Although the children are currently not showing symptoms of polio, [Timme] said symptoms of the disease could make itself known at any time" Examiner.com writes.
Cystic fibrosis (CF), a chronic disease that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections, is caused by a genetic defect in a chloride channel called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductase regulator (CFTR). Although scientists do not fully understand how or why this defect occurs, a team of researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has found a promising clue: a protein called ubiquitin ligase Nedd4L.
The embryonic nervous system is a hollow tube consisting of elongated neural progenitor cells, which extend from the inner to the outer surface of the tube. In a section inside the tube called the ventricular zone (VZ), these cells divide and produce immature neurons that migrate outwards. This involves well-characterized movements that are coupled to cell division. After a cell divides at the inner-most VZ region, the nuclei migrate to the outer region, where they synthesize new DNA before returning.
A University of Queensland (UQ) start-up company, Coridon Pty Ltd, established to commercialise Professor Ian Frazer's work in developing next generation DNA vaccines, has successfully completed pre-clinical efficacy testing of its prototype Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) vaccine, with outstanding results.
One of the hardest things about chronic pain is that only you know how bad the pain feels. There's no blood test that can show much you're suffering. There's often no outward sign, like a bandage or a cast. There's just the pain.
A new physical form of proteins developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin could drastically improve treatments for cancer and other diseases, as well as overcome some of the largest challenges in therapeutics: delivering drugs to patients safely, easily and more effectively.
A new vaccine is being tested in the US that may protect against the norovirus, which causes "stomach flu" or acute viral gastroenteritis, that can occur in confined living settings such as cruise ships, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and military establishments.
As if learning to correctly interpret a standard 12-lead ECG isn't challenging enough for us doctors, Verathon is introducing the Heartscape 80-lead 3D ECG System in Europe. The concept is not entirely new, as it is the successor to the PRIME ECG system which has the same amount of leads, and has been available since 2003. The Heartscape 3D ECG System aims to give a 360 degree electrocardiographic view of the heart, to helping in identifying myocardial infarcts without ST-segment elevation on traditional 12-lead ECGs, and in patients with left bundle branch block.
Viking Systems, Inc., a leading worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of 3D and 2D visualization solutions for complex minimally invasive surgery, announced the results of a poster presentation that was given at the 2011 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons ("SAGES") meeting held in San Antonio, on April 2, 2011.
New Scientist magazine has written a piece about a new voice box being developed in the U.K. from researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Hull. Designed especially for patients who have lost their larynx due to cancer or other diseases, the system uses magnets inside the mouth to detect facial movements that correspond to words.
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Whether it's from a sore lower back or throbbing tooth, pain is hard enough to deal with in the light of day. But pain at night that robs you of your much-needed sleep can be downright exhausting.
"Contagion," a movie in which a mysterious airborne virus kills Gwyneth Paltrow and thousands of other people, was this weekend's top box office hit, generating $23 million in ticket sales. Many researchers are trying to ride on the movie's coattails to get attention for the risks of an infectious disease epidemic and our lack of preparedness when it comes to dealing with disease outbreaks.
Family doctors are reluctant to disclose identifiable patient information, even in the context of an influenza pandemic, mostly in an effort to protect patient privacy. A recently published study by Dr. Khaled El Emam the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the University of Ottawa and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute recently found that during the peak of the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, there was still reluctance to report detailed patient information for public health purposes.
University of Utah scientists used invisible infrared light to make rat heart cells contract and toadfish inner-ear cells send signals to the brain. The discovery someday might improve cochlear implants for deafness and lead to devices to restore vision, maintain balance and treat movement disorders like Parkinson's.
Hot on the heels of the news of the smallest camera in the world, comes the news of one of the largest imaging sensors ever made. Scientists at the University of Lincoln have created DynAMITe (Dynamic range Adjustable for Medical Imaging Technology), a 12.8 cm square microchip designed for medical imaging. It was designed, in particular, for mammography and radiotherapy, and can withstand very high levels of X-ray and other radiation. The active sensor features 1280 x 1280 pixels on a 100-micron pitch coplanar with 2560 x 2560 pixels on a 50-micron pitch, with frame rates up to 90 per second. It can also be configured in 2x2 arrays providing an imaging area in excess of 25 cm square. Real-life applications are still being explored.
Yoga-gear.com is number one source for yoga related equipment, videos, DVD and books and we host one of the biggest directories of yoga instructors as well as online yoga courses and classes.
The immune system recognizes and neutralizes or destroys toxins and foreign pathogens that have gained access to the body. Autoimmune diseases result when the system attacks the body's own tissues instead. One of the most common examples is multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a serious condition in which nerve-cell projections, or axons, in the brain and the spinal cord are destroyed as a result of misdirected inflammatory reactions. It is often characterized by an unpredictable course, with periods of remission being interrupted by episodes of relapse.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and MIT have developed a new approach for identifying the "self" proteins targeted in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Offering Multiple Sclerosis sufferers emotional support through group therapy sessions could improve their quality of life and save the NHS almost £500 per patient, a study at The University of Nottingham has discovered.
In a new study published in Nature Neuroscience, a team of researchers revealed the discovery of a key protein necessary for nerve repair and could lead to the development of a treatment for brain injuries due to a lack of oxygen, such a cerebral palsy, as well as multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects adults all over the world.
Genetic secrets of multiple sclerosis may be buried in 50 "hot spots" in the human genome, which were just uncovered by a consortium of more than 240 scientists in 23 countries, including researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Any possible pain relief that marijuana has for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be outweighed by the drug's apparent negative effect on thinking skills, according to research published in the March 29, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Research into how the brain transmits messages to other parts of the body could improve understanding of disorders such as epilepsy, dementia, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Researchers at the University of Houston (UH) are recommending a new strategy for developing drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases.
Scientists working on the Australian-based Ausimmune Study have discovered that a past infection with glandular fever, also known as the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), combined with genetic variations in the immune system can greatly increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).
A new imaging technique could help doctors and researchers more accurately assess the extent of nerve damage and healing in a live patient. Researchers at Laval University in Québec and Harvard Medical School in Boston aimed lasers at rats' damaged sciatic nerves to create images of the individual neurons' insulating sheath called myelin. Physical trauma, repetitive stress, bacterial infections, genetic mutations, and neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis can all cause neurons to lose myelin. The loss slows or halts the nerve's transmission of electrical impulses and can result in symptoms such as numbness, pain, or poor muscle control.
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way to track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in those living with the disease, by using a powerful, triple strength MRI to track increasing levels of iron found in brain tissue.
Laboratory studies by chemical engineers at UC Santa Barbara may lead to new experimental methods for early detection and diagnosis ---- and to possible treatments ---- for pathological tissues that are precursors to multiple sclerosis and similar diseases.
Osteoporosis and low bone density are common in people in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published in the July 12, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
An article to be published Friday in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology argues that multiple sclerosis, long viewed as primarily an autoimmune disease, is not actually a disease of the immune system. Dr. Angelique Corthals, a forensic anthropologist and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, suggests instead that MS is caused by faulty lipid metabolism, in many ways more similar to coronary atherosclerosis than to other autoimmune diseases.
Lung diseases in the Middle East range from the centuries-old pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) to modern manifestations caused by chemical warfare. A new paper now available in Respirology, a journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, provides pulmonologists and patients with the first comprehensive review of respiratory illnesses specific to the Persian Gulf region, and the challenges in treating them. This unique review is the first of its kind in this topic and will serve as an important landmark reference article.
A devastating vascular disorder of the brain called CADASIL, which strikes young adults and leads to early dementia, often is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, Loyola University Health System researchers report.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.
Researchers have revealed the molecular pathway that is affected during the onset of schizophrenia and successfully alleviated symptoms of the illness in mice, using a commonly used cancer drug.
A team of over 250 researchers from more than 20 countries have discovered that common genetic variations contribute to a person's risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Smoking is bad for you blah blah we know. But you couldn't really tell that to the 80% of American schizophrenic patients who smoke. The jury is still out on why that number's so high, but could some form of treatment come out of this?
A significant obstacle to progress in understanding psychiatric disorders is the difficulty in obtaining living brain tissue for study so that disease processes can be studied directly. Recent advances in basic cellular neuroscience now suggest that, for some purposes, cultured neural stem cells may be studied in order to research psychiatric disease mechanisms. But where can one obtain these cells outside of the brain?
After a century of studying the causes of schizophrenia-the most persistent disabling condition among adults-the cause of the disorder remains unknown. Now induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from schizophrenic patients have brought researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies a step closer to a fundamental understanding of the biological underpinnings of the disease.
Researchers interested in the treatment of schizophrenia and dementia have clarified how antipsychotic drugs that target a complex of two receptors at the surface of cells in the brain work.
Concern about the capacity of individuals with schizophrenia to consent to clinical research studies has largely focused on impairment due to psychotic symptoms associated with the disorder. Less attention has been given to the cognitive errors that prospective participants make when undergoing a formal assessment of decisional capacity.
Causes for psychiatric diseases like schizophrenia and autism have been difficult to pinpoint, since they may be triggered by many small genetic changes that alone may be insufficient, but in the right combination may cause disease.
Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have conducted a study which has found striking brain similarities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The research has also pinpointed for the first time that a process which controls how information is transmitted from neuron to neuron in the brain is altered in both conditions and may potentially contribute to the developments of improved treatments in the future.
Two new independent research groups looking to find the genetic roots of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have found evidence of variations in regions of the human genome that appear to be associated with either or both neurological disorders. In the first study, a Chinese group led by Wei Huang, found variations in chromosome region 11 -- 11p11.2.
A new study suggests that young people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may be spared the side-effects of taking medication with the right diet and exercise program.
The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the U.S. is reported as being on the decrease, however untreated infected people act as a reservoir for disease. Any pool of the world's population harboring this disease gives cause for concern, especially since the BCG vaccine is only 70-80% effective at best. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health, shows that in 2009 the number of cases of TB reported across America was much lower than that recorded in previous years. This larger than expected decrease was most noticeable among recent immigrants, the homeless and other disadvantaged groups, which suggested that the decrease was most likely due to economic recession and lower immigration rates and may mask the future impact of TB.
An injectable product that is based on NanoCrystal technology developed by Elan Drug Technologies has been approved by the European Commission. The XEPLION has for long been used by Janssen-Cilag International in injectable therapy to treat patients suffering from schizophrenia.
Two research studies in this week's PLoS Medicine suggest that a new automated DNA test for tuberculosis, which can detect TB within 2 hours and has been endorsed by the World Health Organization, can significantly increase TB detection rate compared to other tests, particularly in HIV positive patients who have a high risk of being infected with TB, including multidrug resistant TB. An accompanying Essay and Perspective highlight the economic challenges and implications of such diagnostic tests.
Tuberculosis (TB) continues to pose a major global health threat. Someone in the world is newly infected with TB bacteria every second. Every year, more than 9 million people develop active TB and it claims about 2 million lives. In Canada, the overall incidence of TB has declined, but rates remain high among immigrants from endemic countries and among Aboriginal populations. Currently, Nunavut is facing the largest TB outbreak in the territory's 10- year history.
The currently available tuberculosis vaccine BCG is over 90 years old -- and its effectiveness is declining. An increasing number of mycobacterial strains are emerging, against which the current vaccine provides no protection. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin have developed an improved vaccine that has being undergoing tests on humans in clinical trials since 2008. The results of the phase I trial show that the vaccine candidate fulfils safety requirements. Initial results of the phase Ib trial indicate that the vaccine candidate's active principle is effective.
In research at SRI International, scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis recently validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and potentially shorten treatment time.
Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostics systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, in a new video today unveiled the world's first urine-based tuberculosis diagnostics tool. This revolutionary optical biosensor diagnostics device was developed by top scientists, chemists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory via a cooperative research and development agreement between the two organizations.
Vitamin D is not just important for building strong bones -- it also plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis, an international research team including UCLA scientists has found.
Whether it's right under our nose or far away, when we observe an object we see it—provided we have healthy eyes and normal vision or suitable glasses—in focus. For this to work, muscles deform the lenses of our eyes and adjust them to a suitable focal distance.
Bruker announced today that Alcon Corporation has selected the Bruker ContourGT®-X8 Optical Surface Profiler to provide non-destructive, non-contact reference metrology for critical dimensioning and 3D characterization of Alcon's current and next-generation intra-ocular lenses (IOLs). Alcon is the global leader in eye care, offering the widest spectrum of eye care products across surgical, pharmaceutical and vision care.
A set of glasses packed with technology normally seen in smartphones and games consoles is the main draw at one of the featured stands at this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
Canon has unveiled a prototype of its TX-20P fully automatic non-contact tonometer that also features a pachymeter for measuring the thickness of the cornea.
Cheap prescription sunglasses online. Based in the UK and delivering Worldwide offering quality cheap prescription sunglasses from £15 and was founded to provide the customer with a cheaper alternative to the more expensive high street opticians.
Currently being developed by DARPA researchers at Washington-based Innovega iOptiks are contact lenses that enhance normal vision by allowing a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus.
The first clinical trials that examine the use of stem cells to treat two forms of blindness are ready to begin now that patients have been enrolled, a US company announced on Thursday.
The atrociously-named Ucansi is readying to release an iPhone app, called GlassesOff, that can reduce the "eye age" of an older person by 20% and increase the reading speed of small, newspaper- and book-sized text by more than 50%.
Blocking two tiny molecules of RNA -- a chemical cousin of DNA -- appears to suppress the abnormal growth of blood vessels that occurs in degenerative eye disorders, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
Although it is well established that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the capacity to develop into every adult cell type in the body, mysteries abound regarding the process by which the differentiation of these cells is coordinated during the formation of complex tissues.
People with diabetes want to stay active and lead a healthy life free from complications such as kidney disease, heart disease and stroke. However, many patients cannot escape from the common threat of Diabetic Retinopathy, a sort of damage to the blood vessels in the retina caused by poor blood circulation, which can inflict permanent vision damage and eventually lead to blindness. Our eye seldom complains before vision damage is felt. Therefore, early detection through routine eye screening can spare the sight.
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At the beginning of July, Caltech senior Wilson Ho found himself hiking, stargazing, and camping in Yosemite National Park with a Nobel laureate. He even joined a group of scientists for a spontaneous jump into a freezing cold stream.
Patients with uveitis, the fifth leading cause of vision loss in the United States, treated with either systemic anti-inflammatory medicine or with a time-release implant surgically placed inside the eye experienced a similar degree of visual improvement over two years, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Wisconsin. Results from the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial, supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), are published online in the journal Ophthalmology.
Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) today announced that it has received regulatory clearance from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to commence the first Phase 2 trial of its proprietary allogeneic (off-the-shelf) adult stem cell therapy for patients with proliferation of leaky blood vessels in the eyes -- neovascular (“wet”) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
A University of Oregon research team led by Richard Taylor is designing nanoflowers that will enable blind people including those afflicted by macular degeneration to regain vision.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on an inexpensive way to use smartphones to quickly detect early-stage cataracts, the clouding of the eye lens that is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
An artificial device in the form of a retinal prosthesis can replace dead photoreceptor cells by electrically stimulating the remaining neurons. Two examples of retinal prostheses are digital camera-type electrode arrays and photodiode arrays. However, they have exhibited low output of electric currents meaning external batteries are needed, low sensitivity and poor biocompatibility.
Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
Humans see color thanks to cone cells, specialized light-sensing neurons located in the retina along the inner surface of the eyeball. The actual light-sensing section of these cells is called the outer segment, which is made up of a series of stacked discs, each about 30 nanometers thick. This appendage goes through daily changes in length.
Researchers are reporting results from the first year of a two-year clinical trial that Avastin, a drug approved to treat some cancers and that is commonly used off-label to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is as effective as the Food and Drug Administration-approved drug Lucentis for the treatment of AMD.
Technology developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University for delivering drugs and other therapeutics to specific locations in the eye provides the foundation for a startup company that has received a $4 million venture capital investment.
Slowing down the aggregation or "clumping" of vitamin A in the eye may help prevent vision loss caused by macular degeneration, research from Columbia University Medical Center has found.
Cataracts are the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. But the standard test to detect the cloudy patches in the eye's lens requires a $5,000 piece of equipment called a slit lamp, and a trained physician to interpret its results -- two things that are often not available in rural and less-affluent parts of the world. But a team of MIT researchers has now developed a simple device that can clip onto an ordinary smartphone (or smart device such as an iPod) and provide a diagnosis of cataracts within a few minutes.
Researchers in Japan have grown a retina from mouse embryonic stem cells in a lab, but this isn't just another incremental advance in tissue engineering. Scientists claim their "retina in a dish" is by no small degree the most complex biological tissue yet engineered.
Technology developed at the University of Cambridge to detect peripheral visual field loss in young children will enable the earlier detection of brain tumours, potentially saving sight and lives.
Researchers have used cutting-edge stem cell technology to correct a genetic defect present in a rare blinding disorder, another step on a promising path that may one day lead to therapies to reverse blindness caused by common retinal diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa which affect millions of individuals.
In February 2011, a new European project called Seebetter was launched with the goal to design and build a high-performance silicon retina using advanced photodetector and packaging technology. It is expected that these new vision sensors will revolutionize artificial vision and find wide applications in industry.
A UCSF study gives hope to those suffering from severe cases of bacterial corneal ulcers, which can lead to blindness if left untreated. The use of topical corticosteroids in a randomized controlled trial was found to be neither beneficial nor harmful in the overall patient population in the study. However, it helped patients who had more serious forms of bacterial corneal ulcers, according to UCSF researchers.
Retinal implants can let blind people see, but to be truly effective, they should be adapted to the human eye's unique structure, according to one researcher. Tiny clusters of material that self-assemble into fractals could help with this, strengthening the connections between an implant and a patient's healthy neurons.
Vision Engineering has launched cost-effective SX stereo zoom microscopes ideal for crucial printed circuit board (PCB) inspections because the microscopes are designed with fine optics and allows broad range of magnification. The ranges include SX25, SX45, SX80, and SX100.
An Australian research team led by Flinders University researchers has discovered two new genes that could open the way to new treatments for blinding glaucoma.