A computer model developed by a Johns Hopkins biomedical engineer mimics the way a heart works, down to the sub-cellular level, and can be used to mathematically "test" drugs for various heart disorders.
In four separate studies, researchers from Henry Ford Hospital's Heart & Vascular Institute found no link between race and a patient's physiological response to a heart attack. These findings indicate there is no need to factor race into decisions regarding medical treatment after a heart attack.
A comparison of data on fast-food consumption and rising obesity has found a surprising wrinkle: There doesn't appear to be much of a link, at least in terms of large populations.
Injuries continue to have a major impact on the health of Americans, according to the latest federal government report on the nation's health, issued today by HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala.
Scientists studying mice genetically engineered to develop familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have found that the human gene Bcl-2 may delay the onset of ALS. The study appears in the July 24 issue of Science.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) today congratulated President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton on their efforts to immunize America's children, noting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new data indicating that 90 percent or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the recommended vaccines in 1996.
A gene linked to the most common abdominal cancer in children also may contribute to the development of breast cancer, according to a study at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Oregon Health Sciences University.
Topics: Picking a sunscreen is easy if you follow some simple rules; Don't be shy about telling your eye care professional what to look for when you get glasses; Weight training in kids requires special precautions; Beware of once exotic bugs that can now pop up in your food supply.
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Repeated exposure to molds often found in damp hay and grain can irritate the lungs causing a disease known as farmer's lung or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The syndrome causes coughing and shortness of breath, and is "reasonably common in the Midwest," says Dr. Gary Hunninghake, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine, who has studied the disease for many years.
Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital researchers have achieved the first successful repair, in animals, of congenital anomalies by combining the emerging technologies of video-guided fetal surgery and the engineering of a scarce commodity--live replacement tissue.
A study of first and second-generation African Caribbeans living in England found many undiagnosed cases of high blood pressure and more whose blood pressure medications were not adequately controlling their hypertension. It is the first study to focus on blood pressure, dietary salt and salt sensitivity among first and second-generation African Caribbeans living in the United Kingdom.
British colleagues warned Baltimore hypertension researcher Dr. Elijah Saunders that he would not be able to recruit enough African Caribbeans for a study of high blood pressure and dietary salt. He not only signed up the 150 he needed, he has 200 more waiting in line.
Scientists at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School and the University of Alberta in Canada have determined the three-dimensional structure of cardiac troponin C (cardiac TnC), a protein responsible for regulating muscle contraction in the heart.
A new type of influenza vaccine given in a nasal spray is very effective at preventing the flu in healthy young children, according to results from a large multicenter study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the biopharmaceutical company Aviron.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that, based on an initial analysis of a pivotal Phase III trial, AvironÃs (pronounced Av-uh-ron; Nasdaq: AVIR) intranasal cold adapted influenza vaccine prevented culture-confirmed influenza in nearly all of the children who received it.
AlzheimerÃs disease patients who take part in clinical trials are 50 percent less likely to be placed in a nursing home, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Academy of NeurologyÃs scientific journal, Neurology.
The drug pramipexole improves symptoms for advanced ParkinsonÃs disease patients, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Academy of NeurologyÃs scientific journal, Neurology.
The following stories appear in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) July Journals: 1) Cost for care of seriously ill elderly patients in ICU more expensive than cost of care for seriously ill pediatric patients; 2) Chronic cough results from several different mechanisms and cannot be ascribed to one or two mechanisms; 3) ATS statement provides guidance on lung cancer treatment and distinguishing between small-cell and non small-cell lung cancers.
A certain amount of suspicion is a good thing but too much can be unhealthy. University of Iowa researchers have shown that personality traits and attitudes can affect how well patients follow their medical regimen.
Surgical repair of heel bone (calcaneus) fractures can sometimes result in poor wound healing and complications for the patient. Heel bone fractures are the most common fracture encountered in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set out to precisely identify these risk factors and discovered that not only can patient behaviors such as excess weight and smoking increase the possibility of complications, but so can physician behaviors such as the surgeon's technique or whether you are treated in a hospital or as an outpatient in an ambulatory clinic.
Forty percent of those afflicted with diabetes suffer a nerve condition, neuropathy, which can sometimes cause burning foot pain so severe it restricts a patient's activity and even his or her ability to wear shoes. A new remedy using the drug Mexiletine helps relieve this pain and allows these patients to return to their former levels of activity, according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society's (AOFAS) 13th Annual Summer Meeting.
It sounds strange, but it works. To help eliminate pain caused by arthritic knees, Temple surgeons are intentionally fracturing patients leg bones and then letting the patients pull apart the fracture 1 millimeter a day.
Highlights from the June issue of AHCPR's monthly publication, Research Activities: 1) Health Insurance Plans Vary Dramatically in Their Coverage of New Technologies; 2) Higher Dental Prices Often Denote Higher Quality of Care; 3) Evidence Does Not Yet Support Annual Screening of Men Over 50 to Detect Prostate Cancer; 4) Broad Exposure to Other Children and Being Poor Are Linked to Increased Risk for Childhood Middle-Ear Effusion
Frozen concentrated orange juice generally has the highest vitamin C levels compared to other commercial orange and grapefruit juice products, but even if you favor one of the others, you're probably still getting your daily requirement of the vitamin. That's according to a new, ten-year study reported in the July 16 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
A new study of patients with heart disease who used nicotine patches shows that the patches are a safe smoking cessation therapy for this group, and that they may also improve blood and oxygen flow to the heart.
The $368.5 billion proposed tobacco settlement does not address the needs of communities of color. While the recent Koop-Kessler report provides a starting point for discussion among these communities, the American Lung Association encourages a comprehensive analysis of the settlement's impact on communities of color.
The current method of surgical bunion repair is too costly. Researchers in Nebraska have discovered that the common practice of internal fixation -- using surgical screws or other hardware to hold an injured joint in place during the healing process -- does not significantly improve healing or pain reduction in certain bunion repair procedures, yet this hardware can cost in excess of $1,200.
New information reported at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society's (AOFAS) 13th Annual Summer Meeting will allow surgeons to treat more people with diabetes -- a population group popularly thought too risky for surgery -- normally and without fear of serious complications.
Basic logic tells us making two surgical repairs in one operation is more cost-effective than performing each repair separately. A study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society's 13th Annual Summer Meeting reveals that in some cases this "doubling-up" is not only cost-effective, it leads to better healing and greater patient satisfaction as well.
TipSheet from the American College of Physicians: 1) Muscle dysfunction, rather than osteoarthritis, results in weak quadriceps muscles in the knee. 2) Protease inhibitor indinavir can cause kidney problems. 3) African American women have higher heart disease rates than white women, while African-American men have a lower rate than white men.
A twofold increased risk of heart attack was found among women who have higher than normal blood levels of the protein homocysteine and lower than normal blood levels of the vitamin folate, according to a study in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.
British researchers say they have demonstrated for the first time that signs of a common respiratory infection can be a useful yardstick for predicting whether survivors of heart attack will suffer another attack, which may be fatal, or need treatment to restore blood flow to their hearts. Antibiotic treatment appears to quickly nullify the risk for these heart disease problems, the scientists report in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.
A readily available, but underused, diagnostic test could help prevent unnecessary angioplasties, a procedure used to clean out blocked blood vessels to the heart, report researchers in today's Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association.
A twofold increased risk of heart attack was found among women who have higher than normal blood levels of the protein homocysteine and lower than normal blood levels of the vitamin folate, according to a study in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.
"Younger At Last: The New World of Vitality Medicine" (Simon & Schuster), by Steven Lamm, M.D., is based on a revolutionary new program designed for a culture where success personally and professionally is increasingly linked to the attributes of youthfulness. Dr. Lamm's book features a chapter on Pycnogenol (R) French maritime pine bark extract. This supplement functions as both an antioxidant and as a circulation enhancer throughout the body.
When Purdue University geneticist Rick Vierling first looked for ways to add value to soybeans, he didn't expect that he could help doctors diagnose AIDS in China. But that's exactly where his research is leading.
Cornell nutritionists play key roles in calling for and constructing new international growth references for infants and children. Current standards result in too many faulty decisions.
The hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) play a vital role in influencing complex social behaviors such as affiliation, parental care, territorial aggression and several behaviors associated with monogamy (pair bonding, paternal care, mate guarding). Scientists at Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University are examining these hormones in rodents to eventually help develop treatments for autism and schizophrenia, both of which result in social isolation and detachment.
A nutrition project being conducted by Pauline Samuda, a University of Maine graduate student, has global implications, particularly for developing countries struggling with malnutrition and hunger. Samuda, who grew up in Manchester, Jamaica, is on leave from her job as a public health nutitionist in the Jamaican Ministry of Health. The result of her efforts will be the most accurate picture to date of the nutrients in the foods Jamaicans eat. The bottom line, Samuda says, is improved food and nutrition information to guide school lunch programs, food import policies, nutrition education and special diets for people with diabetes, heart disease and other health problems.
Antex Biologics, SmithKline Beecham, and the United States Navy today jointly announced the start of a Phase II clinical trial for Antex's Campylobacter vaccine. This study will evaluate the efficacy of this oral vaccine against infectious Campylobacter, which causes 400-500 million cases of diarrhea annually.
Linda Alexander, who has a strong military and academic background and specializes in women's health, is the new president and CEO of the 83-year-old American Social Health Association. ASHA is dedicated to stopping sexually transmitted diseases.
Castration has long been the primary strategy for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. However, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified new androgen inhibitors that they believe could supplant castration as the primary method of treatment.
In a study that sheds new light on how the brain organizes language, researchers report that the organization of the brain's language-production region in bilingual individuals is directly related to whether they learned a second language as toddlers (simultaneously with their native language) or as young adults. Using a new, non-invasive imaging method called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that bilingual persons who acquire a second language as young adults have distinct areas in the brain associated with their native and second languages.
Who will train today's medical students to become tomorrow's doctors and deal with the constantly-changing realities of health care? The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has overhauled its curriculum and will begin to implement Curriculum 2000, beginning with the August 1997 class. Curriculum 2000 represents the first time a major medical school has revamped its entire four-year curriculum to better train students for the future of medicine as practicing physicians.