Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Drug's likelihood of causing birth defects predicted by model
(PhysOrg.com) -- When pregnant women need medications, there is often concern about possible effects on the fetus. Although some drugs are clearly recognized to cause birth defects (thalidomide being a...
It's complicated: Despite the challenges, collaboration is key in kidney disease care
Most primary care physicians (PCPs) and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for a patient with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their preferences on how and when to collaborate differ,...
Women with MS more likely to have MS-related gene than men
Women who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have a gene associated with multiple sclerosis than men with the disease and it is this gene region where environment...
Induced pluripotent stem cells from fetal skin cells and embryonic stem cells display comparable potential for derivation of hepatocytes
Numerous patients suffering from chronic liver diseases are currently receiving inadequate treatment due to the lack of organs donated for transplantation. However, hepatocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)...
A new drug target in atherosclerosis: The anaphylatoxin C5a
For decades, doctors have looked at fitness levels, weight, and overall health risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Now, they may soon add a new risk factor to the...
Scientists discover that a specific enzyme inhibitor may help control lung inflammation
All of us may be able to breathe a little easier now that scientists from Pennsylvania have found a new therapeutic target for controlling dangerous inflammation in the lungs. A...
Exercise may lower risk of death for men with prostate cancer
A new study of men with prostate cancer finds that physical activity is associated with a lower risk of overall mortality and of death due to prostate cancer. The Harvard...
Walking speed associated with survival in older adults
In an analysis that included data from 9 studies, having higher measures of walking speed among older adults was associated with increased length of survival, according to a study in...
Mothers who use alternative medicine less likely to immunise children
In Ireland, mothers who use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are less likely to vaccinate their children with MMR, according to new research. This is the first time that factors...
20 Percent Of Patients With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators Don't Meet Criteria For Use - Study
Randomized, controlled trials have shown the effectiveness of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for preventing sudden cardiac death in patients with advanced systolic heart failure but a new study shows that far...
CDC: Seat belt use reaches 85 percent
(AP) -- Nearly six in seven U.S. adults now wear seat belts, an increase in driver safety that health officials say has helped cut motor vehicle deaths and injuries.
Birch bark ingredient comes with many metabolic benefits
An ingredient found in abundance in birch bark appears to have an array of metabolic benefits, according to new studies in animals that are reported in the January issue of...
Male pattern balding may be due to stem cell inactivation, according to Penn study
Given the amount of angst over male pattern balding, surprisingly little is known about its cause at the cellular level. In a new study, published in the Journal of Clinical...
First study to look at new potential in infant organ donation
There are currently more than 200,000 individuals in the United States on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and nearly 100 are under 1 year of age. In the...
Food bioterrorism: Safety precautions used by country club restaurants to protect food and beverages studied
A graduate student examined current safety precautions used by country club restaurants to protect food and beverages, as well as how often those practices were put into effect.
Trace amounts of microbe-killing molecules predict chronic granulomatous disease survival
Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is greatly improved when even...
Smarter systems help busy doctors remember
Busy doctors can miss important details about a patient's care during an office examination. To prevent that, Northwestern Medicine researchers have created a whip-smart assistant for physicians - a new...
Dampening inflammation with aspirin
Upon microbe clearance from the body or completion of wound healing, protective inflammatory responses must be dampened down. One set of molecules known to play a role in resolving the...
New study upends thinking about how liver disease develops
In the latest of a series of related papers, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Austria and elsewhere, present a new and...
Mortality rates are an unreliable metric for assessing hospital quality, study finds
Is quality in the eye of the beholder? Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have found wide disparities among four common measures of hospital-wide mortality rates, with...
Component in common dairy foods may cut diabetes risk
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and collaborators from other institutions have identified a natural substance in dairy fat that may substantially reduce the risk of type...
Electronic medical records not always linked to better care in hospitals, study finds
Use of electronic health records by hospitals across the United States has had only a limited effect on improving the quality of medical care, according to a new RAND Corporation...
Massachusetts physician groups improving patient experience, study finds
Most Massachusetts physician groups are using results from a statewide patient survey to help improve patient experiences, but a significant number are not making use of the information or are...
New clues uncover how 'starvation hormone' works, investigators at UT Southwestern report
New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Centre researchers may solve a 17-year-old mystery about how the so-called 'starvation hormone' affects multiple biological systems, including preventing insulin sensitivity and promoting cell...
Why does dialysis fail?
A protein implicated in the development of vascular diseases may also contribute to the failure of arteriovenous (AV) fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients, according to a study...
Shouldering family demands and worries bumps up angina risk
Shouldering family demands and worries seems to increase the risk of angina, the precursor to coronary artery disease, reveals research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health...
Tensions between teacher preparation programs identified
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study conducted by researchers in Penn State's College of Education and College of Health and Human Development identifies several challenges and tensions for Early Childhood Education...
Well: The Doctor and the Kidney Stone
After the pain of a kidney stone, one physician considers whether doctors must follow their own advice.