Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Hospital readmission rates misleading, study finds
A high hospital readmission rate now can result in reduced Medicare reimbursements. But a study of spine surgery patients found that the standard method used to calculate readmission rates is...
Two U.S. cardiologists share Nobel Prize for chemistry
Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka discovered a crucial aspect of how cells in the body sense and respond to chemical messages, which made possible many prescriptions drugs on the market...
Coffee speeds up return of bowel function after colon surgery
Patients who drank coffee, rather than water, after bowel surgery to remove a part of their colon experienced a quicker [...]
Abrasivity: How Safe Is Your Toothpaste?
Everyone buys toothpaste and so they come in shapes and flavors, as pastes and gels, some guard against tooth decay or protect teeth from acid attack, while others that are...
Non-genetic factors play role in non-diabetic kidney disease among African-Americans
The high rate of non-diabetic kidney disease in African-Americans is strongly associated with variations in a particular gene. Yet, not everyone who inherits these variations develops the disease.
Synthetic liver enzyme could result in more effective drugs with fewer side effects
Medicines could be made to have fewer side effects and work in smaller doses with the help of a synthetic enzyme developed at Princeton University that makes drug molecules more...
Doubling up on advanced prostate cancer with PARP inhibitors
A newly discovered function of PARP-1 could be the key to more effective therapeutics to treat advanced prostate cancer patients, a recent preclinical study suggests.
Don't need that drug refill? Here it is anyway
At least some pharmacists at CVS, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, have refilled prescriptions and submitted claims to insurers without patients' approval.You already knew that our healthcare system is screwy....
Potential debt problems more common among the educated, study suggests
(Phys.org)—Before the financial crash of 2008, it was highly educated Americans who were most likely to pile on unmanageable levels of debt, a new study suggests.
For most patients, surgery is best treatment for spinal stenosis, study finds
Nearly all groups of patients with spinal stenosis -- but not smokers -- do better with surgery than with nonsurgical treatment, reports a new study.
Controversial Phthalate Plasticizer Found Safe For Children’s Toys, Confounding Activists
Bumbling coverage on phthalates underscores how activist journalism endangers ‘public science’Last year, campaigning journalist Susan Freinkel noted that she wrote her anti-chemical book, Plastics: A Toxic Love Story, because she...
Secondary osteoporosis: More than what meets the eye!
A new study has revealed that considering all osteoporotic patients as having simple osteoporosis and treating all of them alike by putting them on potent long term medication without finding...
How cancer cells break free from tumors: Study identifies adhesion molecules key to cancer’s spread through the body
Although tumor metastasis causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths, the exact mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread from one part of the body to another is not well...
New link between high-fat 'Western' diet and atherosclerosis identified
Researchers have found that a diet high in saturated fat raises levels of endothelial lipase, an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis, and, conversely, that a diet high in...
Employee depression leaves bosses unprepared
Employers tend to better accommodate employees with a physical illness or disability than workers with mental-health illnesses, according to a survey that found one in five employees was dealing with...
Premature baby died in hospital after pseudomonas outbreak
Bristol NHS officials reveal pseudomonas infection contributed to baby's death in August at Southmead hospitalA premature baby died in hospital following an outbreak of the pseudomonas bacteria, it has emerged.The baby, who has...
Chronic kidney disease alters intestinal microbial flora
Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes that normally play a crucial role in staving off disease-causing pathogens and maintaining micronutrient balance, according to new research.
Caffeine may block inflammation linked to mild cognitive impairment
A new study has discovered a novel signal that activates the brain-based inflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and caffeine appears to block its activity. This discovery may eventually lead to...
Meeting puts socioeconomic impact on biosafety agenda
The latest round of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety has made the socioeconomic aspects of living modified organisms a priority.
With a little exercise, your fat cells may coax liver to produce 'good' cholesterol
With a little exercise and dieting, overweight people with type 2 diabetes can still train their fat cells to produce a hormone believed to spur HDL cholesterol production, report medical...
Putting a block on neuropathic pain before it starts: Tiny spheres filled with anesthetic from a shellfish toxin
Using tiny spheres filled with anesthetic from a shellfish toxin, researchers have developed a way to delay the rise of neuropathic pain, chronic pain from flawed signals transmitted by damaged...
Iron-sulfur enzymes as candidates for antibiotic development
The iron-sulfur protein IspH plays a central role in the terpene metabolism of several pathogens. The mechanism of the reaction provides an approach for developing new antibiotics, particularly against malaria...
Curb kids' screen time to stave off major health and developmental problems
Curbs on children's daily screen time and delaying the age at which they start "the world's favorite pastime" are urgently needed to stave off the risk of serious health and...
Need a Motivation Boost? Swish a Sugary Drink
You don't have to ingest any calories to get this benefit.
IV anti-nausea drug tied to electrical changes in heart
A drug prescribed to prevent nausea and vomiting in cancer and surgery patients may change the electrical activity of the heart, Health Canada warns.
Researchers stop neuromyelitis optica attacks with new therapy
Researchers have identified a new therapy for patients with neuromyelitis optica that appears to stop inflammation of the eye nerves and spinal cord. NMO is a debilitating central nervous system...
Computational intelligence opens up new avenues in Alzheimer's research
Researchers have used machine learning and data mining techniques to compare gene expresssion levels in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in two key regions of the hippocampus: the dentate gyrus, where...
Ontario to let pharmacists give flu shots
The Ontario government says it will expand the scope of practice for pharmacists, allowing them to give flu shots, renew most prescriptions and prescribe anti-smoking aids.