Search for: "epidemiology" - 250 articles found

News • Research on physical conditions

Exploring the link between obesity and cancer risk

Why does obesity increase the risk of cancer and possibly metastasis? Researchers in Spain are currently investigating this very question.

News • Infection control

C. diff: diagnostic stewardship reduces unnecessary testing

A new study describes the outcome of a new approach to testing for Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) guided by the principles of diagnostic stewardship, to help rein in the overtreatment of patients.

Article • Lesion detection and mammographic texture analysis

Dual AI model to optimize breast cancer risk assessment

A team of Danish and Dutch researchers has combined an AI diagnostic tool with a mammographic texture model to improve the assessment of short- and long-term breast cancer risk. This new approach represents a significant step forward in refining the ability to predict the complexities of breast cancer risk.

News • Osteosarcoma model

Bone cancer prognosis enhanced via deep learning

Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent malignant bone tumor. Now, researchers have developed a machine-learning model to predict the density of viable tumor cells after surgery and chemotherapy treatment.

News • Trends for different bloodstream infections

AMR: age and sex identified as risk factors

A person’s age, sex and location are correlated with the chance that they have a bloodstream infection that is resistant to antibiotics, according to a new study.

News • Ovarian, testicular cancer

Germ cell tumours: Lower survival in women

Women with a type of ovarian cancer known as germ cell tumours have a worse prognosis than men with similar tumours. The five-year survival rate was 98% for men, but 85% for women, a new study finds.

News • Novel approach to disinfection

Nano-spikes kill off viruses on surfaces

Instead of killing viruses and bacteria with chemical disinfection, a new approach uses minuscule spikes to skewer them. This could be used to prevent surface contamination in hospitals or labs.

Article • Women's health

Osteoporosis and menopause: New measures to assess fracture risk

Bone fractures caused by osteoporosis are a common major global health risk. The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) reports that one in three women over the age of 50 will sustain a potentially life-threatening fragility fracture in their remaining lifetimes. Early diagnosis and proactive treatment to keep bones healthy, including prescription medication and lifestyle changes, has the…

Article • Addressing an unmet need

MCED: a simple test for widespread early detection of cancer

Academic labs and biotech firms pioneer multi-cancer early detection with emerging technologies. Screening for multiple cancers with a simple blood or urinary draw could be a game-changer. Two research teams in particular have advanced the field.

News • Study shows significant adverse effects

Global warming: The health cost of urban heat

Heat islands found in many European cities have a clear impact on human mortality risk, comparable to air pollution. A new study has produced the first cost estimate of this impact.

Article • UK research project

"Our Future Health": Shifting from curative to preventive care

As a result from better living standards and medical advances, population longevity increases – a development which, paradoxically, current healthcare systems are ill-prepared for, Sir John Bell points out. The UK’s Our Future Health programme, which he chairs, exemplifies the paradigm shift to a prevention-centered healthcare approach.

Article • Men are from Mars, women are from Venus

Sex differences in imaging cardiovascular disease

An interplanetary title for a quite down-to-earth topic: The symposium "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" at the EACVI congress (European Association of Cardiovascular imaging) launched into the differences between the hearts of men and women. While the speakers could firmly establish that both sexes share the same home world, variations in their cardiac anatomy warrant a more…

News • Research on resistant bacteria

Emergence of 'superbugs' is not just because of antibiotics

Researchers have analysed the rise of antibiotic resistance over the last 20 years in the UK and Norway, highlighting that antibiotic use is not the only factor in the increase.

News • Point-of-care diagnostic platform

Inhalable sensors for early lung cancer detection

Using a new technology developed at MIT, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present.

Article • Knowledge gaps in gender medicine

Covid-19 and sex: higher mortality of male patients

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected scientific research in numerous ways – for example by highlighting knowledge gaps in gender medicine. In many studies differences in morbidity and mortality between women and men surfaced incidentally. While the extent and causes of these differences remain largely unexplored, the preliminary insights confirm the need for further research.

Article • Infection control

The strain typing technologies of tomorrow

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit hospital and medical research institution in Los Angeles, is setting new standards for quality and innovation in patient care by successfully introducing typing of Candida auris species – a procedure that could prove crucial in protecting patients from infection outbreaks caused by these microbes in healthcare settings.

Article • Latest advances

Lab-on-a-chip systems in 2023: The micro-lab revolution

Faster, more accurate and cost-effective testing: Experts outline the beginnings and evolution of “lab-on-a-chip” technology, and its benefits for advanced and next-gen operational platforms.

News • Screening study

Mammography screening: false positive results increase breast cancer risk

Mammography screening is vital in breast cancer prevention, but about 3% of women receive a false-positive result. This not only causes worry, but also increases risk of developing breast cancer.

News • Reduction of healthcare-associated infections

Study: Anti-Covid measures also prevent HAIs

The enhanced infection safety measures installed for the Covid-19 pandemic also had a beneficial effect on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) overall, a new US study suggests.

News • PFAS as risk factor

Researchers explore link between ‘forever chemicals’ and breast cancer

Can per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) increase the risk of breast cancer? A new study by US researchers examines the effects of the so-called “forever chemicals”.

News • Q&A on research, diagnosis, treatment

Endometriosis: More than just ‘painful periods’

Endometriosis, which can cause debilitating pain each menstrual cycle, as well as infertility, is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. An expert from Yale Medicine sheds light on the condition.

Article • Breast cancer diagnostics

Precision pathology: an AI-led alternative to molecular diagnostics

Experts have highlighted how precision pathology using Artificial Intelligence can provide an effective alternative to molecular diagnostics. This, say a team from the Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm, Sweden, can also offer multiple advantages within a clinical setting and support risk stratification.

News • Safety analysis

AI-supported mammography found to be safe and workload-saving

A new safety analysis finds AI-supported mammography analysis is as good as two breast radiologists working together to detect breast cancer, almost halving the screen-reading workload.

News • Adverse outdoor conditions

Heat waves and PM2.5 air pollution double risk of fatal heart attack

Heat waves, cold snaps and high levels of fine particulate pollution could raise heart attack risk, according to a new study, which highlights one especially dangerous combination.

News • Women's health

Cadmium levels in urine linked to endometriosis

Women with a history of endometriosis had higher concentrations of cadmium in their urine compared to those without that diagnosis, a new study finds, linking the toxic metal to the condition.

News • Study on period shifts, regularity, pain

Can the Covid vaccine affect menstruation?

Do coronavirus vaccines skew the menstrual cycle, cause more bleeding or pain? Anecdotal reports hint at a connection. Now, a new study led by Boston University provides answers.

News • Prostate cancer detection

Personalized PSA screening may improve accuracy

The accuracy of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening can be improved by including genetic factors that cause changes in PSA levels not associated with cancer, according to a multi-center study.

Article • Radiation protection debate

Patient shielding: a relic from the past of radiology?

Against a backdrop of changing technology and reduced patient dose, a new momentum is emerging within radiology to eradicate patient shielding. The subject has been extensively debated and researched in recent years but there is now a growing consensus to end the practice, apart from with a few exceptions. The topic was the focus of a session at ECR 2023 in Vienna where different perspectives…

News • Breast cancer

Study shows: Association between antibiotics and an increased risk of death after breast cancer

Women with triple-negative breast cancer who received multiple antibiotic prescriptions within three years after their cancer diagnosis were more likely to experience disease recurrence and to die from their cancer.

Article • Project EU-JUST-CT

CT scans: systematic evaluation of benefits and risks

When is a CT scan justified, i.e. when do the benefits of a CT scan for the patient outweigh possible risks associated with radiation? Justification has been a major issue among radiologists ever since CT has become widely available and widely used. With regard to dose the answer is the well-known ALARA principle: “As low as reasonable achievable“. Now, the European coordinated action on…

News • Pregnancy & colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer in the mother linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes

In a nationwide Swedish study of 207 births to women with an earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), researchers found an increased risk of both maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes.

News • Machine learning analyses driving behaviour

Digital markers offer "near-perfect" dementia prediction

US researchers are developing a highly accurate machine learning model for early detection of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in older drivers.

News • Non-communicable diseases management

Can the metaverse improve public health?

A new interdisciplinary article suggests ways in which the virtual-reality-based metaverse can help design healthy living environments and combat non-communicable diseases.

News • SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater

Using sewage to forecast Covid-19 infections

A new mathematical model developed by Hokkaido University engineers uses wastewater samples to effectively forecast the number of clinical Covid-19 cases in a community five days in advance.

News • Championship with side effects

Football Euro: Study shows impact on Covid-19 infections

The European Football Championship in 2021 had an impact on the participating countries' coronavirus infections, a new study shows. However, the extent depended greatly on the initial situation.

News • Worrying trend reversal

After 40 years of decline, stroke death rates are on the rise again

For almost four decades, stroke cases and fatalities have been on the decline. In recent years, however, signs point to a resurgence, according to an analysis of US stroke deaths from 1975 to 2019.

News • Glycemia assessment

Using machine learning to predict poor glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes

The risk for poor glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes can be predicted with confidence by using machine learning methods, a new study from Finland finds.

News • Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer

Lynch syndrome: AI improves colorectal cancer screening

Researchers have now found that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the effectiveness of colonoscopy in the presence of Lynch syndrome.

News • T cell visualization

Whole body scan shows complexity of immunotherapy response

Dutch scientists have performed whole-body PET scans using a radioactively labeled antibody tracer against immune cells, to predict the effect of treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Sponsored • Disease management

Multiplex Testing: A Solution to Manage Surge in Respiratory Illnesses as Concerns over “Multi-demic” Rise

Eunsin Bae, M.D. specializes in laboratory medicine and leads the Institute of Clinical Research at Seegene Inc. Her research focuses on microbiology, molecular biology, and hematology. Dr. Bae is currently working toward implementing a global clinical study and establishing an international network of clinical investigations.

Sponsored • Periprosthetic protection

Bone cements containing antibiotics for infection prophylaxis – quo vadis?

Periprosthetic infections and revisions are on the rise in Germany and worldwide, with significant consequences for affected patients as well as for the healthcare systems. Precisely because the number of patients at higher risk of infection in arthroplasty continues to rise, attention is increasingly focused on how this dreaded complication can be avoided.

News • Menopause research

Hot flashes: a hazard for the heart?

Not just uncomfortable, but hard on the heart: Accumulating research suggests a link between hot flashes during the menopause and cardiovascular disease risk in women.

News • Prevention measure scrutinised

Colorectal cancer: colonoscopy screening not as effective as previously believed

A randomized study shows colonoscopy screening reduces the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. The reduction is much smaller than experts previously assumed.

News • Rare but potentially serious complication

First cases of encephalomyelitis resulting from monkeypox virus

As the monkeypox outbreak continues to spread around the globe, a rare but potentially serious complication of the virus has been discovered.

Article • Sex differences in heart failure

Why a closer look at a woman’s heart matters

The hearts of men and women are different – while this insight has been established for quite some time now, it might even surprise cardiologists just how deep these differences really run. In her presentation at this year’s ESC, Diana Bonderman, MD, gave a comprehensive roundup on sex differences in risk factors and subtypes of heart failure.

News • Streptococcus pneumoniae

Technique helps discover whether bacteria are antibiotic resistant

A new study could one day help health workers determine whether bacteria of the species Streptococcus pneumoniae, which cause meningitis, are resistant to antibiotics.

News • Research presented at ESC 2022

Autoimmune disorders increase risk of cardiovascular disease

A large epidemiological study shows that patients with an autoimmune disorder have a substantially higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than individuals without autoimmune disease.

News • Impact of body constitution

Breast cancer: Tumour environment can affect prognosis

The interplay between the patient’s BMI, tumour size and cancer-specific proteins is of importance for the prognosis of breast cancer, a study from Sweden shows.

News • Heart muscle inflammation

Covid-19 infection increases myocarditis risk (a lot more than the vaccine does)

The overall risk of myocarditis is substantially higher immediately after being infected with Covid-19 than it is in the weeks following vaccination for the coronavirus, a large new study shows.

Article • MEDIRAD project

Increasing the protection from medical radiation

A Europe-wide project aims to improve medical radiation protection for patients and staff by better understanding and evaluating the health effects of exposure to low-dose ionising radiation resulting from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

News • Coronavirus research

How the Omicron variant dodges the immune system

By comparing the neutralisation capacity induced by the different variants of SARS-CoV-2, a team from Geneva reveals the exceptional capacity of Omicron to evade our immunity.

News • Genetics research

Chromosomes: How the 'extra X factor' is putting men at risk

Around one in 500 men could be carrying an extra X or Y chromosome – most of them unaware – putting them at increased risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Article • Detection and diagnosis of cancer

The ‘smart’ future of cytology

A combination of digital pathology and quantitative biomarker analysis in the emerging concept of ‘smart’ cytology has a potential role in the detection and diagnosis of cancer.

Article • Antimicrobial resistance development

AMR and climate change: a worrying dual threat to global health

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are forming an alarming alliance: Global warming creates new breeding grounds for resistant bacteria. A serious and very real threat to public health – but not quite the doomsday scenario some might make it out to be, says Prof Sabiha Essack from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.

News • Covid-19 drug monitoring

Smart sensor to evaluate vaccine safety

A new study enables developers to determine vaccine safety via smart sensors that measure objective physiological parameters. This could end the reliance on subjective reports of study participants.

News • Proven relation

Atrial fibrillation and dementia clearly associate

For people with atrial fibrillation, one of our most common cardiac disorders, dementia risk is elevated.

News • Radiofrequency myth debunked

No, smartphones are not a driver of brain tumour risk (not even with 5G)

Can mobile phones increase the risk of brain cancer? A new, large study was unable to verify such concerns. However, the researchers say it might still be a good idea to cut back on smartphone time.

Article • CAD pros and cons

CT or MRI – which is better for imaging stable cardiac chest pain?

When it comes to imaging stable cardiac chest pain, which modality should be used as the first-line test to investigate coronary artery disease: CT or MRI? Radiologists discussed the strengths and limitations of the two approaches in a lively Pros and Cons session at ECR Overture.

News • Reduced harm, reduced costs

Prostate cancer: MRI and blood test improve screening

The combination of a novel blood test and magnetic resonance imaging can reduce overdiagnosis of low-risk cancers as well as societal costs in prostate cancer screening, according to a new study.

News • Multiple sclerosis

Epstein-Barr virus may be leading cause of MS

A connection between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis has long been suspected. A new study provides ‘compelling evidence of causality’.

News • Sex differences

Cardiovascular risks may be worse for women’s cognition

New study results show that though men are more likely to have heart conditions, the impact on their memory and thinking skills is lower.

Article • Cancer mortality study

Does ethnicity affect brain tumour survival?

New research has pinpointed ethnicity as a potential factor in brain tumour survival. A UK study showed that white British people who have been diagnosed with a malignant primary brain tumour appear to have an increased one-year mortality than patients from at least four other ethnic groups.

Article • Mending medication mismanagement

Antibiotic resistance: Gaining back lost ground

For many years, antibiotic consumption in France was at an alarming level, resulting in a worryingly constant increase in antibiotic resistance However, a newly-enforced strict national plan appears to be having effect.

Article • A potentially devastating impact

Covid-19 alters antibiotic use

The long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on antimicrobial resistance remains difficult to predict. Infectious diseases consultant Professor Alison Holmes reflects on Covid-19's effect on antibiotic use in hospitals and beyond.

News • UV-C barrier against aerosols

An 'invisible wall' to keep out SARS-CoV-2

An invisible protective wall of UV-C light developed by researchers in Munich could reliably curb the spread of viruses and other pathogens in rooms while allowing total freedom of movement.

News • Pathogen analysis

Unlocking epidemic prevention with affordable genome sequencing

A worldwide consortium aims to equip researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with cheap and accessible methods for sequencing large collections of bacterial pathogens.

Sponsored • Chronic liver disease

A looming pandemic and the need for physician partnerships to leverage non-invasive testing

Even as we battle one pandemic (Covid-19), we sit on the cusp of another. Europe has one of the highest burdens of chronic liver disease (CLD) in the world, driven largely by alcohol overconsumption, viral hepatitis, and obesity. Furthermore, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly common and is a significant contributor to CLD – especially in people with diabetes, where its…

News • Patient immunity

COVID-19 variants: Rapid test identifies antibody effectiveness

Test could measure patient immunity against multiple COVID-19 variants such as Omicron and Delta at once and inform which synthetic monoclonal antibody to use for treatments.

News • 'CRyPTIC' research

Global tuberculosis study identifies genetic causes of drug resistance

Using cutting-edge genomic sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Oxford have identified almost all the genomic variation that gives people resistance to 13 of the most common tuberculosis (TB) drug treatments. The Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis International Consortium (CRyPTIC) research project has collected the largest ever global dataset of clinical M.…

News • Genomic tracking

Retracing the Covid-19 pandemic in England

The Covid-19 crisis that gripped England between September 2020 and June 2021 can be thought of as a series of overlapping epidemics, rather than a single event, say researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the German Cancer Research Center.

News • Histological grading assistance

AI improves precision in breast cancer diagnosis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed an AI-based tool that improves the diagnosis of breast cancer tumours and the ability to predict the risk of recurrence. The greater diagnostic precision can lead to more personalised treatment for the large group of breast cancer patients with intermediate risk tumours. The results are published in the scientific journal Annals of Oncology.

News • Obesity

People should focus more on fitness over weight loss

When it comes to getting healthy and reducing mortality risk, increasing physical activity and improving fitness appear to be superior to weight loss.

News • QCovid tool

Vaccinated groups at highest risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation

According to new research, vaccinated people are at greatest risk from severe Covid-19 leading to hospitalisation or death from 14 days post the second dose vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected.

Sponsored • Tools for the lab

Speeding up diagnostics to detect antibiotic resistance

Infectious disease diagnostics are notoriously slow. The gold standard for laboratory diagnosis of bacterial and fungal infection involves growing the pathogen from a clinical specimen – an overnight event, or even longer. The healthcare focus is on improving the use of antibiotics for better patient outcomes and reducing the environmental pressures that drive antibiotic resistance. To impact…

News • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

New predictive biomarkers for ALS identified

Some blood lipid biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest the findings of a large epidemiology study. ALS is the commonest form of motor neuron disease - a progressive nervous system disease that destroys nerve cells responsible for voluntary movement such as walking and talking.

News • SARS CoV-2 B.1.621

WHO classifies Coronavirus "Mu" as new 'Variant of Interest'

The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken a closer look at coronavirus variant B.1.621. The strain, first encountered in January 2021 in Colombia, shows traits that could enable the virus to circumvent immune response to vaccination. As a result, the variant, named "Mu", has been classified as "Variant of Interest" (VOI). Despite its prominence in Colombian new infection,…

News • Thromboembolic misunderstandings

Covid-19, not vaccination, presents biggest blood clot risks

Researchers from the University of Oxford have announced the results of a study into thrombocytopenia (a condition with low platelet counts) and thromboembolic events (blood clots) following vaccination for Covid-19, some of the same events which have led to restricted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a number of countries.

News • Infection research

Researchers pinpoint Covid-19's most contagious phase

Each wave of the pandemic has underscored just how contagious Covid-19 is, but there is less clarity among experts on exactly when—and to what extent—infected individuals are most likely to spread the virus.

News • Variants of concern

Are Covid-19 vaccines still effective against Delta variant? New study says yes

Obtaining two vaccine doses remains the most effective way to ensure protection against the Covid-19 Delta variant of concern dominant in the UK today, according to a study from the University of Oxford. Conducted in partnership with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the study found that with Delta, Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca…

News • Stockholm3 test to reduce MRI

New blood test to improve prostate cancer screening

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet recently reported that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could reduce overdiagnoses and thereby improve prostate cancer screening. Now, the same research group has published a study in The Lancet Oncology, which shows that the addition of a novel blood test, the Stockholm3 test, can reduce the number of MRIs performed by a third while further preventing the…

Article • Oncology

Pancreatic cancer - current challenges and future direction

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…

News • Remote cardiology

A real-time telemonitoring device for heart failure patients

Medical monitoring tech company Umana Medical announced a collaboration with the Preventive Cardiology and Medical Prevention, Center of Cardiology at the University Medical Center Mainz and Bayer AG on a clinical study (MyoMobile study) to explore a novel real-time remote cardiac monitoring device in patients with heart failure.

News • Coronavirus epidemiology

A cloud-based software for the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants

In-vitro-diagnostics company bioMérieux has launched Episeq SARS-CoV-2, a genomic software solution to support microbiology labs in identification and reporting from raw sequencing data related to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Viral mutation is a naturally occurring phenomenon leading to the emergence of variants that can have different characteristics. Today, a number of SARS-CoV-2 variants are…

Article • Personalized medicine

Time to consider risk-based breast cancer screening protocols

In the emerging era of personalized medicine, risk-based breast cancer screening protocols may be better than the one-size-fits all approach. It’s time to consider adopting them, Jack Cuzick, Ph.D., said in the President’s Address of the 2021 Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Symposium.

News • Expert debate on coronavirus protection

Covid-19: The pros and cons of wearing masks outdoors

Should outdoor face covering be normalised to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2—or should anti-Covid efforts rather focus on indoor protection? Experts argue the case for both sides in this controversial debate.

Article • Disease management

Covid-19 and beyond: Unlocking the value of diagnostic data

Diagnostic data from the massive amounts of testing being conducted can help make health systems more resilient in dealing with future health crises and pandemics. The importance of diagnostic data was explored during the Medtech Europe online session, “Unlocking the Value of Diagnostic Information – how to make European Health Systems more resilient?” where delegates heard that…

News • Lasting impact

COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death

A major study from the Washington University School of Medicine details numerous long-term effects of COVID-19, pointing to massive health burden.

News • Prognosis

Better heart failure outcomes through biomarker-based treatment

In a recent study by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers, findings indicate that among patients with heart failure, obesity is associated with a higher risk of heart failure hospitalization or death due to cardiac causes. However, achieving biomarker-based treatment goals in heart failure improves the prognosis for patients irrespective of their obesity status.

News • SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies

Covid-19 immunity may last from days to decades

Scientists from Singapore found that antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 wane at different rates, lasting for mere days in some individuals, while remaining present in others for decades. The study, published in The Lancet Microbe, shows that the severity of the infection could be a deciding factor in having longer-lasting antibodies. Individuals with low levels of neutralising antibodies may still be…

News • Prevalence of depression and anxiety

Covid-19 pandemic impacts mental health worldwide, study finds

A study conducted by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers reports a high global prevalence of both depression and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also shows how the implementation of mitigation strategies including public transportation and school closures, and stay-at-home orders impacted such disorders. Results are published in Psychological Medicine.

News • Asymptomatic disease spread

Why vaccines alone may not be enough to end the Covid-19 pandemic

Even as vaccines are becoming more readily available, protecting against the asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes Covid-19 is key to ending the pandemic, say two infectious disease experts at the Georgetown University Medical Center. In their Perspective, “SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Without Symptoms,” published in the journal Science, they make the case…

News • BMMF research

Novel pathogens: a driver for colorectal cancer?

Do BMMFs, the novel infectious agents found in dairy products and bovine sera, play a role in the development of colorectal cancer? Scientists led by Harald zur Hausen detected the pathogens in colorectal cancer patients in close proximity to tumors. The researchers show that the BMMFs trigger local chronic inflammation, which can cause mutations via activated oxygen molecules and thus promote…

News • Pandemic forecast modelling

Exploring the uncertainties in Covid-19 simulations

Computer modelling to forecast Covid-19 mortality contains significant uncertainty in its predictions, according to an international study led by researchers at University College London (UCL) and Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands. Their article ‘The Impact of Uncertainty on Predictions of the CovidSim Epidemiological Code’ was published in Nature Computational…

News • Legal, ethical, medical challenges

12 things to consider before introducing Covid-19 vaccine passports

Covid-19 vaccine passports could be created, but significant challenges need to be overcome first, according to a report from a panel led by Oxford Professors Melinda Mills and Chris Dye, which outlines a dozen issues which must be addressed before passports can be introduced. The report is published by the SET-C (Science in Emergencies Tasking: Covid-19) group at the Royal Society and it…

News • Expert prediction

How will Covid affect cancer death rates in 2021?

Researchers have called on European policymakers to make adequate resources available to tackle pancreatic cancer, a disease that is almost invariably fatal and where little progress has been made over the past 40 years. In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU and UK for 2021, published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor…

News • Survival prediction

Deep learning may lead to better lung cancer treatments

Doctors and healthcare workers may one day use a machine learning model, called deep learning, to guide their treatment decisions for lung cancer patients, according to a team of Penn State Great Valley researchers. In a study, the researchers report that they developed a deep learning model that, in certain conditions, was more than 71% accurate in predicting survival expectancy of lung cancer…

News • Lessons learned from Covid-19

A 'blueprint' for preventing the next pandemic

Scientific and public health experts have been raising the alarm for decades, imploring public officials to prepare for the inevitability of a viral pandemic. Infectious epidemics seemingly as benign as "the flu" and as deadly as the Ebola virus provided ample warning, yet government officials seemed caught off guard and ill prepared for dealing with Covid-19.

News • Viral sequencing

How SARS-CoV-2 spreads and evolves

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are adding twists in the battle against COVID-19 highlight the need for better genomic monitoring of the virus, says Katia Koelle, associate professor of biology at Emory University.

News • Coronavirus risk assessment

Investigating the risk of severe Covid-19 in children

So far, little research has been done on the risk of children being seriously affected by Covid-19 when the schools were open. A study from Karolinska Institutet has now shown that one child in 130,000 was treated in an intensive care unit on account of Covid-19 during the period March-June. The study has been published in New England Journal of Medicine.

News • Risk of miscalculations

Researchers point out flaws in current Covid-19 models

Reports from Imperial College regarding the spread and the effects of Covid-19 had considerable policy impacts in several European countries. But the models that informed the reports have considerable flaws, and are not sufficient to draw the conclusions that were published. This is according to researchers from universities including Linköping University (LiU), in an article in Nature.

News • Natural variation impacts virus-relevant proteins

How SARS-CoV-2 benefits from helpers within the human body

Like all viruses, the novel coronavirus is dependent on help from the human host cell. Proteins are the functional units of the cell and enable the virus to enter the host cell or help the virus to replicate. Scientists from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), along with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, have…

News • Type and abundance

Mouth bacteria linked to lung cancer risk in non-smokers

The type and abundance of bacteria found in the mouth may be linked to lung cancer risk in non-smokers, finds the first study of its kind, published online in the journal Thorax.

News • Fractional exponents

New approach for more accurate epidemic modeling

A new class of epidemiological models based on alternative thinking about how contagions propagate, particularly in the early phases of a pandemic, provide a blueprint for more accurate epidemic modeling and improved disease spread predictions and responses, according to a study published recently in Scientific Reports by researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions.

News • Cardiac complications

Immunotherapy drugs can lead to higher risk of heart problems

A study of over a thousand cancer patients treated with immunotherapy drugs has found these patients are at greater risk of heart problems, including death from heart attack or stroke. The patients had either lung cancer or malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer), for which immune checkpoint inhibitors such as a programmed cell death-1 (PD1) inhibitors or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated…

Article • Clinical decision support

AI deep learning of PET/CT images to support NSCLC treatment

A software tool to predict the most effective therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) developed by applying deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) to positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images has been developed by researchers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. The tool is designed to provide a noninvasive, accurate method to…

Article • Benign breast diseases (BBD) and cancer incidence

More personalised breast screening needed

Women with incident and proliferative benign breast diseases (BBD) are likelier to develop breast cancer, a Spanish researcher explained during the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference in October. These findings support the idea of designing personalised breast cancer screening strategies to improve effectiveness.

News • Austrian study

Insights into transmission of SARS-CoV-2

In the COVID-19 pandemic, 57 million people have already been infected worldwide. In the search for vaccines and therapies, a precise understanding of the virus, its mutations and transmission mechanisms is crucial.

Article • Diagnosing SARS-CoV-2

The arsenal: Molecular (PCR), antigen and antibody testing

Germany’s lack of diagnostic ability led to significantly underestimation of its own as well as global Covid-19 infection levels during the first wave. Now, however, improved testing and diagnosis of the condition more realistically reveal nearer 20,000 new cases a day across the country, according to Professor Hendrik Streeck, one of the country’s leading virologists. Speaking at a virtual…

Article • Virology

Digital epidemiology in the Covid-19 war

Digital epidemiology is on the frontline in the Covid-19 war, with innovative techniques used to observe and monitor this viral spread across populations. Its increasingly important role was outlined to a virtual session at Medica 2020 by theoretical biologist Professor Dirk Brockmann. In a keynote presentation ‘Perspective of digital epidemiology – opportunities, promises and challenges’,…

Article • Medical waste management

Time to “Green Up” for EU Ministries of Health

COVID-19 has rocked health care systems, revealing vulnerabilities in our supply chain, piling up unprecedented costs, and creating an alarming amount of medical waste. The health care sector was already a major source of pollution. The World Health Organization points to the burning and incineration of health care waste as a source of dioxins, furans, and particulate matter emissions that…

News • spotlight at virtual.MEDICA

Digital health is on the rise due to COVID-19

MEDICA in Düsseldorf is a world-leading platform for the medical technology business and the healthcare industry and has always been one of the places to be for the entire sector as it covers current digital health trends, innovative products and services for linking all of the major stakeholders in medical care. Consequently, digital health is a mainstay of virtual.MEDICA, which, due to the…

News • Masks & social distancing

Do Covid countermeasures also curb other diseases? It's not quite that simple

Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as mask wearing and social distancing are a key tool in combatting the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These actions also have greatly reduced incidence of many other diseases, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

News • Corona and co

How the sun impacts the spread of viral respiratory diseases

Why do most viral epidemics spread cyclically in autumn and winter in the globe's temperate regions? The answer is intimately related to our sun.

Interview • International research collaboration

The Pan-Cancer project: Cancer development begins within the genes

Launched in 2011, the Pan-Cancer Project, involved more than 1,300 scientists and clinicians in 37 countries, and analysed more than 2,600 genomes of 38 tumour types. Discovery: The first indications of cancer development can be found in genes at a very early stage, which triggers new opportunities for treatment.

News • European Respiratory Society International Congress

Childhood allergies and asthma are related to cadmium exposure in the womb

Babies born with higher levels of cadmium in their umbilical cord blood may be more likely to develop childhood asthma and allergies, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. (1)

Article • Sterilising with VHP, EO or HPGP

Sterilisation study puts cleansing methods to the test

A new study from the USA highlights how low temperature sterilisation can jeopardise effective cleansing of medical tools and lead to transmission of dangerous bacteria to patients. Steam sterilisation was shown to be the most effective and robust sterilisation technology. However, the researchers, working at the University of North Carolina, also showed that vaporised hydrogen peroxide (VHP)…

News • Dietary dangers

Sugar consumption: a driving factor in onset of pancreatic cancer

A diet high in sugar increases the likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer in some people and can also drive the aggressive growth of tumours, a new study finds. During this study, researchers from the University of Surrey, VIB-KU Leuven, Belgium and the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, sought to understand the impact of diet on the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. This rare…

News • L-type calcium channel blockers

LCCBs may contribute to heart failure

L-type calcium channel blockers (LCCBs) — the most widely used drugs for treating hypertension — may harm the heart as much as help it, according to a new study. The research team, led by the Pennsylvania State University, found that in rats and human cells in vitro, LCCBs cause changes in blood vessels — known as vascular remodeling — that reduce blood flow and increase pressure.…

Article • Coronavirus in radiology

Why we need a global view of COVID-19

There are major complications from COVID-19 – ARDS, pulmonary embolism and neurological – that imaging can help detect, manage and/or follow up in the long term, radiologists from France and the UK explained during a recent ESR Connect session. ARDS is the most dreaded complication and the number one morbidity in COVID-19 patients. The incidence was up to 30% of patients in initial reports.…

Article • Digital health approaches

The struggle to create COVID-19 contact-tracing apps

While scientists recently confirmed the crucial role contact-tracing apps play in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians are exploring which app architecture offers better privacy protection. However, there is no doubt that in Western countries such an entirely voluntary app can only be successful if the population at large supports it.

Article • Paediatric health risks

Children in the COVID-19 pandemic: Between fear and care

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected children with direct impacts of the infection as well as on them leading normal lives. Schooling, play and vaccinations are among issues that can affect children’s health. Delay in taking paediatric patients to the emergency room (ER) has also had a negative impact, for example late treatment of acute appendicitis. Two experts from Spain tackled these topics…

News • Airborne droplet travel distance

Why you shouldn't underestimate the reach of COVID-19

A plea issued by 239 scientists from around the world to recognise and mitigate airborne transmission of COVID-19 addressed to international health authorities is published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Led by internationally recognised air quality and health expert Professor Lidia Morawska from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the appeal is to address the overwhelming…

News • UK experts raise concerns

COVID-19 antibody tests: Not a game-changer after all?

A group of senior clinical academics and physicians are concerned about the rapid roll out of COVID-19 antibody testing in England and are publicly questioning how good the tests are - or even what they mean. In a letter to The BMJ, they argue that there is currently no valid clinical reason for large scale testing, test performance has not yet been adequately assessed, and testing risks…

News • Light or severe progression

The dangerous dual role of the immune system in COVID-19

Infection with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 follows a highly variable course: some of those infected do not even notice it, while others become so seriously ill that their lives are placed at risk. Scientists from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and their colleagues from Leipzig and Heidelberg have now discovered that the immune system has a…

News • Tailor-made therapies

Diabetes care enters precision medicine

A new joint report from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) presents the largest venture ever on precision medicine in diabetes. The report includes a detailed overview and roadmap for how this new approach to diabetes medicine can be evaluated and implemented into clinical practice.

Article • COVID-19

Dexamethasone reduces risk of death

Researchers in the UK have shown that a widely available drug reduces death in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19.

News • Protective equipment

Face masks could shrink the 'R' number and prevent a second COVID-19 wave

Population-wide use of facemasks keeps the coronavirus ‘reproduction number’ under 1.0, and prevents further waves of the virus when combined with lockdowns, a modelling study led by the University of Cambridge suggests. The research suggests that lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2, and that even homemade masks with limited effectiveness can dramatically reduce…

News • Coronavirus misinformation

Experts find COVID-19 fake news in 1 of 4 most popular YouTube videos

More than one in four of the most viewed COVID-19 videos on YouTube in spoken English contains misleading or inaccurate information, reveals the first study of its kind, published online in BMJ Global Health. Public health misinformation on COVID-19 is reaching far more people than in previous pandemics and has considerable potential for harm, warn the researchers. While good quality accurate…

Interview • Social care during the coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19: Don't forget the most vulnerable people

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more strain on healthcare systems but it has also highlighted the necessity to integrate social care to healthcare to protect the most vulnerable populations in ageing societies, an eminent healthcare consultant told us in an exclusive interview.

News • A look at oligodendrocytes

Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of North Carolina have mapped out the cell types behind various brain disorders. The findings are published in Nature Genetics and offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target neurological and psychiatric disorders.

News • Coronavirus politics

Experts attest Trump's "astounding incompetence" in dealing with COVID-19

Donald Trump has downplayed the risk of COVID-19 and delayed action, costing countless avertable deaths, argue experts in The BMJ. Gavin Yamey, professor of global health and public policy at Duke University, and Gregg Gonsalves, assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health, say Trump’s “astounding incompetence” was a political determinant of the US COVID-19 epidemic.…

News • Coronavirus in EHR data

COVID-19 data saves lives in Spain

HM Hospitales, a leading Hospital Group in Madrid, decided to provide the international scientific community with totally anonymized health data regarding patients being treated for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their facilities.

News • digestive tract

Aspirin linked to reduction in risk of several cancers

Aspirin is associated with a reduction in the risk of developing several cancers of the digestive tract, including some that are almost invariably fatal, such as pancreatic and liver cancers.

Article • Breath analysis to aid diagnoses

Breathomics: far more than hot air

In diagnostics, it sometimes makes sense to follow your nose. During the Labmed Forum at Medica 2019, Dr Beniam Ghebremedhin and Dr Simona Cristescu discussed the diagnostic potential of breathomics – the analysis of a patient’s exhaled air for disease indicators.

News • Green light for trial study

Blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients: a promising approach

In a small clinical trial just granted approval, about 30 COVID-19 patients at Karolinska University Hospital may soon begin to receive blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease. Sweden's Ethical Review Authority has approved the trial treatment, and its effectiveness will be evaluated in a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Karolinska University Hospital.…

News • Study: 700,000 cases prevented

What China got right in the first 50 days of COVID-19

China's control measures during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 epidemic may have delayed the spread of the virus to cities outside of Wuhan by several days and, by interrupting transmission nationwide, prevented more than 700,000 infections across the country, according to an international team of researchers.

News • Flu forecast

Portable AI device predicts outbreaks based on coughing

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning – called FluSense – which can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, then analyze the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends. The FluSense creators say the new edge-computing platform, envisioned for use in hospitals, healthcare waiting rooms…

Interview • Chest X-ray, CT and more

Imaging the coronavirus disease COVID-19

Chest X-ray is the first imaging method to diagnose COVID-19 coronavirus infection in Spain, but in the light of new evidence this may change soon, according to Milagros Martí de Gracia, Vice President of the Spanish Society of Radiology (SERAM) and head of the emergency radiology unit at La Paz Hospital in Madrid, one of the hot spots for viral re-production of COVID-19.

News • IGF-1

Breast cancer: Growth hormone identified as probable cause

A growth hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is likely to play a role in the development of breast cancer, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology. IGF-1 is already known to encourage the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Now, two analyses of information from several hundred thousand women enrolled in the UK Biobank study have…

News • At-home testing for COVID-19

Coronavirus testing? There's an app for that

A coronavirus app coupled with machine intelligence will soon enable an individual to get an at-home risk assessment based on how they feel and where they’ve been in about a minute, and direct those deemed at risk to the nearest definitive testing facility, investigators say. It will also help provide local and public health officials with real time information on emerging demographics of those…

Video • Epidemiologist Q&A

12 things you should know about the new coronavirus

The novel coronavirus that recently originated in Wuhan, China has grabbed headlines and caused concern among public health officials around the world. Two infectious disease experts share their insights on the novel coronavirus epidemic.

News • 1 in 5

Sepsis death toll twice as high as assumed

Twice as many people as previously believed are dying of sepsis worldwide, according to an analysis published in The Lancet and announced at the Critical Care Reviews annual meeting in Belfast. Among them are a disproportionately high number of children in poor areas.

News • Next generation diagnostics

Using AI to detect and grade prostate cancer

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method based on artificial intelligence for histopathological diagnosis and grading of prostate cancer. The AI-system has the potential to solve one of the bottlenecks in today’s prostate cancer histopathology by providing more accurate diagnosis and better treatment decisions. The study, presented in The Lancet Oncology, shows that the…

Article • Significant improvement in cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation

Surgical robots must also be hygienic

Modern healthcare without hand hygiene? Inconceivable – particularly in the operating room (OR). But what happens when it is not the surgeon who handles the scalpel, but a robot? Robotic surgery, just like surgery performed by humans, always carries a risk of microbial transmission to the patient, says Professor Johannes K-M Knobloch of University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). A specialist…

News • Personalised prevention

‘Liquid health check’ could predict disease risk

Proteins in our blood could in future help provide a comprehensive ‘liquid health check’, assessing our health and predicting the likelihood that we will we will develop a range of diseases. Preventative medicine programmes such as the UK National Health Service’s Health Check and Healthier You programmes are aimed at improving our health and reducing our risk of developing diseases. While…

Article • Mammacarcinoma screening

Breast cancer: Simply monitoring might be best

Breast cancer screening is a well-designed and scientifically proven, evidence-based procedure, but has pitfalls such as under-detection and over-diagnosis. Surgery or radiotherapy may have serious consequences on health and must therefore be administered in carefully selected patients.

News • New research

Cancer patients at higher risk of dying from heart disease and stroke

More than one in ten cancer patients do not die from their cancer but from heart and blood vessel problems instead, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal. For some cancers, like breast, prostate, endometrial, and thyroid cancer, around half will die from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Dr Nicholas Zaorsky, a radiation oncologist, and Dr Kathleen Sturgeon, an assistant…

Article • Positive findings in PD-1 inhibitor immunotherapy

Hope increases for HIV cancer patients

Advances in antiretroviral therapy mean that today, people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can expect a healthy and long life. However, living with HIV does increase the risk of cancer. The reasons for this are multiple and include behavioural risk factors (smoking etc.) but many cancers can be attributed to the effects the virus has on the immune system, specifically its…

News • Major global study reveals

Colorectal, pancreatic cancer rates up 10% in last 30 years

The results of a major study across 195 countries, presented at UEG Week Barcelona 2019, indicate that global death rates for pancreatic cancer and incidence rates for colorectal cancer both increased by 10% between 1990 and 2017. The Global Burden of Disease study, is the first to provide comprehensive worldwide estimates of the burden, epidemiological features and risk factors of a number of…

News • Colorectal cancer

Harmful to women? Expert questions new screening recommendation

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a new recommendation on colorectal cancer screening on October 2nd, 2019. The main point: Screening participation is only recommended to people with at least a three percent chance of developing colorectal cancer in the next 15 years. As a result, the majority of women would be advised not to participate in screening – even though its benefit to them…

News • Food study

Red and processed meat: not so bad for our health, but...

Most people can continue to eat red and processed meat as they do now. A major study led by researchers at McMaster and Dalhousie universities has found cutting back has little impact on health. A panel of international scientists systematically reviewed the evidence and have recommended that most adults should continue to eat their current levels of red and processed meat. The researchers…

Article • AI in diagnostics

Learn like a human, deduce like a machine

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is like a huge blanket that can cover anything from innocuous chess computers to robots which, depending on your viewpoint, could save, oppress or obliterate humanity. However, not every jar labelled AI contains AI. So what is intelligence and can it be created artificially, synthesised like a nature-identical flavouring substance?

Article • Combatting nosocomial infections

A&E Staphylococci POCT

Martin Möckel and Dorothee Riedlinger, from the Charité Medical University Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine Campus Virchow-Klinikum, and Campus Charité-Mitte report on POCT testing in the A&E Department to screen for Staphylococcus aureus colonisation of the nose or throat. People colonised with Staphylococci are at increased risk of developing a nosocomial, i.e. hospital acquired…

News • Mobile Health

Apple Watch: health studies to benefit from new smartwatch app

During its latest keynote presentation, tech giant Apple announced cooperations for health studies. The latest model of their smartwatches are to be key in their execution. Apple announced the three medical studies in partnership with leading US academic and research institutions.

News • Sexual orientation & DNA

A single 'gay gene'? Doesn't exist, says science

Genes alone cannot be used to determine an individual’s sexual orientation. A study published in the journal Science found only five out of hundreds of thousands genetic variants occurred somewhat more often in people who had had same-sex partners. This suggests human sexuality is influenced by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors, according to the researchers. The study is based…

Article • Wishlist

Cancer prevention scrutinised

The latest study by the German Society for Haematology and Oncology (DGHO), ‘Prognosis for population-based morbidity for common cancers in Germany – impact on provision’ has made it clear that due to demographic developments in Germany and to medical advances in oncology, the requirements for cancer patients’ care are ever more diverse. The increase in newly diagnosed cancer patients is…

Article • Measles

Vaccine hesitancy threatens global health

Globally, a trend of falling public trust in vaccines is alarming health officials and the World Health Organisation (WHO) lists vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. The UK’s Wellcome Trust 2018 Global Monitor – a survey of more than 140,000 people in over 140 countries – highlighted regions where confidence in vaccinations is lowest.

News • Global warming

Climate change increases heart attack risk

As sea levels and temperatures rise, so does the number of heat-related heart attacks: A study published in the European Heart Journal by scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München and colleagues from a range of other Bavarian institutions shows that the risk of suffering a heat-induced heart attack has increased significantly in recent years.

News • Study program

Overcoming the hurdles in translational medicine through education

The School for Translational Medicine and Biomedical Entrepreneurship (sitem-insel School) in Bern, Switzerland, starts for the third time its Study Program in Translational Medicine and Biomedical Entrepreneurship. The program offers continuing education to specialists in industry, hospitals and academia in the field of translational medicine and biomedical entrepreneurship, expertise highly…

Sponsored • Safety products

Abolish needlestick injuries

If a health sector employee falls ill with a bloodborne disease, the cause is often a previous injury from a sharp, contaminated object. Direct blood-to-blood contact, such as with a needlestick injury (NSI), is among the recurring causes of infection. It isn’t possible to vaccinate against HIV, for instance, and the consequences of an infection remain fatal. Among the most effective ways to…

News • Epidemiology

Tuberculosis: A quarter of the world's population at risk

A new study from Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University has shown that probably 1 in 4 people in the world carry the tuberculosis bacterium in the body. The disease tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, which affects more than 10 million people every year, and kills up to 2 million, making it the most deadly of the infectious diseases.

News • Public health

Lax salt rules linked to increase of CVD and cancer

More cancer, more cardiovascular disease: The relaxation of UK industry regulation of salt content in food was – to put it lightly – a very bad idea, say researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Liverpool. They have linked the change in regulation with 9,900 additional cases of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and 1,500 cases of stomach cancer. The researchers analysed the…

Interview • Aiming to drive health investments

Dubai’s notable healthcare

Formed in 2007 – under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, UAE – the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) oversees the healthcare system. Driven by the private sector, the country’s healthcare growth is a notable success story. We asked Dr Ibtesam Al Bastaki, Director, Investments & PPP’s at DHA about the vision for…

News • Heart and bones

Osteoarthritis linked to cardiovascular disease

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have investigated the link between osteoarthritis and mortality in an epidemiological study. It was shown that the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was higher for people with osteoarthritis than for the rest of the population. Using population registers, the researchers studied approximately 469 000 people living in Skåne, Sweden, who in 2003…

Article • Rapid, reliable microbe identification

The Bologna Workflow System

Many countries across the world are challenged with a rising number of incidences of multi-drug resistant (MDR) organisms infecting the population, and for several years, a clear pattern of increased resistance has emerged in southern and eastern European countries. For example, in countries such as Italy, a reduced number of therapeutic options remain available for highly pathogenic infections,…

News • Biomonitor III

The next generation injectable cardiac monitor

Biotronik announces the market release of its new injectable cardiac monitor (ICM), Biomonitor III, following approval in the CE region. The novel device is designed to help patients with irregular heart rhythms by documenting suspected arrhythmia or unexplained syncope with increased clarity. As the most common type of arrhythmia, 33.5 million patients worldwide suffer from atrial fibrillation…

News • Mental health

Does autism increase risk of suicidal behaviour?

The risk of suicide attempts and suicides among individuals with autism spectrum disorders is significantly higher than among the population in general. An especially high risk of suicidal behaviour is noted among women who in addition to autism also have ADHD. These are the findings of a population-based study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Psychological Medicine.…

Article • MERS-CoV

Seeking answers to combat Middle East respiratory syndrome

With a case fatality rate of 35 percent, a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection – also called camel flu – is a dangerous disease. About seven years ago, when the virus was first isolated, mortality was close to 100 percent since only severe infections that led to the patient being in intensive care were recorded. Today the environment of each victim is…

News • Throat cancer

Antibodies against HPV16 can develop for decades

An international group of researchers has found that antibodies to the human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) develop in the body between six to 40 years prior to a clinical diagnosis of throat cancer, and their presence indicates a strong increased risk of the disease.

News • Cardiology

White Coat Hypertension: Untreated increases risk of dying

People with untreated White Coat Hypertension are twice as likely to die from heart disease. Researchers at Penn Medicine say findings underscore the need for increased out-of-office blood pressure monitoring

News • Oestrogen-receptor positive, HER2-negative

Test determines most effective treatment for breast cancer

A breast cancer test has been found that helps doctors make treatment decisions for some breast cancer patients, following research carried out at Queen Mary University of London and funded by Cancer Research UK. The test was successful in predicting whether chemotherapy would be beneficial for patients with the most common type of breast cancer (oestrogen-receptor positive, HER2-negative),…

News • Epidemiology & economics

Bacterial resistance costs French hospitals up to 290 million Euros per year

A team of researchers from Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University (UVSQ), Inserm and Pasteur Institute has been able to provide for the first time an accurate estimate of both the incidence (annual number of new cases) and added direct cost of infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients hospitalised in French hospitals during 2015 and 2016.

News • Dementia pathway

Is LATE the new Alzheimer’s?

A recently recognized brain disorder that mimics clinical features of Alzheimer’s disease has for the first time been defined with recommended diagnostic criteria and other guidelines for advancing and catalyzing future research. Scientists from several National Institutes of Health-funded institutions, in collaboration with international peers, described the newly-named pathway to dementia,…

Article • Genetics

Sequencing methods – unfold the full potential for hospitals

“We are facing a technological revolution, but we still struggle with actually implementing these new technologies in healthcare institutions”: Professor Jacob Moran-Gilad, MD, MPH, speaks about the gap between the potential of new generation sequencing methods such as WGS and the clinical reality where these technologies have not yet arrived.

Article • Differentiate and select

Myths and truths about antibiotics, antiseptics and vaccination

Sixty-two percent of Germans fear antibiotic resistance, according to a survey recently conducted by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. ‘Patients colonised by multi-resistant pathogens are particularly scared. But many of these fears are rooted in misunderstandings,’ explained Professor Mathias Pletz at the Congress for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (KIT).

Article • Carbapenemase producing enterobacteriaceae

Detecting drug-resistant CPE quickly is still a challenge

Early detection and confirmation of carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are essential when choosing the appropriate antimicrobial therapy and to implement infection control measures. Here, a leading Spanish microbiologist reviews an arsenal of tools currently available to clinicians. Resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in enterobacteriaceae (EBc) is due to one or more of these…

Article • Vive le algorithme

French government gets ready for AI in healthcare

The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has been touted as an important aid for healthcare for at least adecade. However, despite years of research and major technical and scientific advances we are only at the beginning of its use in a medical environment. For AI to function correctly huge amounts of relevant data need to be accessible to its algorithms. France is conscious of being behind…

News • Foodborne illnesses

Machine learning gets to the source of Salmonella

A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety in Griffin has developed a machine-learning approach that could lead to quicker identification of the animal source of certain Salmonella outbreaks. In the research, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Xiangyu Deng and his colleagues used more than a thousand genomes to predict the animal sources,…

News • The blunt truth

A few joints may not harm men’s sperm

Researchers investigating the effect of cannabis smoking on men’s testicular function have made the unexpected discovery that it is linked to higher sperm counts and higher testosterone levels among moderate users compared to men who never smoked it. The study is published in Human Reproduction, one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Previous studies had suggested that…

News • Early detection

Prediabetes: don't wait, reduce your CVD risk

A diagnosis of prediabetes should be a warning for people to make lifestyle changes to prevent both full-blown diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

News • Comorbidity

Mapping out the relationship between mental disorders

Half of those who develop a severe mental disorder such as depression prior to the age 20, will also develop an anxiety disorder within the next 15 years. This is just one of the many results on the relationship between various mental disorders mapped out.

News • Cardiovascular diseases and nutrition

CVD: Every second to third premature death preventable

Of the 4.3 million cardiovascular deaths in Europe in 2016, 2.1 million were the result of poor nutrition. The 28 EU member states account for around 900,000, Russia for 600,000 and the Ukraine for 250,000 of these deaths. Every second to third premature cardiovascular death could be prevented by better nutrition. These were the findings of an international research team led by the Martin Luther…

Article • Aftercare

Discharged ICU patients need careful rehabilitation

Care models that go beyond rehabilitation services and are aimed at a smooth transition from intensive to aftercare are not established in Germany. A working group around Professor Dr Christian Apfelbacher at the Institute for Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Regensburg University, is currently developing a concept for intensive out-patient aftercare. ‘The project is to help improve the…

News • Benefits of childbirth

Breast cancer: Pregnancy gives (delayed) protection

In general, women who have had children have a lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who have never given birth. However, new research has found that moms don’t experience this breast cancer protection until many years later and may face elevated risk for more than 20 years after their last pregnancy. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health, along with members of the…

News • 'Tis the season to be healthy

10 simple tips to keep Christmas overindulgence at bay

Christmas cookies, mulled wine and an extensive family feast - it seems impossible not to gain weight during the holidays. But there's hope: A study by the University of Birmingham and Loughborough University has shown that regular weighing at home and simple tips to curb excess eating and drinking can prevent people from piling on the pounds at Christmas. Researchers, supported by the National…

Interview • Between man and molecule

The hunt for genetic risk factors

Professor Christoph M Friedrich researches the interface between man and molecule. Born in Westphalia, Germany, the professor for biomedical computer science at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences recently took up an additional role at the Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometrics and Epidemiology (IMIBE) in Essen University Hospital. In 2013, the cooperation between the two institutions…

News • Pregnancy

Giving birth raises risk of breast cancer in younger women

Younger women who have recently had a child may have a higher risk of breast cancer than their peers of the same age who do not have children, according to a large-scale analysis co-led by a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher. The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, may seem contrary to conventional wisdom that childbirth is…

News • Cholesterol-lowering medication

Statins overprescribed for primary prevention

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins, as a preventive measure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. A study by the University of Zurich now shows that this measure is recommended too often, as current guidelines fail to take into account the risks of side effects. Even healthy people who don't suffer from a cardiovascular disease are prescribed statins if they meet certain risk…

Article • Interdisciplinary

Exploring the human microbiome

During the International Forum for Laboratory Medicine, one seminar focused on infectious diseases. Professor André Gessner, from the Medical Microbiology and Hygiene Department at Regensburg University, lectured on ‘The human microbiome, an explosive ‘climate’ topic,’ he explained.

Article • Antibiotic stewardship

Screening with multiplexed kits

Antibiotic stewardship is becoming a critical concern in hospitals as antibiotic resistance spreads globally and some organisms become resistant to antibiotics of last resort. Molecular diagnostics can play a role in antibiotic stewardship programs by providing timely and accurate advice to clinicians on which antibiotics to use, Professor Keith Stanley advises. "Antibiotic resistance in the…

Article • Data handling

Blockchain: “Hype will fade but the technology will remain”

A new dimension in data handling is not only emerging, but is already a reality in our lives. However, political discourse about this often lags behind real events. We spoke with two experts who have an overview of clouds, decentralised data flows and the evaluation of personal data with IT help in various areas. Engineer Professor Alexandra Dmitrienko is a Secure Software Systems expert at the…

News • Therapy

Could these special antibodies lead to HIV vaccine?

Around one percent of people infected with HIV produce antibodies that block most strains of the virus. These broadly acting antibodies provide the key to developing an effective vaccine against HIV. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have now shown that the genome of the HI virus is a decisive factor in determining which antibodies are formed.

Article • Going digital

DBT could boost breast screening

Tomosynthesis is under international review, with a surprising number of enticing studies carried out in Northern European countries, among them one headed by Professor Sophia Zackrisson at Lund University, Sweden. In our interview, she not only revealed surprising trial results, but also shared her thoughts on practical implementation and unusual speed-reading methods. ‘Our institute’s…

News • Cerebrovascular disease

Stroke deaths decrease all over Europe – but it's too early to cheer

New research, published in the European Heart Journal, has shown deaths from conditions that affect the blood supply to the brain, such as stroke, are declining overall in Europe but that in some countries the decline is levelling off or death rates are even increasing. Cerebrovascular disease includes strokes, mini-strokes, and narrowing, blockage or rupturing of the blood vessels supplying…

News • Boxers or briefs?

Why getting rid of tighty-whities is good for your fertility

Researchers have discovered a good reason to not wear tight-fitting underwear – beyond the obvious aspect of fashion: According to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, men who frequently wear boxers have significantly higher sperm concentrations and total sperm counts when compared with their briefs-wearing counterparts. The findings of this study, conducted in the…

News • Sodium consumption

Daily salt intake: How much is too much for our heart?

New research shows that for the vast majority of individuals, sodium consumption does not increase health risks except for those who eat more than five grams a day, the equivalent of 2.5 teaspoons of salt. Fewer than five per cent of individuals in developed countries exceed that level. The large, international study also shows that even for those individuals there is good news. However, the…

News • Dementia

Drinking will put your brain at risk (but then again, abstinence might, too)

People who abstain from alcohol or consume more than 14 units a week during middle age (midlife) are at increased risk of developing dementia, finds a study in The BMJ today. However, the underlying mechanisms are likely to be different in the two groups. As people live longer, the number living with dementia is expected to triple by 2050. So understanding the impact of alcohol consumption on…

News • Should I stay or should I go?

Brexit will be very bad for the NHS, say UK doctors

UK doctors think Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), dubbed Brexit, will be very bad for the NHS, reveal the results of an anonymised survey of their political beliefs and voting patterns, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. As a group, they are predominantly left-wing and liberal-minded. But high earners tend to lean more to the right of the…

News • Radiation research

How smartphones take the 'smart' out of youths

The electromagnetic radiation emitted from smartphones and similar devices may have negative effects on the memory of young people. Research conducted in Switzerland suggests that it might be a good idea to get rid of your smartphone from time to time.

News • Klebsiella pneumoniae

Biomarker is discovered for a flesh-eating pathogen

Imagine a pathogen that infects completely healthy people and can cause blindness in one day and flesh-eating infections, brain abscesses and death in just a few days. Now imagine that this pathogen is also resistant to all antibiotics.

News • Epidemics

Animal health drug could stop outbreaks of malaria and Zika virus

Medicines given to household pets to kill fleas and ticks might be effective for preventing outbreaks of malaria, Zika fever and other dangerous insect-borne diseases that infect millions of people worldwide, according to a new study led by scientists at Calibr, a non-profit drug discovery institute closely affiliated with Scripps Research and TropIQ Health Sciences, a Dutch social enterprise.

News • New major epidemics?

Two gene mutations transform harmless bacteria into dangerous strains

Since 2013, a new strain of meningococcal bacteria has spread rapidly in Niger and Nigeria, leading to large-scale outbreaks of meningitis. Analysis of the genetic material shows that with just two gene mutations, harmless bacteria transform into a strain that could cause major epidemics in these two countries.

Article • Hygiene and microbiology meeting

No all clear for nosocomial infections

Experts at the 70th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, held in Bochum, exchanged information on newly discovered resistances. ‘Specifically, resistance against a class of antibiotics that has, so far, always been viewed as a reserve appears to be developing more intensively than previously assumed,’ explained Professor Sören Gatermann, congress president and…

News • Epidemiological study

Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased diabetes risk

An epidemiological study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Seoul National University suggests that persons deficient in vitamin D may be at much greater risk of developing diabetes. The scientists studied a cohort of 903 healthy adults (mean age: 74) with no indications of either pre-diabetes or diabetes during clinic visits from 1997 to 1999,…

News • Immunological memory

Our brains 'remember' inflammation and diseases

Inflammatory reactions can change the brain’s immune cells in the long term – meaning that these cells have an ‘immunological memory’. This memory may influence the progression of neurological disorders that occur later in life, and is therefore a previously unknown factor that could influence the severity of these diseases. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases…

Article • Microbleed detection

A new hope for Alzheimer's prediction

New information on dementia biomarkers is emerging, as increasing results from population studies become available. However, although the list of risk factors lengthens, the value of these predictors, and more generally the cause of disease, remain to be determined, according to Gabriel Krestin, professor and chairman of the Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine at Erasmus MC, University…

News • Large study

Five novel genetic changes linked to pancreatic cancer risk

In what is believed to be the largest pancreatic cancer genome-wide association study to date, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute, and collaborators from over 80 other institutions worldwide discovered changes to five new regions in the human genome that may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. The new findings represent one more step toward…

Video • Researchers investigate

Kidney stones on the rise

Kidney stones are a painful health condition, often requiring multiple procedures at great discomfort to the patient. Growing evidence suggests that the incidence of kidney stones is increasing steadily, especially in women. Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, Mayo Clinic researchers investigated the rise in stone formers to determine if this is a new trend, or simply an…

News • Responsive or not?

Breast cancer: Near-infrared light shows chemo beneficiaries

A new optical imaging system developed at Columbia University uses red and near-infrared light to identify breast cancer patients who will respond to chemotherapy. The imaging system may be able to predict response to chemotherapy as early as two weeks after beginning treatment. Findings from a first pilot study of the new imaging system—a noninvasive method of measuring blood flow dynamics in…

News • Cardiovascular MR

Standard medical tests miss nearly two-thirds of heart attack diagnoses

Standard medical tests miss nearly two-thirds of heart attack diagnoses, reveals research presented at CMR 2018. “Unrecognised MI has a poor short-term prognosis but until now the long-term outlook was unknown,” said lead author Dr Tushar Acharya, a cardiologist at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, US. “This study investigated long-term…

Article • Breast cancer detection

New DNA test could prevent thousands of mastectomies

A new genetic test to assess breast cancer risk in women who have a family history of the disease could be introduced into clinical practice in the UK within the next few months. Devised at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Manchester, researchers believe the test for high-risk groups could also help reduce the number of women needing to have surgery to remove…

News • Key in the stem cells

This is why testicular cancer is so responsive to chemo

Cornell researchers have taken a major step toward answering a key question in cancer research: Why is testicular cancer so responsive to chemotherapy, even after it metastasizes? Professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, for example, had testicular cancer that spread to his lung and brain, yet he made a full recovery after conventional chemotherapy. The key to such success appears to lie in the…

Interview • Multiresistant pathogens

'Antibiotics don’t generate large profits'

During our European Hospital interview with specialist in microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology Beniam Ghebremedhin MD, from the University Hospital Wuppertal, spoke about the impact of migration on infections, and ways to tackle the problem of multiresistant pathogens. ‘There is a lack of specialists in infectious diseases, for direct patient care on hospital wards as well as in…

News • Virus spread

New flu forecasting tool uses evolution to make earlier predictions

Each year, public health officials monitor the spread of influenza to identify which flu strains need to go into that year’s vaccines and where outbreaks will occur. But it can be difficult to predict how bad a particular flu season will be until people actually start getting sick. A new flu forecasting tool built by scientists at the University of Chicago aims to make better predictions by…

News • Dose management

Enhancing radiation protection

A new EC-funded project will bring together medical and radiation scientists, physicists and clinicians to enhance the radiation protection of patients and medical professionals. The four-year MEDIRAD project, which kicked off in June 2017, is led by the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research – EIBIR (AT) and comprises a consortium of 33 partners from 14 European countries.

News • Tumor analysis

Immune response to ovarian cancer may predict survival

A group of international cancer researchers led by investigators from Mayo Clinic and University of New South Wales Sydney has found that the level of a type of white blood cell, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, present in the tumors of patients with high-grade ovarian cancer may predict a patient’s survival. “We know that a type of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte called cytotoxic CD8 are…

News • Research network

40% of women with breast cancer live in Asia

The Breast International Group (BIG), an international not-for-profit organisation that represents the largest global network of academic research groups dedicated to finding cures for breast cancer, is welcoming three new members in East Asia: the Breast Disease Professional Committee of CMEA (BDPCC), China; the Korean Cancer Study Group (KCSG), South Korea; and the Thai Society of Clinical…

Interview • From step-child to limelight

Virologists: Interdisciplinary and global cooperation is vital

Over recent years, virology, once medicine‘s step-child, moved into the limelight, pushed by impressive progress and pulled by globalisation-induced need for expertise in virus diagnostics and viral epidemics.

Article • EURECA study

Combating CRAB and carbapenem resistant bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance mortality is set to surpass cancer and traffic-related deaths by 2050, according to the UK National Health Service (NHS).

News • Drug abuse

Methamphetamine use linked to heightened stroke risk in the young

The stimulant methamphetamine, also popularly known as ‘speed,’ ‘ice’ and ‘meth,’ is linked to a heightened risk of stroke among young people, reveals a review of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Article • Extreme environments

Cardiology in outer space and Polar Regions

Cardiology in extreme environments takes centre stage at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) annual conference.

Drug for Parkinson's not likely to cause melanoma

People with the movement disorder Parkinson’s disease have a much higher risk of the skin cancer melanoma, and vice versa, a Mayo Clinic study finds. Yet the results of the study argue against the Parkinson's drug levodopa as the cause.

News • The future burden of dementia

Study predicts great rise in dementia in England and Wales

By 2040, there will be over 1.2 million people living with dementia in England and Wales, an increase of 57 per cent from 2016. The rise is largely due to increased life expectancy say researchers in The BMJ today.

Article • Anti-infection strategies

Antibiotic stewardship programmes bear fruit

Today’s dilemma for hospitals and institutions are increasingly multi-resistant bacteria and decreasingly effective antibiotics to beat them. New substances to fight pathogens are not on the horizon. What can be done? Professor Constanze Wendt, microbiology and infection biology specialist at MVZ Labor Dr. Limbach & Kollegen GbR, in Heidelberg, Germany, describes current anti-infection…

Article • Antibiotic resistance

Killer bugs put on the critical list

While new agents to fight virulent pathogens are in the pipeline, a new study pinpoints where a recent addition is already being applied in the clinic.

Sponsored • Interview

Clostridium difficile: Routine diagnostics in the medical laboratory

In our interview with the physician Dr. Fabian Berger, we want to know about the advantages of molecular biological procedures compared to conventional C. difficile diagnostics.

News • Study

Link between blood sugar and brain cancer found

New research further illuminates the surprising relationship between blood sugar and brain tumors and could begin to shed light on how certain cancers develop. While many cancers are more common among those with diabetes, cancerous brain tumors called gliomas are less common among those with elevated blood sugar and diabetes, a study from The Ohio State University has found. The discovery builds…

Article • Antimicrobial resistance

Prudence is the cornerstone of prevention

Following a top level EU report showing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains high, Professor Mike Catchpole, Chief Scientist at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has warned that stricter use of antibiotics is critical.

Interview • Infection control

Virologists are today’s universal necessities

Globalisation has been a defining term in this 21st century: with almost anybody able to visit any place at any time, diseases, viruses and bacteria can be travel companions. Thus virology is gaining increased attention. Professor Barbara Gärtner, President of the German Association of Virology, talks about the issues and challenges arising from this development.

Article • Annual conference

The role of cardiology at the extremes

Cardiology at the extremes will be the key theme at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference in Manchester in June. Topics covered include reflections in cardiology and space travel, physiological challenges associated with living under extreme environmental conditions and polar expeditions. Report: Mark Nicholls

Article • No standardisation

Lab medicine in Norway, Serbia and France

Laboratory medicine delivery, regulation and accreditation vary between countries, e.g. Norway, Serbia and France recently aired at FiLM 2017. Leading figures explained the shape, scope and funding of healthcare and lab services and roles played by different professionals and challenges they face.

News • DNA

DNA labels predict mortality

Methyl labels in the DNA regulate the activity of our genes and, thus, have a great influence on health and disease. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and from the Saarland cancer registry have now revealed that an altered methylation status at only ten specific sites in the genome can indicate that mortality is increased by up to seven times. Smoking has a particularly…

Article • Vascular Imaging

Way forward: 3-D tomographic ultrasound

It is a collaboration that could push vascular imaging to a new level.

Article • Combatting infections

The global migration mapping project

Experts at a university in the United Kingdom have designed a large-scale data and mapping project that they hope will help in the global fight against infectious diseases.

Interview • Neurological diseases

No case for a psychiatrist’s couch

Up to ten years ago only a handful of antibodies that could be detected in the blood were known to neurology.

Article • Diversity is the enemy

x-Health: Demands for real interoperability

Britta Böckmann, Professor for Health Informatics at the Technical University of Dortmund summarises the lack of feeling for terms such as eHealth, mHealth and telehealth with the description xHealth.

News • Whole genome sequencing

Genetic testing cannot determine antimicrobial susceptibility

Experts at the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST), who define the optimal drug concentrations to inhibit the growth of pathogens, have found that genetic methods cannot yet be used to test for susceptibility in a number of important bacterial species.

Article • Denmark

Successful digital pathology

Advanced computer software underpins a service - coupled with a countrywide database, which enables Denmark’s pathologists to optimise the assessment of patients’ specimens.In turn, the digitisation of the system in recent years has led to significant improvements in pathology services, delivering greater efficiency and advances in patient safety.

Article • Radiotherapy

Dutch centre of excellence adopts dedicated device

Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer have been treated with intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) for over twenty years. Partly due to this type of radiation, survival rates in a group of patients considered to have inoperable cancer changed dramatically from five to 70 percent.

Article • Patient care

Cardiac records highlight an enigma

Two new studies have focused on the impact of weekend care and discharge on heart patients within the NHS in England. In one, patients suffering atrial fibrillation (AF) who were admitted to a National Health Service (NHS) hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying within five years than patients admitted during normal hours.

News • Infection

Siemens Zika test receives FDA emergency use authorization

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc. (Siemens) an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its real-time PCR Zika Virus assay, the VERSANT® Zika RNA 1.0 Assay (kPCR) Kit. With respect to Zika in vitro diagnostic tests, FDA has been authorized to issue EUAs to allow for use of unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical…

News • Herpes zoster

Shingles doubles stroke risk for several years

The study by researchers from the Department of Neurology at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul showed that herpes zoster infection not only raised the risk of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke but also that of a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), a warning mini-stroke often preceding a full-blown stroke.

News • Experts

Europe needs to be prepared for Zika virus epidemic

The Zika epidemic has long assumed global proportions, experts told the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen. Europe needs to get prepared to deal with the relentless spread of the health threat, in particular with a view to “imported” infection. Awareness for prevention and personal protection is important, in particular with thousands of athletes and fans soon…

Article • Structure & function

Morphological medicine and pathology will boom

Professor Klaus Kayser, former Head of the Institute of Pathology at Heidelberg University Hospital’s Thorax Clinic, may be retired but he continues to be a leading figure in his discipline, a visionary, famous for this critical and ‘out of the box’ thinking. During the run-up to the European Congress on Digital Pathology (ECDP), we asked the expert about telemedicine and standards and,…

News • Epidemics

Open Science to track virus outbreaks

In recent years, we have witnessed multiple epidemics of viral diseases such as Ebola or Zika. Rapid targeted intervention is key to containment. Real-time data integration and analysis can help public health authorities to maximize efficacy of intervention strategies. Dr. Richard Neher from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany and Dr. Trevor Bedford from the Fred…

Partners in crime: Stroke and Alzheimer’s disease

New EU-funded project CoSTREAM targets the common mechanisms and pathways of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease to improve disease prevention and treatment, by combining clinical, genetic, epidemiologic, metabolic and radiologic research to develop an organ-on-a-chip in vitro model for the blood-brain connection that will revolutionise drug-development.

News • Rapid testing

West Africa, Ebola and the threat of Zika

Rapid testing for the Zika virus is a critical need in the recent Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, says a Georgetown University professor, because of the recent Zika outbreak on nearby Cape Verde and the similarity in symptoms between Zika and early Ebola.

News • Computational modeling

Analyzing genetic tree sheds light on disease outbreaks

Scientists have a new tool for unraveling the mysteries of how diseases such as HIV move through a population, thanks to insights into phylogenetics, the creation of an organism’s genetic tree and evolutionary relationships.

Article • Wishlist

PACS and imaging biobank assets combined

Personalised medicine relies strongly on biobanking in which medical data are collected on a large scale. Large scale refers both to the amount of data collected per patient as well as to the large number of patients included in the data collection. Although most attention in biobanking has been given to genetic data, proteomics, metabolomics and other –omics technologies, imaging is also being…

Article • Improvement

Big data and its role for radiology

Big data has the potential to offer a better understanding of how to aggregate clinically relevant data on a large scale and deliver better computer aided diagnosis algorithms and tools.