Fatty acids may shield young from type 1 diabetes
Omega-3 may protect children at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Wireless blood glucose testing arrives
The first wireless POC (Point of care) blood glucose and bedside testing solution for hospitals was launched by Bayer Healthcare during the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Amsterdam this September.
Glucose monitoring
Professor Oliver Schnell, of the Diabetes Research Institute, Munich, reports on discussions and findings of a panel of diabetes experts who met this summer in Switzerland
ADVANCE - Blood Pressure Lowering in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
The results of the blood pressure lowering arm of the ADVANCE (Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease) study, the largest ever trial conducted in people with type 2 diabetes, were recently reported in the Lancet.
The Image project
Michael Hall outlines the work and aims of IMAGE - the Development and Implementation of a European Guideline and Training Standards for Diabetes Prevention
World Diabetes Day
Born in 1891, Canadian Sir Frederick Banting was destined to become a medical scientist and Nobel Prize winner for work that led to the discovery of insulin. World Diabetes Day, held on his birthday, aims to sensitise the public - including potential patients - to this condition. Worldwide, around 245 million people suffer Diabetes mellitus. With 5.3 million of them in Germany, the country's…
Series of CO2 incubators provides full contamination control of cell cultures
USA - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc has launched Thermo Scientific Series 8000 CO2 incubators for cell cultures, which the firm reports provide stable, precise temperature, humidity and CO2 control, with advanced decontamination technology.
The ACP recommends 'flu vaccination for frontline healthcare workers
Influenza infects around 20% of the US population and results in 200,000 hospitalisations annually. It kills about 36,000 citizens. In the USA, only 36% of all healthcare workers are immunised against influenza annually, and now the American College of Physicians (ACP)
Nanorods of gold blast holes in cancer tumours
USA — Miniscule gold 'nanorods' triggered by a laser beam can blast holes in tumour cell membranes, which then activates a complex biochemical mechanism that leads to the tumour cell to self-destruct, according to researchers at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in Purdue University, Idaho.
Effectiveness of multidrug combinations for chemotherapy
Professor Loennidis, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Greece, and a team of researchers examined 242 randomized trials, performed during the last fourty years and covering the efficiacy of chemotherapy treatment for advanced stages of colorectal cancer. The scientist compared the benefits and outcome of different systemic treatment regimes.
An essential tool for detection of respiratory illnesses
By performing just a single test healthcare personnel is now able to simultaneously detect eighteen of the most prevalent respiratory infections in patients. The Seeplex 18-plex Respiratory Test is a highly economical method for molecular diagnostics of respiratory infections. It achieves results rapidly at minimal costs per test.
analytica comes of age
21st. Analytica 2008 held in april 2008 in Munich, Germany.
Virtual slide for real analysis
The updated Olympus dotSlide digital virtual microscopy system can scan entire slides at high resolution and fidelity, making them accessible and fully navigable anywhere in the world. Using any of the three models - dotSlide MD (manual); dotSlide SL (fully automated, with slide loader), and dotSlide TMA (with a tissue micro-array module) - users can examine a virtual slide as if seeing the…
AACC emphasises preventive diagnostics
San Diego, California - 20,000 international physicians, scientists and other visitors travelled to the Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in July, and 750 exhibitors emphasised the increasing importance of this gathering
Determining body weight in the elderly
Elderly people lose their physical reserves and are thus more susceptible to diseases. Very often not only one but several organs are affected. Consequently, prophylactic measures such as control of body weight to determine the patient's nutritional status become crucial.
Long term research project of young children with asthma
Multiple-breath washout (MBW) is a new and sensitive lung function test qualified for use on very young children. In their study Asthma UK and the Institute of Child Health at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London use MBW among other tests to investigate how asthma affects the growing airways of babies and infants.
CD39 - a cellular marker for Multiple Sclerosis
Scientists from the italian Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome and the german Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin recently discovered a correlation between the number of a subgroup of regulatory T-cells and Multiple Sclerosis, that perhaps may lead to new treatment options.
Siemens to acquire Dade Behring
With a merger agreement with the US-based Dade Behring, Inc., Siemens Medical Solutions again strengthens its in-vitro diagnostic division and becomes leader in the diagnostic market. Dade Behring, Inc. is a leading clinical laboratory diagnostics company covering the market of clinical laboratory equipment and integrated solutions for routine chemistry testing, immunodiagnostics, hemostasis…
Synthesis of the Senses
For many Europeans the ideal garden is the romantic dream of that safe haven where man and nature, both unspoilt and benign, live in harmony, far away from the ugly and mundane of everyday life. There are red rose bushes and mallow; white rhododendrons and hydrangea nestle in the semi-shade underneath the apple tree; in the grass next to the small pond with the reeds large daisies have been…
Strong market growth for Electronic Lab Notebooks
The market for Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN) is booming. Experts assume that technological developments and the growing demand to archive and store lab-data and therefore improve the productivity are the main reasons for this positive trend.
Measures to contain obesity
The World Health Organisation (WHO) quotes figures that indicate there are over one billion overweight adults spread across the world, as of 2007, with at least 300 million of these defined as clinically obese (as defined by a BMI (body mass index) of 30).
Beckman Coulter Launches the UniCel® DxI 600 at EuroMedLab 2007
Beckman Coulter, Inc. has launched the next analyser in its series of in vitro diagnostic offerings, the UniCel® DxI 600 Access® Immunoassay System, an innovative immunochemistry instrument designed for mid-volume laboratories, a segment which represents more than 45 percent of the immunodiagnostic testing market, worldwide.
Quicker method for spotting cervical cancer
Scientists developed an easy and fast method to detect cervical cancer cells that especially can be adopted in developing countries. Using the lab facilities available in an Indian hospital, the researchers around Dr Nick Coleman of the Medical Research Council´s Cancer Cell Unit, compared a new cell staining technique to the standard slide searching method.
Screenings beneficial in common tuberculosis areas
In areas of the UK where tuberculosis has a high prevalence, screenings could increase diagnosis both of active and latent forms of the disease and therefore could help prevent its spread.