Challenging the long-standing belief that city dwellers suffer disproportionately from asthma, the results of a new Johns Hopkins Children’s Center study of more than 23,000 U.S. children reveal that income, race and ethnic origin may play far more potent roles in asthma risk than kids’ physical surroundings.
Glucose testing is both a headache and an opportunity for clinical laboratories here in the United States and across the globe. It is a headache because many point-of-care and patient self-test glucose devices in wide use today lack the reliability of glucose testing performed in medical laboratories that use sophisticated diagnostic instruments.
All member states of the EU are faced with the same challenges regarding accessibility, quality and sustainability of long-term care.
Scientists have discovered a new antibiotic, teixobactin, that can kill serious infections in mice without encountering any detectable resistance, offering a potential new way to get ahead of dangerous evolving superbugs.
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and from the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University treated mice with a combination of a low-dose metronomic chemotherapy and an antibody against Ang-2, a regulatory protein of the blood vessel lining cells. The treated animals had significantly less metastases.
The term ‘cancer’ describes more than 200 different diseases and every single one needs to be clearly understood and requires, ideally, individual treatment. To do this we need to deepen our understanding the cancer genome. Report: Anja Behringer
On 29 July, Dr James Ritchie was attending the American Association of Clinical Chemistry’s annual conference in Chicago when he received the call that a physician and missionary worker, who had been in West Africa, were headed to Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital. Report: Lisa Chamoff
Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) are the most frequent complication in orthopaedic implant patients and may occur any time: weeks, months, or even years after an implantation. Report: Ludger Weß
Wrist-watches, wrist and arm bands, tags, finger rings, clips, smart glasses, shoes, insoles, smart patches (as thermometers), sensors woven into fabrics for T-shirts and socks and, of course, implantable devices as well as ingested pills were displayed by 23 exhibitors in the Wearable Technologies Show at Medica this year. Report: Cornelia Wels-Maug
Another patient in the final stages of heart failure has received an artificial heart at Nantes UniversityHospital Centre, according to Carmat, the manufacturer of the device. Report: John Brosky
Cardiovascular disease develops in a slow and subclinical manner over decades, only to manifest suddenly and unexpectedly. Prevention is crucial, both before and after clinical appearance, Report: Dr Eduardo de la Sota
Trichomonias, with an estimated 187 million cases, and Chlamydia with around 100 million, are the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). There are approximately 36 million cases each of gonorrhoea and syphilis. HIV1/2 cases are around 34 million. Report: Cynthia Keen
A limited survey of patients who died soon after being discharged from hospital found that almost a quarter had an undiagnosed co-morbidity with a potentially avoidable cause of death. Report: Frank Swain
Could the widely predicted shortage of qualified staff in German hospitals soon lead to tough competition for members of Generation Y, ultimately resulting in a change in hospital structures and a revolution in the country’s total healthcare system? Perhaps. EH spoke with Professor Christian Schmidt, Medical Director and Head of the Board at Rostock University Hospital, and with consultant…
A new study concludes that jet air and warm air hand driers have a greater potential to contaminate washrooms by spreading bacteria into the air and onto users and bystanders. The findings have significant implications for infection control health professionals and purchasing managers responsible for equipping hospital washrooms.
DNA Electronics (‘DNAe’), the inventors of semiconductor DNA sequencing technology and developers of a new point-of-need test for blood infections, highlights the urgent need for fast diagnostics to help tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
A first of its kind expert consensus report on Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), contributed to by more than 1,000 healthcare professionals across Europe, has been presented today at the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) International Congress in Lyon, France. The consensus report aimed to identify a set of expert views on CDI management, in order to determine attitudes to diagnosis,…
With an estimated fatality rate of 52%, the need to discover a cure for Ebola has never been more urgent. New research published in Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics this month suggests that scientists currently investigating potential cures for the Ebola virus should focus more attention on the protein furin.
New approaches, solutions and outlooks on biologised medical technology developed in the Berlin metropolitan region were presented at this year’s annual 'Medical technology meeting place' in Berlin, which presents the latest research, new product developments and best practice examples from the greater-Berlin area. report: Bettina Döbereiner
The treatment of cerebral aneurysms is often very complex and initially it is not always obvious which type of treatment is best suited for an individual case. In October, during the Annual Congress of the German Society for Neuroradiology e.V., a working group from Hamburg introduced a procedure that enables the production of exact copies of individual aneurysms with a 3D printer.
UT Arlington researchers have been awarded a $744,300 grant from the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program to create an adaptive interface that fits between a prosthetic and a patient’s limb so that the fit and comfort of the prosthetic are improved.
The number of cancer patients in Germany continues to rise steadily. An increase in the number of newly diagnosed cases of 14% is expected by 2020 compared to 2008. Therefore early detection is increasingly the focus of attention.
Among updates on breast cancer diagnostics and treatments aired at the 33rd German Society for Senology meeting last year was SpheroTest, an evidence-based tool that helps select the most effective drug for each individual cancer patient. Report: Anja Behringer
Among new medical imaging innovations is a phase-contrast x-ray technique to bring greater precision to breast cancer assessment and improve biopsy diagnostics. EH asked research pioneer Professor Marco Stampanoni, a key figure in the development of this technique, to explain how it works. Report: Sascha Keutel
Earlier this year a drug was launched that can cure hepatitis C without severe side effects in most patients. Whilst the treatment is fast, it is very expensive but does avoid liver cancer and thus makes liver transplants superfluous. This is only one of the many promising developments in hepatitis research that Dr Markus Cornberg of the Medical University Hanover will address at the Medica…