Article • White matter
Age-appropriate disease? Doesn’t exist
What can we learn from population studies? According to Gabriel Krestin MD PhD there are things that we can un-learn, as well as learn, from population imaging studies.
Studies
News • Lab Study
A protein called PERK - Treating progressive supranuclear palsy
The brain disease “progressive supranuclear palsy” (PSP) is currently incurable and its symptoms can only be eased to a very limited degree. PSP impairs eye movements, locomotion, balance control, and speech. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered a molecular mechanism that may help in the search…
News • Infections
World still “grossly underprepared” for infectious disease outbreaks
The world remains “grossly underprepared” for outbreaks of infectious disease, which are likely to become more frequent in the coming decades, warn a team of international experts in The BMJ today.
Article • Parsimony in genetic data study
Simplifying what is complex
Genetics stepping ahead as Spain-based researchers develop biomedical robots that can help in the study of rare diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer, as well as the creation of orphan drugs.
News • breath samples
You are what you exhale
An international team of 56 researchers in five countries has confirmed a hypothesis first proposed by the ancient Greeks – that different diseases are characterized by different “chemical signatures” identifiable in breath samples. The findings by the team led by Professor Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie…
News • Study
A gene that limits desire to drink alcohol
In the largest study of its kind, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers and colleagues in Europe identified a gene variant that suppresses the desire to drink alcohol.
News • Multidrug-resistant TB
Another facet to the migration crisis in Europe
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is widespread globally, with an estimated 480,000 cases in 2014.Although rare in European countries, the risks posed by the current migrant crisis makes MDR-TB an important and urgent public health priority.
Is it okay for a doctor to attend a patient's funeral?
New research at the University of Adelaide has shed light on how many doctors are attending the funerals of their patients and the reasons behind their choice. The researchers say more needs to be done within the medical profession to openly discuss the issue.
News • Diabetes
Recommended blood pressure targets are being challenged
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare recently raised the recommended target blood pressure for patients with diabetes. This may lead to more patients suffering from stroke or heart attack, according to a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. The new study is the world’s largest on the subject and is based on data from the National Diabetes Register.
News • Infection
Zika: 1.6 million childbearing women are at risk
Research by scientists in the US and UK has estimated that up to 1.65 million childbearing women in Central and South America could become infected by the Zika virus by the end of the first wave of the epidemic. Researchers from the WorldPop Project and Flowminder Foundation at the University of Southampton and colleagues from the University of Notre Dame and University of Oxford have also found…
Sponsored • Management
Consolidating with Randox Quality Control
Quality Control is our passion and with more than 30 years' experience developing QC for the in vitro diagnostics market we believe in producing high quality material that can help streamline procedures, whilst saving money for laboratories of all sizes and budgets. These qualities have been reflected in our RIQAS External Quality Assessment (EQA) programmes which, as outlined in Case Study 1,…
News • Staphylococcus aureus
Women more likely to die within 30-days from bacterial blood infection
Clinicians around the world have long suspected that bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureus has a worse outcome in women compared to men, but direct evidence has been elusive. A study just published confirms that significantly more women than men diagnosed with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) – a blood infection of the common bacteria – die within 30 days.
News • Study
Predict early stages of Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York State Psychiatric Institute, and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that an odor identification test may prove useful in predicting cognitive decline and detecting early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Their two studies, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Toronto, Canada, suggest that the…
News • Neurology
The aging brain's memory functions
A European study led by Umeå University Professor Lars Nyberg, has shown that the dopamine D2 receptor is linked to the long-term episodic memory, which function often reduces with age and due to dementia. This new insight can contribute to the understanding of why some but not others are affected by memory impairment.
News • Discovery
Potential genetic trigger of autoimmune disease
Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have uncovered a potential genetic trigger of systemic autoimmune disease. The study, the culmination of more than 10 years of research, discovered virus-like elements within the human genome linked to the development of two autoimmune diseases: lupus and Sjogren's syndrome.
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 • Study
Prostate cancer: Laser ablation becomes viable treatment
Prostate cancer patients may soon have a new option to treat their disease: laser heat. UCLA researchers have found that focal laser ablation – the precise application of heat via laser to a tumor – is both feasible and safe in men with intermediate risk prostate cancer.
Yuck factor may boost hand hygiene compliance
The yuck factor may be an effective tool for boosting hand hygiene compliance among health care workers, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
News • CUBRIC
Unravel the mysteries of the human brain
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has officially opened the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), a unique neuroimaging research hub in Wales. The facility will seek to provide unprecedented insights into the causes of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as dementia, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis, as well as an understanding into the mechanisms of a healthy…
News • Politics
Liquid biopsy test from Roche gets FDA approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2, a blood-based companion diagnostic for the cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib). This is the first FDA-approved, blood-based genetic test that can detect epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Such mutations are present in approximately 10-20 percent of non-small cell…
Sponsored • Respiratory support
Extracorporeal technology eases stress
Conventional therapy for ARDS patients and for patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has relied on invasive mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation, however, has several major drawbacks: sedation has to be induced and the air being pressed into the lungs with positive pressure can damage the pulmonary alveoli or the diaphragm. Moreover, even maximum…
News • Plaque
Research suggests new contributor to heart disease
Medical professionals have long known that the buildup of plaque in arteries can cause them to narrow and harden, potentially leading to a whole host of health problems — including heart attack, heart disease and stroke. While high blood pressure and artery stiffness are often associated with plaque buildup, new research from engineers at Washington University in St. Louis shows they are not…
News • Study
First digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial
North West EHealth announced that its unique Linked Database System technology was used to deliver the world’s first digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in the ground-breaking Salford Lung Study* (SLS). The study relied on bespoke software, developed by NorthWest EHealth and securely hosted within the NHS network, that integrated the electronic medical records of consented…
Article • Mini Microscopes
Mobile technology could enhance digital pathology
Mobile technology could prove an important catalyst in helping take digital pathology onto a new level in delivering clinical diagnostics.
Sponsored • Automated DIA
Use the digital image analysis in Breast Cancer
In a study of 436 breast cancer cases with 28 years of survival data histo-pathologists from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden shows that protein tissue-based biomarker data are at least as good as gene expression assays.
