The UK -- Patients admitted to hospital with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face a six-fold greater risk of death if they become infected with Clostridium difficile, according to a new study carried out by researchers at Imperial College London and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust (pub: Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics).
One year ago interventional cardiologists raised champagne glasses to celebrate the first publication of clinical evidence showing that transcatheter valve implants (TAVI) is safe and effective. In May at EuroPCR 2011, cardiologists raised magnifying glasses to look closer at further clinical results. John Brosky reports from Paris
Initially meant to bridge the gap before a heart transplant is performed, today ventricular assist devices (VADs) are increasingly considered ‘a lasting therapy option’, according to Professor Heinrich Schima, Head of the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Technology at the Medical University of Vienna.
A nice drink cannot do any harm? Brain says no. A new study by a Chinese research group shows that even low doses of alcohol can harm the brain immediately though not permanently. “We were investigating the acute effects of low and high doses of alcohol by diffusion tensor imaging, wondering whether the consequences of alcohol administration can be observed by the measurement of apparent…
Poor gut flora is believed to trigger obesity. In the same way, healthy gut flora could reduce the risk. This has shown to be the case in tests on rats. Daily intake of a lactic acid bacteria, which has been given the name Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL19, appears to be able to prevent obesity and reduce the body’s low-level inflammation.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, a global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, announced that interim data from a multi-center European prospective study of the investigational EDWARDS INTUITY Valve System showed promising results for patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR).
Scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are developing a technique based on a new discovery which could pave the way towards detecting Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages - and could help to develop urgently-needed treatments.
A new technique to aid the early detection and diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease has been developed by UK and Germans researchers. The Confocal Laser Endomicroscope (CLE) contains a powerful microscope that allows clinicians to view bacteria in the intestine that are thought to trigger bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
Two small randomised trials published on bmj.com suggest that closed loop insulin delivery (also referred to as an artificial pancreas) may improve overnight blood glucose control and reduce the risk of nocturnal hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 diabetes.
A little over three decades after the world's first human heart transplant (HT), Carmat’s life-size artificial heart, a mix of animal tissue, titanium and missile technology that perfectly replicate a human heart, might save the lives of thousands.
Pushing the power of scanners creates new world for imaging, but whilst high-field magnets bring new capabilities they also pose new challenges for clinicians. John Brosky reports
The Netherlands - In a very crowded train station, why can you immediately recognise the face of a friend? Professor Rainer Goebel wants to find out. Thanks to €10 million in funding from the country’s Limburg Province, the Brains Unlimited project at Maastricht University will install three high-field magnetic resonance imaging scanners that will allow Prof. Goebel to search for an…
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males in developed countries and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. One reason for the increase in diagnosis is the widespread uptake of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, capable of detecting slow growing cancers that might otherwise go undetected.
Over 8,000 international clinicians and scientists travelled to Berlin in March to attend the International Liver Congress 2011, hosted by The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), to hear the latest research, perspectives and treatments in hepatology.
In the first month of 2011, the Centre for Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics at the Paracelsus Private Medical University in Salzburg, Austria, officially opened its doors. Why have pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics so increasingly important in medical research? We asked the head of the new research centre, Professor Markus Paulmichl.
The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
A specially customised pulse oximeter attached to the finger can be used to detect changes in heart and vessel function while you sleep, and this simple technique can even identify patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
The German Medical Technology Association BVMed advocates for clear perspectives for medical technology innovations. "There is a need for a common strategic positioning of industry, science, and politics on research, development, and innovation in medical technology in Germany , states BVMed chairman Dr. Meinrad Lugan in the newly published Annual Report 2010/11.
A multi-centre French study is demonstrating that a four-minute ultrasound scan using a contrast agent can be performed after the first month of treatment and provide quantitative proof of whether a tumour is responding to the therapy.
Breast cancer can develop very differently in different women. Researchers in Norway are improving breast cancer diagnostics and treatment by identifying the various tumour types. The objective is to find out as much as possible about the various tumour types so that each patient can receive precisely the right treatment at the right time.
Although paediatric laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry is a well and long established scientific field, it is still a challenging one with its own special problems, as Dr Massimiliano Cantinotti, Paediatric Cardiologist Consultant at Fondazione G Monasterio, National Research Institute, Massa, Italy, well knows.
To face the national and worldwide increase in diabetes mellitus cases, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research initiated the foundation of the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), aiming to improve basic research, prevention, diagnostic and therapy of diabetes. Inaugurated in Berlin a few months ago, the centre has five strategic partners.
UK – A partly refurbished building in central Oxford is opening to provide space for science entrepreneurs. Science Oxford, a charity that supports education and business in the city, ultimately aims to demolish the building to create a science-focused public building to showcase new technological innovation from the Oxford area.
The closure of Pfizer’s Sandwich Lab is part of a long-term decline in drug development, a trend that has been affecting all major UK pharmaceutical multinationals. Big pharmaceutical companies have been downsizing, outsourcing and merging in an attempts to find an innovation strategy that will keep their pipelines filled with new, potentially profitable products.
There will be nearly 1.3 million deaths from cancer in Europe in 2011 according to predictions from a study published in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology. The estimates, which have been reached after researchers used for the first time in Europe a new mathematical model for predicting cancer mortality, show a fall in overall cancer death rates for both men and women when compared to 2007.