Medicine

Research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) explores pharmaceutical advances for treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatitis C. An international study holds promising results for patients suffering from IBS-D. In the phase II study, researchers found that the drug ibodutant significantly improved symptoms in more than 50 percent of the individuals treated...

Whooping cough has exploded in the United States and some other developed countries in recent decades, and many experts suspect ineffective childhood vaccines for the alarming resurgence. Some say the vaccine wears off quicker than public health officials had previously believed. Others suggest that the vaccine protects against illness but does not prevent transmission of the bacterial disease, which is also known as pertussis...

A cocktail of non-pathogenic bacteria naturally occurring in the digestive tract of healthy humans can protect against a potentially lethal E. coli infection in animal models according to research presented at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, could have important implications for the prevention or even treatment of this disease...

Much of the May/June 2013 issue of Annals of Family Medicine and the entirety of an accompanying supplement published in partnership with the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are about changing primary care practice. Practice transformation on a large scale toward the patient-centered medical home model of care is a cornerstone of health care reform efforts in the United States, and the research and commentary in this issue can serve as a roadmap to achieve practice transformation...

1. Older, Sicker Men Unlikely to Benefit from Aggressive Therapy for Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Older men with localized prostate cancer and other serious health conditions may not benefit from aggressive treatment for their cancer. Surgery and radiation therapy are associated with serious side effects (erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, bowel problems) and are not likely to prolong life. Older men with several comorbid conditions are more likely to die of something other than prostate cancer within 10 years of diagnosis...

A metabolic profile of intensive care unit (ICU) patients based on biomarkers of four metabolites can be used to accurately predict mortality, according to a new study. "Existing models for predicting mortality in the ICU may not always be accurate and they can also be cumbersome to use," said researcher Angela J. Rogers MD, MPH, Instructor in Medicine at Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. "Levels of lactate, a metabolite from the carbohydrate pathway, are an established biomarker for ICU mortality...

People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, as well as more severe airflow obstruction, than those who are exposed to only one type of smoke, according to the results of a new population-based study conducted by researchers in Colombia. The results of the study were presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference...

A new study conducted by Boston researchers reports that the link between asthma and early childhood use of acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be driven by underlying respiratory infections that prompt the use of these analgesics, rather than the drugs themselves. The results of the new study were presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference...

Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston...

Many studies have shown that men and women who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - a disorder that causes breathing to halt intermittently during sleep - have a higher mortality rate than those who do not have the disorder. Now, a study from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic shows that OSA patients who also have poor functional capacity have an even greater risk of mortality and suggests that an assessment of functional capacity in this population can help physicians identify patients most at risk for death...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative neurological disorder marked by a progressive loss of motor control. Despite intensive research, there are currently no approved therapies that have been demonstrated to alter the progression of the disease. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dr. Thomas Foltynie and colleagues at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London investigated the use of a drug approved for diabetes care, Exenatide, in PD patients...

At a time when the spotlight is focused on obesity more than ever, new research suggests that frequency of candy consumption is not associated with weight or certain adverse health risks. According to a recent data analysis published in a recent issue of Nutrition Journal, adults who consume candy at least every other day are no more likely to be overweight nor have greater risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than moderate consumers (about once a week) or even less frequent candy eaters (less than 3 times per month)...

Parasitic wasps switch off the immune systems of fruit flies by draining calcium from the flies' blood cells, a finding that offers new insight into how pathogens break through a host's defenses. "We believe that we have discovered an important component of cellular immunity, one that parasites have learned to take advantage of," says Emory University biologist Todd Schlenke, whose lab led the research...

In a new study described in the journal Oncogene, researchers reveal how a key player in cell growth, immunity and the inflammatory response can be transformed into a primary contributor to tumor growth. Scientists call this Jekyll-and-Hyde molecule NF-kappa B. In healthy cells, it is a powerful "first responder," a vital part of the body's immune and inflammatory responses. It spends most of its life in the cell's cytoplasm, quietly awaiting orders...

A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field study in Liberia, in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. The new test found evidence of the infection - lymphatic filariasis - in many more people that the standard test had missed. The study, the first to independently evaluate the new test, was led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation...

A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets - sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins - is surprisingly small, meaning drug side effects may be impossible to avoid. The study also found that the fundamental biochemical processes needed for life could have been enabled by the simple physics of protein folding...

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) are at higher risk of melanoma, a form of skin cancer, report researchers at Mayo Clinic. Researchers found that IBD is associated with a 37 percent greater risk for the disease. The findings were presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla. More than 1.5 million Americans have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (UC), the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease...

1.) New Rapid Diagnostic Test for Worm Infection Provides Substantial Improvement Over Current Standard According to New African Field Study Provides Compass to Guide Public Health Efforts to Halt Debilitating Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis) A new diagnostic test strip to rapidly detect lymphatic filariasis - also known as elephantiasis - in human blood has significant advantages over the standard card test that has been used for more than a decade to map, monitor and assess the success of the massive global campaign to eliminate the disease...

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have found. In research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University found that when immune cells known as macrophages were systemically removed, salamanders lost their ability to regenerate a limb and instead formed scar tissue...

Many teens across the country are using "study drugs" to give them an academic advantage and help them achieve better results in school. The University of Michigan Mitt Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which was carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that only one percent of parents of teens between the age of 13 to 17 believe their children are using prescription stimulants or amphetamines...