Category: Health Problems

New risk test for sepsis for heart patients

Nearly one in four deaths in people with heart failure are caused by sepsis, according to new research. Now scientists from the University of Leeds, who are funded by the British Heart Foundation, have developed a ‘risk profile’ to identify patients who are most at risk, often years before they become ill. The researchers hope

Childhood risk profiles affect middle-age lung function

(HealthDay)—Profiles of childhood respiratory risk factors predict middle-age lung function levels and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk, according to a study published in the September issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Dinh S. Bui, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues assessed 11 childhood risk factor profiles (documented at

Outpatient antibiotic overprescribing rampant

Clinicians prescribed antibiotics without an infection-related diagnosis nearly half of the time and one in five prescriptions were provided without an in-person visit, according to research being presented at IDWeek 2018. The study, which is the first to look at overall outpatient antibiotic prescribing, analyzed more than half a million prescriptions from 514 outpatient clinics.

Polish lawmakers approve more talks on banning vaccinations

Lawmakers from Poland’s conservative ruling party have approved further parliamentary discussion over a controversial plan to abolish compulsory vaccinations for children, including those against serious diseases such as polio, measles, tuberculosis, rubella and whooping cough. A civic group that proposed the plan argues that the vaccinations can be hazardous to small children and insists that

Three-quarters of health care workers got flu shot last year

(HealthDay)—Just over three-quarters of health care personnel received a flu vaccine last season, according to research published in the Sept. 28 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Carla L. Black, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted an opt-in internet panel survey of 2,265

Teen cannabis use is not without risk to cognitive development

Although studies have shown that alcohol and cannabis misuse are related to impaired cognition in youth, previous studies were not designed to understand this relationship and differentiate whether cannabis use was causal or consequential to cognitive impairment. A new study by researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal, published in the American Journal of

New cancer vaccine platform a potential tool for tailored and efficacious targeted cancer therapy

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have reported PeptiENV, a cancer vaccine platform that can be used to improve the therapeutic efficacy of oncolytic enveloped viruses currently in clinical use. With the help of this new cancer vaccine platform, the activation of the human immune response against cancer cells becomes significantly more effective. “What is

Diet affects the breast microbiome in mammals

Diet influences the composition of microbial populations in the mammary glands of nonhuman primates, researchers report October 2 in the journal Cell Reports. Specifically, a Mediterranean diet increased the abundance of probiotic bacteria previously shown to inhibit tumor growth in animals. “We showed for the first time that breast-specific microbiome populations are significantly affected by

Number of COPD events over one year predicts rate of future events

(HealthDay)—The frequency of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPDs) in a single year predicts the long-term rate of AECOPDs, according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Kieran J. Rothnie, Ph.D., from Imperial College London, and colleagues examined the natural history of AECOPDs among 99,574

High-risk HPV linked to improved survival in cervical cancer

The presence of the human high-risk papillomavirus (hrHPV) in the diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer is linked to a greatly improved prognosis compared to cases in which hrHPV cannot be identified in the tumour, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, who have published their results in the scientific journal PLOS Medicine. The researchers

Five things you didn’t know about psychopaths

In the hit BBC TV show, Killing Eve, Villanelle, a psychopathic assassin, tells Eve, a security service operative, “You should never call a psychopath a psychopath. It upsets them.” She then pouts her lip in an imitation of someone feeling upset. Most people think they know what a psychopath is: someone who has no feelings.