Category: Health Problems

New drug combo improves survival of women with rare uterine cancer

Adding the monoclonal antibody drug trastuzumab—already used to treat certain breast cancers—to the chemotherapy regimen of women with a rare form of uterine cancer lengthens the amount of time their tumors are kept from growing, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conducting a small phase II trial of the regimen, testing its safety and value.

Heart screening could protect hundreds from stroke

Testing Māori and Pacific people for an irregular heartbeat earlier could spare hundreds of people from stroke each year, a University of Auckland study has found. The research, a collaboration between University researchers and the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, reveals for the first time that Māori and Pacific people develop Atrial Fibrillation (AF) an

Pharmacists play role in cutting hospital-acquired infections

(HealthDay)—Pharmacists have been involved in the recent progress made toward reducing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), according to an article published in Drug Topics. According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2008 and 2016 there was a 50 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections as well as other

Blood flow is a major influence on tumor cell metastasis

Scientists have long theorized that blood flow plays an integral role in cancer metastasis. But new research testing this long-held hypothesis in zebrafish and humans confirms that the circulatory blood flow impacts the position where circulating tumor cells ultimately arrest in the vasculature and exit into the body, where they can form a metastasis. In

Study sheds new light on how bilinguals process language

Research led by a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside, shows that bilinguals regulate, or suppress, their native language when reading in a second language. Many in media and in science often assume that reading or speaking in a second language—one that has been learned later in life than the native or first language—is

Gut microbes influence severity of intestinal parasitic infections

A new study indicates that the kinds of microbes living in the gut influence the severity and recurrence of parasitic worm infections in developing countries. The findings, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, suggest that manipulating the gut’s microbial communities may protect against intestinal parasites, which affect more than 1

Medicaid expansion has no negative effect on cardiovascular procedural outcomes: study

Michigan’s Medicaid expansion was associated with more people receiving procedures for coronary artery disease without a negative effect on patient outcomes. That’s according to a recent research letter in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Relative to the 24 months prior to the April 2014 expansion, patients having coronary revascularization procedures within 24

Link between 2 key Alzheimer’s proteins explained

It’s a paradox of Alzheimer’s disease: Plaques of the sticky protein amyloid beta are the most characteristic sign in the brain of the deadly neurodegenerative disease. However, many older people have such plaques in their brains but do not have dementia. The memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer’s instead is associated with tangles of a

For women with kidney cancer, belly fat matters

Belly fat affects the odds of women surviving kidney cancer but not men, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Half of female kidney cancer patients with substantial abdominal fat at the time of diagnosis died within 3 1/2 years, while more than half of women

Rats, cats, and people trade-off as main course for mosquitoes in Baltimore, Md.

Understanding how neighborhood dynamics regulate mosquito bites is key to managing diseases like West Nile virus and Zika virus. Today in Parasites & Vectors, researchers report that in Baltimore, Maryland, socioeconomic differences between neighborhoods influence bite risk, with rats being a primary blood meal source in lower income neighborhoods. Shannon LaDeau, a disease ecologist at

Brain waves synchronize at live music performances

If you enjoy listening to music, a live performance is where that enjoyment will peak, according to a new study led by Western researchers. When individuals attend a live concert and listen to music as a group, their brains waves synchronize – a bond that indicates each individual is having a better time as part

Repairing a leaky blood-brain barrier in epilepsy

Blocking the activity of an enzyme that has a key role in the generation of recurring seizures may provide a new way to treat epilepsy that is resistant to anti-seizure drugs, according to a study of rats and mice published in JNeurosci. One-third of people with epilepsy, one of the most common neurological disorders, do