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The usually conservative healthcare industry in Central Florida has turned to local video game makers to discover new ways to teach patients about disease and other health-related issues, potentially saving lives in the process. It’s an effort to reach young people where they spend a good portion of their time: on connected devices. “It took

(HealthDay)—The outbreak of E. coli illness tied to tainted Arizona romaine lettuce continues to expand, federal health officials said Wednesday. “Since the last update on April 13, 2018, 18 more ill people have been added to this investigation, bringing the total number to 53,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a

If you have high blood glucose, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes (so-called prediabetes) you may have been advised by your doctor to lose weight and to eat less fat and more fibre. If this sounds a bit one-size-fits-all, you may be encouraged by the fact that other diets may work just

When you are lost or disoriented, your brain uses cues from your surroundings—landmarks both near and far—to sort out where you are. The information gathered by your senses is transmitted by nerve cells, or neurons, to specific brain regions where the signal is routed through circuits and sent downstream to areas that essentially translate the

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time found direct causal links between the neurotransmitter dopamine and avoidance—behavior related to pain and fear. Researchers have long known that dopamine plays a key role in driving behavior related to pleasurable goals, such as food, sex and social interaction. In general,

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has determined that poorer childhood cognition occurred, particularly in memory and learning, when pregnant women or their offspring consumed greater quantities of sugar. Substituting diet soda for sugar-sweetened versions during pregnancy also appeared to have negative effects. However, children’s fruit consumption had beneficial effects

An international team focused on HIV cure research spearheaded by The Wistar Institute in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona, Spain, established that the CD32 molecule is not a preferential biomarker to identify HIV silent reservoirs within the immune system of patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART), as

Interruptions in workflow, such as a phone call while working on another task, or when a colleague stops by for a chat, can lead to inefficiencies in the workplace. For nurses working in emergency departments, those interruptions could affect patient care. Now, a study from the University of Missouri has determined that workflow interruptions are

People of all ages are at risk from diseases brought on by loneliness, new data has revealed. According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics, 2.4m adult British residents – of all ages – suffer from chronic loneliness. That number, combined with research highlighting the medical dangers posed by loneliness, could see the

New research, published in Biological Reviews and conducted by researchers from the University of Liverpool and Escola Superior de Ciências da Saúde (Brasília, Brazil) has found some type of cancers unique to humans may be a result of evolutionary accidents. Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. But humans are not the only species

One class of drug used to treat type 2 diabetes may not reduce the risk of death when compared with placebo, suggests new findings. The research, led by scientists from Imperial College London and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, studied three types of diabetes treatment: sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, glucagon-like

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new disease model for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and MS that can be used to develop new immunotherapies. The model is described in a publication in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. All of the body’s organs contain macrophages, which, as part of the immune system,

Checkpoint inhibitors that block the protein PD-1 are used in melanoma patients after they’ve had surgery to remove their cancer, but not all patients benefit from the immunotherapy. Now a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that shifting use of anti-PD-1 drugs to before surgery may provide clues

Medical cannabis and synthetic marijuana extracts should not be used for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, according to a position statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). In November 2017 the Minnesota Department of Health announced the decision to add obstructive sleep apnea as a new qualifying condition for the state’s medical

Scientists at the University of Waterloo have developed a new tool to protect women from HIV infection. The tool, a vaginal implant, decreases the number of cells that the HIV virus can target in a woman’s genital tract. Unlike conventional methods of HIV prevention, such as condoms or anti-HIV drugs, the implant takes advantage of

(HealthDay)—When it comes to a fever, what’s true for kids isn’t necessarily so for adults. Even a slight temperature in a child warrants a call to the doctor. That’s not the case, though, for most fevers in most adults. What’s considered a normal temperature varies from one adult to the next. In general, though, 98.6

A new view of a protein frequently mutated in pituitary tumors is overturning conventional wisdom and could point to novel targets for cancer drugs. The protein, a “G protein” called Gαs, initiates messages inside cells. But a single mutation alters Gαs action in a surprising way. The protein’s molecular “off switch” actually switches activity on,

Alpha-gal allergy has commonly been referred to as “the red meat” allergy, but doctors at the Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program (ASAP) helped uncover that not only red meat, but some medications, can contain alpha-gal. Cosby Stone, MD, a fellow in the ASAP clinic, said recent patients have led researchers to take a deeper

We have developed “smart egg carton” packages for transporting live human pancreas cells for transplantation to diabetic patients. The egg cartons provide oxygen and allow physical separation to prevent damage and death to the cells – known as islet cells – during transport. Besides a whole pancreas transplant (which has a high mortality rate), currently

(HealthDay)—It’s no secret that weight gain results from consuming too many calories. But at its core is an imbalance of healthy and unhealthy habits. On one side of the scale—the healthy side—are foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein and plant-based fats. On the other side are the not-so-healthy options—sugary foods, those