Medical News & Science News

Medical News Researchers Develop “MAGIC Algorithm” to Predict Whether Bone Marrow Transplant Patients May Die From Common Complication Researchers at Mount Sinai Health System have discovered a way to predict whether blood cancer patients who received a bone marrow transplant will develop graft-versus-host disease, a common and often lethal complication, according to a study publish... – Mount Sinai Health System JCI Insight, Feb-2017 Embargo expired on 09-Feb-2017 at 09:00 ET Researchers Identify New Cause of Brain Defects in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Boston Children’s Hospital researchers have uncovered a new molecular pathway that inhibits the myelination of neurons in the brains of patients with the rare genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The study, “Neuronal CTGF/CCN2 negat... – The Rockefeller University Press The Journal of Experimental Medicine, March 2016; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (5P30HD018655); U.S. Department of Defense (W81XWH-13-1-0040) Embargo expired on 09-Feb-2017 at 09:00 ET Campus Stormwater Project Nurtures Neighboring River Sacramento State's innovative LID project is complete, and the American River is cleaner and safer because of it. – California State University, Sacramento Embargo expired on 09-Feb-2017 at 00:00 ET Blood Test May Help Differentiate Parkinson’s From Similar Diseases A simple blood test may be as accurate as a spinal fluid test when trying to determine whether symptoms are caused by Parkinson’s disease or another atypical parkinsonism disorder, according to a new study published in the February 8, 2017, online ... – American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 16:00 ET Eating Whole Grains Led to Modest Improvements in Gut Microbiota and Immune Response In a clinical trial, adults who consumed a diet rich in whole grains rather than refined grains had modest improvements in healthy gut microbiota and certain immune responses. – Tufts University Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 14:00 ET New Study Finds That Eating Whole Grains Increases Metabolism and Digestive Calorie Losses A new study suggests that substituting whole grains for refined grains in the diet increases metabolism and calorie losses during digestion. – Tufts University Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 14:00 ET Excessive Antibiotic Use in Newborns Can Permanently Damage Lungs’ Defenses Doctors have long understood that antibiotics that protect infants from infection also can disrupt the normal growth of their gut bacteria. However, a new study reveals that the consequences of routine antibiotic use may be deeper and longer lasting ... – Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Science Translational Medicine, Feb. 8, 2018 Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 14:00 ET Calcified Plaque Raises Heart Disease Risk for Younger Adults A major report led by Vanderbilt investigators found that the mere presence of even a small amount of calcified coronary plaque, more commonly referred to as coronary artery calcium (CAC), in people under age 50 — even small amounts — was strongl... – Vanderbilt University Medical Center New England Journal of Medicine Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 11:00 ET Social Risk Factors Influence Health Outcomes, Medicare Payment Social risk factors including income, education and ethnic background influence health outcomes and should be taken into account in Medicare payment models, according to a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective released today, "Social Risk Facto... – Vanderbilt University Medical Center NEJM Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 17:00 ET To Make Medicare Better for All, Take Social Risk Factors Into Account, Experts Recommend It’s time for the Medicare system to take non-medical, “social” risk factors into account when it decides how to pay or grade hospitals and other health care providers, two experts say based on a new National Academies report. Doing so could in... – Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan NEJM, Perspective, February 9, 2017: DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1700081 Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 17:00 ET Foods That Protect Against Heart Disease, Sitting Not Linked to Incident Diabetes, New Studies on Suppressing the Urge to Eat, and More in the Obesity News Source Click here to go directly to Newswise's Obesity News Source – Newswise PTSD Symptoms May Be Prevented With Ketamine Columbia University researchers have evidence that giving a small dose of ketamine one week before a psychologically traumatic event may help prevent PTSD. The study, in mice, may have implications for soldiers who are at risk for trauma and PTSD. – Columbia University Medical Center Neuropsychopharmacology Troubling Inconsistency Found in Dialysis Blood Testing Methods A blood test used to determine the health and well-being of dialysis patients produces worryingly inconsistent results depending on which testing method is used, new research reveals. – University of Virginia Health System Houston Methodist Hospital Announces First Implant of New FDA-Approved Stent Graft to Treat Peripheral Arterial Disease A new stent opens up iliac arteries, the three arteries that run from the end of the aorta down to the pelvis and legs. When these arteries are clogged it can cause a whole host of problems. – Houston Methodist Immunotherapy May Need to Have Its Own Value Model Immunotherapy has been a game changer for the oncology field, but typical models used to assess the value of cancer treatments don’t take into account the unique characteristics of this therapy, according to experts at the 2016 annual meeting of th... – Yale Cancer Center Scientists' Computational Models Predict Mutations' Effect on Proteins According to new research, the key to a successful, long-term relationship is for each partner to adapt to the other’s changes over time. – University of Texas at Dallas Molecular Biology and Evolution UT Southwestern Scientists Identify Mechanisms Behind Harmful Changes in the Gut’s Bacterial Balance During Inflammation A study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has uncovered key molecular pathways behind the disruption of the gut’s delicate balance of bacteria during episodes of inflammatory disease. – UT Southwestern Medical Center Cell Host & Microbe, Feb-2017 Improving Medicare, Online Health Visits, Surplus Medical Equipment Go to Ghana, Flu Panic, and More in the Healthcare News Source The latest research, features and announcements in healthcare in the Healthcare News Source – Newswise Promising Epigenetic Drug Target for Diabetes A new research report published in the November 24 issue of the Clinical Epigenetics, suggests that epigenetic mechanism based drugs could become one of the treatment armamentarium of future anti-diabetic agents. – Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) Clin Epigenetics. 2016 Nov 24;8:125. UTHealth’s Eric Thomas Appointed to Patient Safety Post As part of a landmark patient safety study, Eric Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), has been appointed to the Board of Advisors of the Nationa... – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Human Brain ‘Organoids’ Offer New Insight Into Rare Developmental Disease Research led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has used brain “organoids” — tiny 3D models of human organs that scientists grow in a dish to study disease — to identify root causes of Mil... – Case Western Reserve University Cell Stem Cell, Jan-2017; NS075998; MH105989; GCIR-06673; TG2-01153; 5K99NS088572 Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Cell Death Agent a Potential Treatment for Vision Loss Associated with Multiple Sclerosis A new therapeutic agent tested in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) produced anti-inflammatory activity and prevented loss of cells in the optic nerve, according to a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the Universit... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania A Silver Bullet Against MRSA: Silver Ion-Coated Medical Devices Could Fight MRSA While Creating New Bone The rise of MRSA infections is limiting the treatment options for physicians and surgeons. Now, an international team of researchers, led by Elizabeth Loboa, dean of the University of Missouri College of Engineering, has used silver ion-coated scaffo... – University of Missouri Health NIH Genetic Profiling Can Guide Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Study Finds A single blood test and basic information about a patient’s medical status can indicate which patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are likely to benefit from a stem cell transplant, according to new research by scientists at Dana-Farber Can... – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute New England Journal of Medicine Using a Printed 3-D Model as a Guide, Cardiologist Creates a Modified Stent to Repair a Toddler’s Pulmonary Artery and Gives a Family Hope Using a printed 3-D model as a guide, a Children’s Hospital Los Angeles cardiologist specially modified a stent to repair an 18-month-old’s narrowed pulmonary artery. – Childrens Hospital Los Angeles International Team of Researchers Develop New Model for Earlier Treatments for AMD An international team of researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, University College London and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA have developed a cell culture model that could help to develop earlier treatment strategies for age-rel... – Queen's University Belfast Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Mayo Clinic Researchers Quantify Immune Cells Associated with Future Breast Cancer Risk Researchers from Mayo Clinic have quantified the numbers of various types of immune cells associated with the risk of developing breast cancer. The findings are published in a study in Clinical Cancer Research. – Mayo Clinic UAB First in Alabama to Implement New FDA-Approved PFO Occluder Massoud Leesar, M.D., performed the first procedure Jan. 25, 2017, and that is good news for people who suffer strokes as a result of patent foramen ovale, or PFO. – University of Alabama at Birmingham Give Your Heart a Healthy Valentine’s Day Gift While boxes of decadent chocolates treats, celebratory champagne and romantic high-calorie dinners may dance in your mind as a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, your heart may be pining for something else. With Valentine's Day just around the co... – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Every Diagnosis of Cancer Should Come with One of These, Says Cancer Expert “Every cancer diagnosis should come with a referral to genetic counseling,” says cancer expert Dr. Antonio Giordano, President of the Sbarro Health Research Organization at Temple University. Expert Available – Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) JAMA ‘Smokeless Doesn’t Mean Harmless’ Campaign May Be Doing More Harm, Researchers Argue FDA ad campaign geared toward rural teens who use smokeless tobacco products fails to provide public with important information on relative risks of smokeless tobacco compared to traditional cigarettes, Kozlowski and Sweanor write. Expert Available – University at Buffalo Addictive Behaviors, published online Jan 25, 2017 Early Detection of Macular Degeneration Vital to Preserve Vision, Wills Eye Expert Says Carl D. Regillo, MD Chief of the Wills Eye Hospital Retina Service discusses what patients need to know about Age-Related Macular Degeneration Expert Available – Wills Eye Hospital Renowned Neurologist to Oversee Headache and Migraine Care and Research at NYU Langone In a concerted effort to help address the unique and complex needs of patients with headaches and migraines, NYU Langone has recruited nationally renowned expert Lawrence Newman, MD, to serve as its new director of the division of Headache Medicine ... – NYU Langone Medical Center School of Dentistry Expands Clinical Operation to Southeastern Kentucky The University of Louisville School of Dentistry will collaborate with the Red Bird Clinic, Inc., to offer comprehensive, general dentistry. – University of Louisville TSF Awards $655,000 in Cardiothoracic Surgery Grants The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) has announced 16 new grants in support of research and education programs in cardiothoracic surgery. – The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research Now Published by Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry, is pleased to announce a new, long-term publishing partnership with the The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons® (ABJS). Beginning i... – Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research Open Philanthropy Project Awards $16 Million to Center for Health Security The Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been awarded a three-year, $16 million grant from the Open Philanthropy Project to support the Center’s work on strengthening health security and public healt... – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Penn Genetics Researcher Receives Grant From Pharmaceutical Consortium to Study Diabetic Kidney Disease Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Medicine and Genetics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received a $3 million grant from a consortium of pharmaceutical companies to identify genes and other ... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania UChicago Receives $2.4 Million NIH Grant to Build Visual Prosthesis The University of Chicago Medicine has been awarded a $2.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a system of wireless brain implants that might restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight. – University of Chicago Medical Center UG3NS095557 For National Nutrition Month, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Says “Put Your Best Fork Forward” When Dining Out At the office or a restaurant, eating away from home doesn’t have to undermine your healthful habits. To help find your healthy eating style during National Nutrition Month®, celebrated each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages... – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Georgia State Biologist Receives $1.8 Million Grant From NIH to Investigate Pain Treatment for Elderly Dr. Anne Murphy, a biologist of Georgia State University, has received a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to investigate pain management therapies for people aged 65 or older. – Georgia State University AACC Partners with NEJM Group to Launch AACC Learning Lab AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce the launch of AACC Learning Lab. Developed through a collaboration with NEJM Group—the publisher of the N... – American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) UTHealth’s Lillian Kao Appointed Acute Care Surgery Chief Lillian Kao, M.D., M.S., professor of surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), has been appointed chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The American Society of Nephrology Partners with the Department of Veterans Affairs to Advance Best Practices and Approaches to Kidney Disease The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is pleased to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to host the upcoming Kidney Innovation Summit. The Summit will take place at the Booz Allen Hamilton Center for Innovation in Washington, DC o... – American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Lobos Love Pink Week Raises Awareness for Breast Cancer, Celebrates Survivors To celebrate Valentine’s Day, The University of New Mexico Lobo Men’s and Women’s basketball teams are joining forces to honor all those who have beaten breast cancer, still face it, or have lost to it. They plan to hold their Lobos Love Pink b... – University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center Science News First Nuclear Explosion Helps Test Theory of Moon’s Formation Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego Professor James Day and colleagues examined radioactive glass found blanketing the ground after the first nuclear test bomb explosion is being used by scientists to test th... – University of California San Diego Science Advances Embargo expired on 08-Feb-2017 at 14:00 ET Meta-Lenses Bring Benchtop Performance to Small, Hand-Held Spectrometer A research team of physicists from Harvard University has developed new hand-held spectrometers capable of the same performance as large, benchtop instruments. The researchers’ innovation, explained this week in APL Photonics, derives from their gr... – American Institute of Physics (AIP) Chimpanzee Feet Allow Scientists a New Grasp on Human Foot Evolution An investigation into the evolution of human walking by looking at how chimpanzees walk on two legs is the subject of a new research paper published in Journal of Human Evolution. – New York Institute of Technology Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 104, March 2017, pages 23-31 New Ludwig Research Will Shift How Cancer Diversity and Resistance Are Understood and Studied Ludwig researchers discover that circular DNA, once thought to be rare in tumor cells, is actually very common and seems to play a fundamental role in tumor evolution – Ludwig Cancer Research Nature, Feb-2017 CWRU Researcher Discovers Fish Uses Sneaking Behavior as Stealth Mating Strategy A Case Western Reserve University researcher found and videoed the Cuatro Ciénegas cichlid, Herichthys minckleyi, using the reproductive strategy called sneaking to insert himself between a mating pair and pass his DNA onto the next generation. – Case Western Reserve University Largest Undersea Landslide Revealed on the Great Barrier Reef James Cook University scientists have helped discover the remnants of a massive undersea landslide on the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 30 times the volume of Uluru. – James Cook University Marine Geology Researchers Invent a Breakthrough Process to Produce Renewable Car Tires From Trees and Grasses A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has invented a new technology to produce automobile tires from trees and grasses in a process that could shift the tire production industry toward using renewable resources found right in our... – University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering Grow, Mow, Mulch: Finding Lawn’s Value Can grassy lawns affect carbon and nitrogen in the soil? Researchers found grass species and mowing habits can make a difference. – American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Agronomy Journal, December 1, 2016 Reforestation in Urban Landscapes By conducting research at Tifft Nature Preserve, a post-industrial urban site in Buffalo, New York, researchers investigate the reforestation taking place in terms of seed immigration and seedling survival. The research suggests that significant huma... – SUNY Buffalo State Labatore, A.C., Spiering, D.J., Potts, D.L. et al. Urban Ecosyst (2016). doi:10.1007/s11252-016-0601-x Hidden Lakes Drain Below West Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier Drainage of four interconnected lakes below Thwaites Glacier in late 2013 caused only a 10 percent increase in the glacier’s speed. The glacier’s recent speedup is therefore not due to changes in meltwater flow along its underside. – University of Washington The Cryosphere Dr. Jonathan Slaght to Be Honored for Work to Conserve Blakiston’s Fish Owl The WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) announced today that Dr. Jonathan Slaght will be honored for his work in Russia to conserve the Blakiston’s fish owl, an endangered species and the largest owl in the world. – Wildlife Conservation Society ADA Funds Kostic Lab to Create Model Linking the Microbiome to Type 1 Diabetes American Diabetes Association awards Aleksandar Kostic, PhD, of Joslin Diabetes Center, $1.625M for the development of a novel experimental system designed to improve our understanding about how bacteria in the gut (the gut “microbiome”) may cont... – Joslin Diabetes Center IFT17: Go With Purpose Registration is Now Open Registration is now open for IFT17: Go With Purpose in Las Vegas, June 25-28 at The Sands Expo Center. Hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), this year’s annual event will host food science and technology thought leaders from more tha... – Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Opens Nominations for Board of Directors The Membership Committee of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) is seeking nominations for the organization’s Board of Directors. – Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System-Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) Lifestyle & Social Sciences Broken Pebbles Offer Clues to Paleolithic Funeral Rituals Researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Italy uncover evidence that people in the Upper Paleolithic Period used stone spatulas to decorate the bodies of the dead with ochre – Universite de Montreal Cambridge Archeological Journal, Jan. 18, 2017 Experts on Immigration, Refugees, Lincoln, and Fake News in the U.S. Politics News Source Go here for the latest political experts, features and research in U.S. Politics – Newswise Campus Life VP Penny Rue to Lead National Student Affairs Organization Wake Forest University Vice President for Campus Life Penny Rue has been chosen for the most distinguished volunteer leadership role in her field – Board Chair-elect of NASPA, the leading association for student affairs professionals. – Wake Forest University Key Friendships Vital for Effective Human Social Networks Close friendships facilitate the exchange of information and culture, making social networks more effective for cultural transmission, according to new UCL research that used wireless tracking technology to map social interactions in remote hunter-ga... – University College London Nature Human Behaviour Poor and Less Educated Suffer the Most From Chronic Pain Poorer and less-educated older Americans are more like to suffer from chronic pain than those with greater wealth and more education, but the disparity between the two groups is much greater than previously thought, according to new research by a Uni... – University at Buffalo Pain A Trust Gap May Hinder Academic Success for Minorities Middle school students of color who lose trust in their teachers due to perceptions of mistreatment from school authorities are less likely to attend college even if they generally had good grades, according to psychology research at The University o... – University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) Romance and Wrangling as Valentine’s Day Nears: Here’s How to Handle Feuds with Your Partner ... – Baylor University