Genes Play a Role in Peanut Allergies
researchers find genetic susceptibility to a potentially lethal food allergy, though findings also suggest other factors at work Researchers have pinpointed a region in the human genome associated with peanut allergy in U.S. children, offering strong evidence that genes can play a role in the…
FDA Approves New Drug for Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
The Obesity Society says that while not all individuals with obesity have BED, about 7-10% of those who seek obesity treatment are affected The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, under the brand name Vyvanse, to treat moderate to severe…
Blood Vessel Calcification May Put Kidney Stone Formers at Increased Risk of Heart Disease
Blood Vessel Calcification May Put Kidney Stone Formers at Increased Risk of Heart Disease Such build-up of calcium may also increase their risk of osteoporosis Highlights• People who develop recurrent kidney stones have more calcification in their arteries, which could explain their increased risk for…
Confirmed – Tamiflu reduces length of symptoms, complications, and hospital admissions from influenza
The most thorough analysis of oseltamivir (marketed as Tamiflu) data to date, including all available published and unpublished randomised treatment trials of adults, suggests that the antiviral drug shortens the duration of flu symptoms by about a day, compared to placebo, in adults with laboratory-confirmed…
Quick Antibiotics Reduce PICU Needs and Mortality of Pediatric Cancer Patients
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer shows that pediatric cancer patients who receive antibiotics within 60 minutes of reporting fever and showing neutropenia (low neutrophil count), go on to have decreased intensive care consultation rate and…
Warning on Use of melatonin for Children’s Sleep
Sleep researchers at the University of Adelaide are warning doctors and parents not to provide the drug melatonin to children to help control their sleep problems.Melatonin is a hormone produced in the body with the onset of darkness. It plays an important role in fine…
Simple Ultrasound Measure Can Diagnose Postoperative Urinary Retention
Test Provides Quick, Inexpensive Alternative for Assessing Common Complication, Reports Anesthesia & Analgesia In patients who don’t resume normal urination after surgery, a simple ultrasound test can accurately diagnose the common problem of postoperative urinary retention (POUR), reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.Using ultrasound…
Gastric Bypass Improves Long-Term Survival
Obese patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery have significantly better long-term survival rates than obese patients who do not receive the surgery, according to a University of Virginia Health System study.Published online in The American Journal of Surgery, the study compared 401 patients who received…
Smartphone, Finger Prick, 15 Minutes, Diagnosis—Done!
Columbia Engineers Create Smartphone Accessory for Rapid Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases—HIV + Syphilis—at Point of Care A team of researchers, led by Samuel K. Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can perform a point-of-care test…
Cocaine Users Have Impaired Ability to Predict Loss
Cocaine addicted individuals may continue their habit despite unfavorable consequences like imprisonment or loss of relationships because their brain circuits responsible for predicting emotional loss are impaired, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in…
Smokers Have Strong Support for Many E-Cigarette Policies
Smokers’ Attitudes Examined as FDA Prepares to Issue Final Ruling on Extending Regulatory Authority to Devices As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to issue a final ruling on whether it will extend its tobacco regulatory authority to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), researchers…
Stress may partly explain worse heart attack recovery in young and middle-aged women
Stress may partly explain why young and middle-aged women have a worse recovery after heart attack, according to new research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.Although 35,000 women under age 65 experience heart attack each year in the United States, there’s limited data…