ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Elderly aortic stenosis patients live longer with minimally invasive valve replacement Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT Elderly patients once considered too frail or tool sick for aortic valve replacement surgery are living longer, with better quality of life, following a minimally invasive surgery, compared to patients who did not undergo surgery, according a study.

Test of new device that protects brain during heart-valve procedure Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT In the first multicenter trial of its kind, researchers tested a new device that lowers the risk of stroke and cognitive decline in patients undergoing heart-valve replacement. "One of the major findings is, for the first time, we're showing that with protection, 55% more patients have completely clean brains -- with no ischemic brain lesions at all," said a researcher. Brain lesions increase risk of dementia and stroke two- to three-fold.

Folic acid supplementation among adults with hypertension reduces risk of stroke Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT In a study that included more than 20,000 adults in China with high blood pressure but without a history of stroke or heart attack, the combined use of the hypertension medication enalapril and folic acid, compared with enalapril alone, significantly reduced the risk of first stroke, according to a study.

Organisms can keep gene expression in check, biologist says Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:17 PM PDT Researchers have learned how living beings can keep gene expression in check -- which might partly explain the uncontrolled gene expression found in many cancers. "Using yeast as a model organism, we studied the Tup1 protein, a negative regulator of gene expression," says a biologist, adding, "This protein binds to some genes and blocks their expression, helping to ensure genes that shouldn't be turned on remain inactive."

New quality measures approved for childhood sleep apnea Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT A work group of physicians from leading academic medical centers across the United States has developed new quality measures for the detection and treatment of childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a potentially morbid, life-altering condition that affects hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents nationwide.

New antibody therapy dramatically improves psoriasis symptoms in clinical trial Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT Many patients suffering from psoriasis showed significant recovery after just a single dose of an experimental treatment with a human antibody that blocks an immune signaling protein crucial to the disease, researchers report. By the end of the trial nearly all of the 31 patients to receive treatment saw dramatic, if not complete, improvement in their symptoms.

Chitin, a structural molecule associated with allergy response, is identified in vertebrates Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:11 PM PDT An unexpected discovery overturns a longstanding belief in the biological sciences. The research demonstrates that chitin, a molecule that was previously thought to be absent in vertebrates and that has been shown to trigger an allergy/immune reaction in mammals, is endogenously produced in fishes and amphibians.

E-cigarettes can be regulated now without more research, expert says Posted: 13 Mar 2015 06:45 AM PDT A legal scholar and tobacco control expert says he has developed a research-based roadmap that allows for the immediate regulation of e-cigarettes, and that his proposal would minimize the threats e-cigarettes pose to public health while still enabling them potentially help reduce smoking.

Hospital ratings on social media appear to reflect quality of care Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:30 AM PDT A correlation between how hospitals are rated on Facebook's five-star system and how well they performed on a widely used measure of quality care has been uncovered by researchers. Social media has become an important way for institutions to communicate -- both sending messages and receiving feedback -- with clients and with the general public.

Gene leads to malformation of the urinary tract Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:30 AM PDT A gene that is associated with a rare congenital anomaly of the urinary tract called classic bladder exstrophy has been discovered by a team of researchers. It increases the likelihood that the urinary tract will not form properly during embryonic development. The finding is an important step for understanding the development of urinary tract malformations in general and for developing prophylactic measures.

Detecting cyanide poisoning in 70 seconds Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:26 AM PDT A victim of cyanide poisoning can die within 30 minutes. The diagnostic test to determine cyanide exposure takes 24 hours. Two chemists have developed a prototype that can detect exposure to cyanide in 70 seconds via a blood sample. The device could save lives, whether it be diagnosing exposure from an industrial fire or a terrorist attack

Shaken, not stirred, is best for cancer imaging Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:25 AM PDT Fluorescent probes currently used for bioimaging (for example, cadmium selenide quantum dots) fluoresce brightly enough to show up on detectors but may be toxic and thus unsuitable for use in the body. Now scientists have found that tiny conjugated polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle probes produced by ultrasonication prove superior to commercial products.

Preparation of food grade capsules for targeted drug delivery Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:25 AM PDT A novel capsule has been designed with zein and pectin by taking the advantage of the substances' unique physicochemical properties. Zein is a major corn protein, while pectin is a gelforming polysaccharide obtained from most citrus fruits. In this specially designed capsule, zein acts as a water barrier to protect pectin from swelling while pectin protects zein from intestinal digestion. More importantly, by varying the ratio of these two materials and modifying the capsule design, targeted drug delivery either to the stomach, the small intestine or the colon can be achieved.