SIE

Drug May Make Breathing Easier for Millions

An experimental drug could make millions of people suffering from smoker’s lung breathe much easier. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or smoker’s lung, is an irreversible progressive illness caused by narrowing of the airways. It encompasses emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In tests involving 500 people who had suffered from COPD for more than a decade, the drug appeared...

More Accurate "PROSTATE CANCER" Test can save Unnecessary Biopsies

Prostate cancer can effect men over the age of 40 years and is the second commonest cancer among men after lung cancer. Usually it goes undetected till it is advanced and beyond cure. However a lot of awareness has been created about this condition and now men over the age of 40 years can be screened regularly to detect the cancer. One of the most promising "tumour markers" in medicine...

Diabetic testing gets easier

Of all the problems associated with diabetes, the most painful and bothering one is the trauma of going through the daily blood tests. The worst part according to many diabetics is the finger stick. There are unfortunate patients who use the stick up to six times a day for more than ten to twenty years or so. The main obstacle of these tests is the pain and discomfort associated with them...

Decision making made easier

Audio-visual communication has always been an effective utility tool to the field of medicine. An interactive video disc is helping patients make important decisions about their treatment. The days when doctors told you what treatment to have are long gone. Patients today expect to participate in the decision-making process.// But sometimes this is difficult, when the clinical evidence gi...

New virtual colonoscopy procedure for easier colon screening

Numerous patients who need a screening of the colon do not go through the procedure for fear of the procedure. The colonoscopy procedure that is currently available involves inserting a flexible tube with a viewing instrument into the rectum. It requires anaesthesia and there's a remote chance that the colon wall could be perforated by the tube. However, patients now have an easier option...

Decision making made easier

Audio-visual communication has always been an effective utility tool to the field of medicine. An interactive video disc is helping patients make important decisions about their treatment. The days when doctors told you what treatment //to have are long gone. Patients today expect to participate in the decision-making process. But sometimes this is difficult, when the clinical evidence gi...

Testing for blood sugar levels made easier

The foundation of diabetics care is the regular monitoring of blood sugar levels. But doctors say that many patients do not adhere to this routine because of inconvenience or discomfort, as this requires multiple blood samples to be taken by puncturing// their fingers or forearm. However, researchers from University of Texas have discovered a new non-invasive test, using optical coherence...

Easier Dialysis for Kids

Currently, up to 5,000 children in the United States are on dialysis for kidney failure. Each year, as many as 1,000 more develop kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a transplant. Now a new device makes dialysis a little easier on young patients and their families.Maya Zarger and her sister Aneka are alike in a lot of ways. But at 18 months old, Maya has been through more than mos...

Easier Treatment for Blood Clot

A pulmonary embolism is a fairly common condition that can be fatal. It is defined as an obstruction of a blood vessel in the lungs, usually due to a blood clot, //which blocks a coronary artery. While treatment is not always successful for a pulmonary embolism, a new study shows a new treatment is just as effective and easier to administer to patients than the current treatment. Accor...

Easier Methods Required to Screen Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a major medical problem often leading to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Being overweight greatly increases the odds someone will be insulin //resistant, but not all overweight or obese people are afflicted. The insulin suppression test used to identify insulin resistance, however, it is too difficult to administer to large numbers of people. Researchers have...

Easier Methods Required to Screen Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a major medical problem often leading to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Being overweight greatly increases the odds someone will be insulin // resistant, but not all overweight or obese people are afflicted. The insulin suppression test used to identify insulin resistance, however, it is too difficult to administer to large numbers of people. Researchers hav...

Adopting Easier Methods To Screen Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a major medical problem often leading to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Being overweight greatly increases the odds // someone will be insulin resistant, but not all overweight or obese people are afflicted. The insulin suppression test used to identify insulin resistance, however, it is too difficult to administer to large numbers of people. Researchers have...

Easier Tests To Detect Tuberculosis

Someone in the world is infected with tuberculosis every second and someone dies from the disease every 15 seconds. // Two new studies have discovered easier tests to detect this deadly disease in infants and children in poor countries. Diagnosing tuberculosis is generally done with a gastric lavage. It's an invasive test that involves putting a tube down the throat to collect a sputum s...

Cancer diagnosis easier from microRNA

MicroRNA profile analysis has been developed as a tool to diagnose cancer by scientists of Broad Institute// of MIT and Harvard. Researchers have also been able to develop a technology that will be able to test the microRNA profile through an easy and not expensive diagnostic test. MicroRNA (miRNA) are small RNA molecules that control the level of proteins made from transcribed genes....

New and easier method of radiation

Women diagnosed with breast cancer are put off just with the news and then following it up with surgery and radiation, which takes 6 weeks, disrupts their world completely. However, researchers now claim that there may be an easier and less disruptive way of treating these cancers. Radiation oncologist Frank Vicini, M.D., of Beaumont Hospital// in Detroit said that with a new type of trea...

Nobel For Ulcer-Defying Aussie Scientists

If winning a Nobel Prize meant swallowing a glassful of dangerous bacteria, not many will come forward. Australian professor Barry Marshall however did just that. He swallowed a cocktail of bacteria to prove that // stomach ulcers are bacterial in origin rather than stress or lifestyle-related. And his bacteria swallowing has proved very useful as his colleague Robin Warren and he wer...

Biopsies Of Human Skin And Bone Marrow Support T Cell Development

Recent research suggests that biopsies of human skin and bone marrow can provide the basis for the generation of a new, patient-specific T cell repertoire. T cells generated in skin cell cultures are diverse, mature, functional, and tolerant to self-MHC//. T cells play a central role in the human adaptive immune system, discriminating self from non-self, directing less specific elements...

Aussie teens applauded for declining sun tan

Australian teenagers are turning their backs on tanning amid growing concerns over skin cancer, according to The Cancer Council's National Sun Survey. The survey shows that teenagers are resisting the urge to tan because of skin cancer risks. // The Survey interviewed 5,073 Australian adults and 699 Australian teenagers aged 12 to 17 by telephone during the summer of 2003/04, and found...

Aussie Nobel Prize Winners Receive Their Awards

Professor Barry Marshall and Doctor Robin Warren, the Australian Nobel Prize winners for medicine received their awards from the King of Sweden in a glitzy ceremony at Stockholm yesterday. // The Nobel Committe was unequivocal in praising the team for their belief in their concept. Professor Marshall and Dr Warren were of the opinion that stomach ulcers are caused by bacteria and not b...

Aussie Rules, High on Football Injuries

Aussie rules always ruled higher in the opinion of parents’ when compared to rugby-codes. But this opinion stands challenged, as new research has pointed out that Australian Football accounts for the highest injuries as compared to all other types of football. // The Aussie code seems to have topped the charts of contact sports injuries, the second place being occupied by league , the th...

Aussie Scientists Claim Genetic Breakthrough In Dietary Fibre

Scientists from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University have identified the genes, which control the amount of fibre in grains such as wheat and barley. With the stress being on eating a fibre-rich diet, // the Aussie researchers fell that this discovery would allow them to manipulate the fibre content of foods. The genes are important in the production of beta-glucans, whic...

Aussie Model Macpherson Hated Tall Figure

Elle Macpherson, the Australian model says that she had a lot of insecurities as a young model and hence was not able to appreciate her "amazing body" //. Macpherson hated her tall figure because she felt unfashionable and unfeminine, reported contactmusic.com. She says, "I have to say I had an amazing body and I didn't appreciate it. I was so uncomfortable in my skin. I fe...

Profound Scars Lay Siege On the Mental Health Of Hurricane Survivors, A study

Hurricanes leave a trail of devastation and a study that has delved into the mental psyche of hurricane survivors has shown the prevalence of deep scars that take very long to heal. // A team of students from the Florida State University led by sociology graduate student David Russell, analyzed the mental state of 975 adolescents who had survived the1992’ Hurricane Andrew. These youth...

Klebsiella Outbreak In Durban Blamed On Staff Shortage & Overcrowding

The national director general of health had stated on Friday that the precedent conditions of staff shortages and overcrowding had led to the Klebsiella// outbreak at Durban's Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, which had killed 22 babies early in 2005. Thami Mseleku said, “Nobody needs to communicate these problems. We are looking at a historical issue from before 1994. It's (overcrowd...

Aussie Doctors Claim Breakthrough in Breast Cancer Treatment

Australian doctors are claiming to have found a breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer by using scans to better predict the success of therapies.// According to Professor Miles Prince from Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre a six-year study using positron emission tomography (PET) would probably change the way breast cancers were treated worldwide. The centre's st...

'Autopsies' dissected

A recent survey done to study the accuracy of autopsy reports have shown that one –fourth of all autopsies done in England is flawed and quite inaccurate. It's sad to note that unlike popular belief a death certificate // may not actually have the last say regarding the cause of death of an individual. The enquiry done by The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death...

Hoosiers Live at the Mercy of Nursing Homes

Defenseless Hoosiers in Allen County and across Indiana have no one to look out for them. They are forced to live at public expense in nursing homes //or in the community without any money or family of their own. They often suffer from dementia, mental retardation or another condition that impairs their judgment or ability to communicate. Health care experts agree that their numbers will...

Contraceptive tailed by Controversies:Birth Control Patch

Health Canada has warned women strongly about the side effects associated with using birth control patch 'Evra'. Evra can trigger off //the development of severe blood clots in the lungs and legs. The patches which contains ethinyl estradiol is available in the U.S with more of the compound than those available in Canada. Use of this birth control patch has been linked with a higher...

Self Hypnotic Relaxation Makes Breast Biopsy Easier and Less Painful

The first thing that a health professional has to cope with while performing a breast biopsy is the stress of a woman and this can be well controlled by an old technique called// hypnosis, which not only controlled the anxiety and pain faced by the patient but is also cost effective and avoids side effects. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a study was...

Medical Text Takes on an Aussie Style

You say tomato, I say tomahto and to most of us it wouldn't make any difference, but when it comes to the language of medicine getting it right is vital. // Authored by two Queensland University of Technology academics, Australia's first medical terminology textbook was launched on December 6 and aims to advance the understanding of medical terms. Sue Walker and Jenny Nicol...

Swap Sun For Siesta

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today recommended that Australians take advantage of their holiday time and indulge in a midday snooze to stay out of the sun.// “With the arrival of the summer holidays more Australians will be spending time outside in the sun. This puts them at serious risk of developing life-threatening skin cancers,” Dr Yong said. “Each year 1,5...

A Secret Dossier Predicts Major Changes At NHS, England

Government's disastrous management of the health service has been revealed by the leakage of a document, which predicts a crippling shortage of nurses, measly pay rises// and strikes. A copy of a secret Government memo on pay and workforce strategy reveals that 37000 posts are in danger as the Government desperately seeks to lower the NHS wages bill with a 2.7 per cent cut in the work...

Controversies Involving Health Foods

Vitamin supplements and low fat dairy products in Britain have come under a scanner due to a research finding which was published// in The Journal of the American Medical Association. According to this finding consumption of vitamin pills for a prolonged period may actually increase the mortality rate by 5% and low fat dairy may hamper the chances of conceiving in women. The researchers...

‘Gypsies' and Travellers' Health Much Worse Than Other Vulnerable Group

The health of Gypsies and Travellers is significantly worse than that of other vulnerable groups, reveals research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.// It is not known how many Gypsies and Travellers there are in Britain, but estimates put the number at around 300,000. The researchers assessed the health of just under 300 Gypsies and Travellers of UK and...

eSie Touch Elasticity Imaging, and a Promise of Avoiding Breast Biopsies

A new method in ultrasound known as "eSie Touch Elasticity Imaging" will be shown by Siemens Medical Solutions at the ECR 2007 (European Congress of Radiology) in Vienna//, Austria. Physicians hope that this new method, which is an adjunct to regular breast ultrasound examinations, may provide a clinically relevant differentiation of benign and malignant tissue. The method is currently be...

Asthmatic Children Still Not Breathing Easier, Study Says

Only 20 percent of children with persistent asthma have a level of control that is optimal, according to a survey-based study published today// in the journal of Ambulatory Pediatrics. "That leaves almost 80 percent who are suffering more than they need to," said the study's lead author, Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Golisano Children's Hospital at...

Obese Aussies Get Big Ambulances

Obesity in Australia seems to be reaching epidemic proportions, forcing changes in many aspects of that country's infrastructure//. Its health officials are now revamping their fleet of ambulances to cope with a sharp rise in overweight patients. Super-sized vehicles have been introduced and new air ambulances will be remodeled to carry heavier people. The ambulances will now be equipp...

MRI-safe Motor Makes Robotic Biopsies Possible

Engineers of Johns Hopkins claims to have invented a motor without metal or electricity that can be used to perform cancer biopsies and therapies guided// by magnetic resonance imaging. The motor that drives the devices can be so precisely controlled by computer that movements are steadier and more precise than a human hand. "Lots of biopsies on organs such as the prostat...

MRI Robotic Biopsies Simplified by PneuStep

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins Urology Robotics Lab report the invention of a motor without metal or electricity that can safely power remote-controlled // robotic medical devices used for cancer biopsies and therapies guided by magnetic resonance imaging. The motor that drives the devices can be so precisely controlled by computer that movements are steadier and more precise than a human...

Lohan Leaving Her Happening Sierra Towers Address to Stay Booze Free

Rehabbing actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly moving out from her Sierra Towers apartment to lead a booze free life. According to a source the apartment is at a very happening place, so the 'party girl' who is currently in rehab after her drunken car crash has decided not to go back there once she completes her therapy. "The Sierra Towers is party central," New York D...