Measuring hormone cuts antibiotic use in half in pneumonia patients
Measuring a hormone in the blood can help doctors greatly reduce the number of days pneumonia patients have to take antibiotics to cure their infection, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 24. In the study, pneumonia patients whose level of the hormone procalcitonin was measured during the course of their illness took antibi...System Drastically Cuts Down Botulism Detection Time
A new study reveals critical molecular events in the origin of fat cells. The findings are central to understanding chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, as fat cells produce hormones critical for metabolic control, the researchers said. The study finds that a hormonal cocktail routinely used in the lab induces a key genetic switch in the transition from fat-cell precursors to fu...Gene transfer using mutant form of good cholesterol cuts vascular plaque and inflammation
Transfer of a gene that produces a mutant form of good cholesterol provides significantly better anti-plaque and anti-inflammation benefits than therapy using the "normal" HDL gene, according to a mouse study conducted by cardiology researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and reported in the Oct. 3 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Apolipoprotein A-I is a natu...Heavy smoking cuts women's chance of pregnancy -- even with donated oocytes
Heavy smoking may reduce female fertility by directly affecting the uterus ?making it less receptive and reducing the chances the embryo will implant, according to research published on line (Thursday 9 November) in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction. The finding, from a team of fertility experts in Portugal and Spain, comes as a result of comparing the preg...Reminding doctors which antibiotics to prescribe cuts C. difficile infection rates
A study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy1 provides the best available evidence that cases of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)---one of the most common and increasing types of hospital-acquired infection---can be reduced in hospital wards if doctors prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics rather than broad-spectrum agents. Researchers at the Royal Free Hospit...Sonic Foundry cuts losses as sales continue to rise
The boost came mostly from increased sales of the MediaSite video and presentation product, which increased by $1 million, the company said. Total revenue for the quarter wa...Landweber on networks, open source, and NSF budget cuts
knows networks. The University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of computer science, a department member since 1967, helped forge some of the early international channels of the Internet. He also has an idea of where networks are heading and its all about finding the right...Radiation before surgery cuts cancer recurrence
According to a report, giving radiation to surgical treatment for rectal cancer may not make much difference in the survival of patients. But the findings suggest that the radiation treatments given before surgery may help improve the patient's quality of life by reducing the rate of cancer recurrence at or near the original tumor site in the rectum. In about 15% to 45% of patients who...Radiation before surgery cuts cancer reappearance
According to a report, giving radiation to surgical treatment for rectal cancer may not make much difference in the survival of patients. But the findings suggest that the radiation treatments given before surgery may help// improve the patient's quality of life by reducing the rate of cancer recurrence at or near the original tumor site in the rectum. In about 15% to 45% of patients w...Medicaid cuts leave patients in a lurch
In the U.S. the state governments are finding themselves in a tight corner with finances being scarce. This has led to the state government to seek for further Medicaid cuts. The physician across the country feel that these cuts would result in dire consequences for patient care. To add to the woes the Texas House of Representatives has cut off $3 billion from the Medicaid program, and...An hour of exercise a week cuts hypertension
High blood pressure is becoming more common around the world. It can lead to strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure.// Many guidelines currently call for anywhere between half an hour and an hour of moderate exercise on most days of the week to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.Researchers from Japan, tested 207 men and women who had high blood pressure...Protein acts as "Master Switch" that cuts off cells' Cancer-Growth machinery
A Washington University research team headed by Shrikant Anant, PhD, is mighty excited about their new discovery that was reported in the journal, Molecular Cell. They have found a "master switch" - a protein named CUBGP2(cytidine-uridine-guanosine binding protein) - that makes cancer cells self-destruct. The findings that were published// apply only to cancer cells grown in a test tube....