Impairment of oral intake occurs in the majority of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving chemoradiotherapy. Placement of prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in asymptomatic newly diagnosed HNC before…
Gadavist approved by FDA for use in central nervous system MRI scans
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gadavist (gadobutrol), a gadolinium-based contrast agent, for use in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the central nervous system. Gadavist was approved by the…
Insight into Lyme disease
Researchers recently developed novel diagnostic tools able to distinguish between the various strains of bacteria responsible for causing Lyme disease. For more than a decade, only one strain of B. burgdorferi (Lyme…
New review finds no link between pacifiers and breastfeeding problems
Although mothers often use pacifiers to comfort cranky babies, many experts fear that they can interfere with successful breastfeeding. However, a new review finds no association between the devices and early cessation…
Medical tourism booms in Asia
A health-services research firm says high healthcare costs have spawned a boom in Americans traveling to Asia to undergo — among other procedures — aesthetic surgery, the online Los Angeles Times reports….
New review: Oral vaccines can prevent up to 60% of cholera cases in first two years
Oral vaccines could prevent up to 60 percent of cholera cases in the first two years after vaccination, according to a new review of vaccine studies. The vaccines have been shown to…
Corindus begins CorPath Percutaneous Robotic-Enhanced Coronary Intervention Study trial
Corindus Vascular Robotics, a leading developer of precision vascular robotics, announced today that the clinical trial of its CorPath® PRECISE (Percutaneous Robotic-Enhanced Coronary Intervention Study) has begun. The first percutaneous coronary intervention…
Advances in imaging ability to discover heart defects in newborns
The Medical Imaging Laboratory in Trondheim is making advances in imaging methods for both ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. One benefit will be an enhanced ability to discover heart defects in…
Patients with BPE may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have shown that a significant number of patients with benign prostate enlargement (BPE) may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which may be the reason for…
BRAF gene defect leads to pilocytic astrocytoma in children
Pilocytic astrocytoma, the most common brain tumor in children, is usually slow-growing and benign. However, surgeons often cannot completely remove the diffusely growing tumor. This means that patients need further treatment in…
Global chronic disease burdens are increasing rapidly: Research
Those working for healthier humans around the globe are making headway in fighting communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria and diarrheal illness, according to research from the Frederick S. Pardee Center for…
Type 2 diabetes drug less likely to cause weight gain, raise cholesterol levels
An inexpensive type 2 diabetes drug that has been around for more than 15 years works just as well and has fewer side effects than a half-dozen other, mostly newer and more…
Research: Used instrument can pose dangerous health risk in children
Research has shown that playing a musical instrument can help nourish, cultivate, and increase intelligence in children, but playing a used instrument also can pose a potentially dangerous health risk. Used woodwind…
Newer, more expensive treatments for prostate cancer adopted rapidly
With 180,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, it is one of the most common types of cancer in the country. For this reason, it has been cited as a good…
Discovery of molecular switch for the secretion of insulin
Johns Hopkins researchers believe they have uncovered the molecular switch for the secretion of insulin — the hormone that regulates blood sugar — providing for the first time an explanation of this…