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Low choline intake increases risk of liver scarring in menopausal women with NAFLD

Menopausal women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who don't consume enough of the essential nutrient choline appear to be at higher risk for liver scarring, according to research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

17 Feb 2012

Amylin may lead to severe heart damage in obese and diabetic patients

Severe heart damage in people who are obese and diabetic is linked with a pancreatic hormone called amylin, UC Davis researchers have found.

17 Feb 2012

Hospital news: Colorado legislature considers limits on charges, Philly children's hospital apology, Mass. facility closure

Colorado's legislature is taking up a bill Thursday that would limit how much hospitals can charge people without insurance. ... The lawmaker who wrote it is trying to reduce the number of Coloradans bankrupted by medical bills.

16 Feb 2012

HeartWare revenues for fiscal 2011 increase to $82.8 million

HeartWare International, Inc., a leading innovator of less invasive, miniaturized circulatory support technologies that are revolutionizing the treatment of advanced heart failure, announced revenue of $23.1 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011, as compared to $20.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.

16 Feb 2012

Hospital apologizes to Amelia Rivera who was denied kidney transplant

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has issued an apology to the parents of Amelia Rivera, a disabled three-year-old girl who, according to her parents, was initially denied a chance at a kidney transplant because she is “mentally retarded.”

15 Feb 2012

Heart attack scars mended using stem cells

Researchers from United States have successfully healed the scars caused by a heart attack using stem cells gathered from the patient's own heart. The amount of scar tissue was halved in the small safety trial reported in the Lancet medical journal. The authors said there was also an “unprecedented” increase in new heart muscle.

15 Feb 2012

23andMe, Cleveland Clinic to discover how genes and environment influence PD

In an effort to study the interactions between genomics and Parkinson's disease, Cleveland Clinic has joined the ongoing efforts of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to recruit Parkinson's patients to participate in research by contributing their DNA to a research database and completing online surveys about their health.

15 Feb 2012

Scott & White earns Joint Commission's certification for VAD Program

The Scott & White Heart & Vascular Institute in Temple has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval- as a hospital performing Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) as a destination therapy.

15 Feb 2012

Canada organ donation rates plateau

A report released Monday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveals that public awareness campaigns and stories of grateful organ recipients have not done much to improve the number of organ donations in Canada. Donor rates have stagnated in the country since 2006 while thousands of Canadians continue to languish on wait lists for organs, the report adds.

14 Feb 2012

Abbott's Tacrolimus assay provides consistent medication monitoring for organ transplant patients

A new study published in the journal Clinical Chemistry reported Abbott's ARCHITECT Tacrolimus assay provides accurate and consistent medication monitoring for patients taking tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive medication, after receiving solid organ transplantation.

14 Feb 2012

Stress protein effectively activates replication of HBV in liver cells

People who have received a donor organ need lifelong immunosuppressant drugs to keep their immune system from attacking the foreign tissue. However, with a suppressed immune system, many infectious agents turn into a threat. Infections such as with human cytomegalovirus and a certain type of human polyomavirus frequently cause complications in transplant recipients.

14 Feb 2012

Two studies demonstrate preliminary success of CyBorD in AL amyloidosis

Two studies published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), demonstrate preliminary success of an effective multiple myeloma (MM) regimen in patients with AL amyloidosis, a rare and devastating blood disease that results in deposition of damaging abnormal protein in critical organs of the body, including the kidneys, heart, liver, and intestines, and shares some characteristics with MM.

14 Feb 2012

CyBorD regimen shows promise against AL amyloidosis

A Mayo Clinic-led study, published in the American Society of Hematology (ASH) journal Blood found that CyBorD, a triple chemotherapy drug combination that has been successful in helping patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, also showed promise in improving the care for patients with the rare blood disease AL amyloidosis.

14 Feb 2012

Early MSC transplantation can help repair neonatal brain damage

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report that early transplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricles of neonatal rats with birth-related brain damage is possible, and that the donor cells can survive and migrate in the recipient's brain.

13 Feb 2012

State roundup: Fraud crackdowns, searching for more doctors, immigrant health care

Illinois Democrats running state government have waited more than a year to win federal approval for a new plan to fight fraud in the health program for 2.7 million of the state's poorest residents. Facing increasing Republican pressure to put reforms in place, this week Quinn's team told the Obama administration that Illinois will wait no longer.

13 Feb 2012

Organ transplant patients can benefit from cochlear implants

Cochlear implants may be a safe, effective option for some organ transplant patients who've lost their hearing as an unfortunate consequence of their transplant-related drug regime, researchers report.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals racial disparities in renal transplant access

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that racial disparities exist in both the early and late steps in access to kidney transplantation. This study is part of the February special themed issue of the journal on racial disparity.

10 Feb 2012

Padded gloves and headgear can help protect young fighters

The use of padded headgear and gloves reduces the impact that fighters absorb from hits to the head, according to newly published research from Cleveland Clinic.

8 Feb 2012

Cirrhosis patients with low musle mass more apt to die

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed the medical records of more than 100 patients who had a liver scarring condition and discovered those who were losing muscle were more apt to die while waiting for a liver transplant. These cirrhosis patients were placed at a lower spot on the transplant list because they had a higher functioning liver and were seemingly less sick than others with the same condition, based on scoring systems physicians commonly use today.

8 Feb 2012