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The brain damage wrought by a minor stroke can alter the way artists paint

The study reports on two professional painters, both of whom had a stroke, located in the left occipital lobe of the brain and limbic thalamus, respectively.

17 May 2005

No serious health risk for commuters on London's Underground

Commuters and workers on the London’s Tube network, gearing up for another potentially suffocating summer below ground, can at least take some comfort from research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

17 May 2005

Using a mobile phone in rural areas seems to pose a greater risk of developing brain tumours than it does in urban areas

The findings are based on a sample of over 1400 adults aged between 20 and 80, living in the centre of Sweden. All of them had been diagnosed with a malignant or benign brain tumour between January 1997 and June 2000.

17 May 2005

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

An antibiotic can be safely used to prevent attacks of diarrhea that plague millions of globe-trotting vacationers and business travelers, a Houston research team reports this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 May 2005

Vitamin D, taxotere combination promising for advanced prostate cancer

Results of a new study strongly suggest that DN-101, a new high-dose calcitriol pill designed specifically as a cancer therapy, given in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere) extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

17 May 2005

Six out of ten first-time mothers who had a prolonged labour say that the experience will affect them for life

A team of Swedish researchers, led by Astrid Nystedt from Umea University, studied 84 women who had experienced prolonged labour with assisted vaginal or caesarean delivery. They then compared their experiences with 171 women who had had normal deliveries.

17 May 2005

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

"You can see things in one view that you might miss in another," said Craig Barnes, M.D., section head of pediatric radiology at Wake Forest Baptist's Brenner Children's Hospital. "It costs no more as relates to scan time or radiation exposure, and we believe it provides added value in diagnosis."

17 May 2005

Use of a common type of antidepressant may increase gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding

In fact, the study suggests that the increase is similar to that associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, known as pain relievers). DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians, academics and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

17 May 2005

Chronic exposure to noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace induces hearing loss

Those findings are the result of a study conducted with over 8,600 workers exposed to both noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace. Among the riskier professions are welders, firefighters, garage mechanics, truckers, forklift operators and miners.

17 May 2005

Researchers create the first mouse model that develops a lymphoma the same way that humans do

This advancement has the potential to significantly speed the development of new, improved therapies for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of human B cell lymphoma. Human B cell lymphomas cause 85 percent of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

17 May 2005

Engineers have found a way to modify a plastic to anchor molecules that promote nerve regeneration, blood vessel growth or other biological processes

In the study led by Dr. Christine Schmidt, the researchers identified a piece of protein from among a billion candidates that could perform the unusual feat of attaching to polypyrrole, a synthetic polymer (plastic) that conducts electricity and has shown promise in biomedical applications.

17 May 2005

SU11248 drug show promise against neuroendocrine tumors-stubborn cancers that respond poorly to chemotherapy

A unique, targeted anti-cancer drug appears to show promise against neuroendocrine tumors-stubborn cancers that have traditionally responded poorly to chemotherapy, according to research findings announced at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

17 May 2005

Patients with suspicious axillary lymph nodes in their breasts should first undergo ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration to avoid unnecessary surgery

Currently, breast cancer patients undergo axillary lymph node dissection for accurate staging and control of the cancer. In many cases, this major procedure can be replaced by sentinel lymph node biopsy, which is a more simple and less invasive surgical procedure, but many still have to undergo axillary dissection after the sentinel lymph node biopsy.

17 May 2005

"Streaming detection" ultrasound could reduce number of diagnostic procedures for breast lumps

"Streaming detection" ultrasound accurately differentiated fluid-filled cysts from solid masses in a recent pilot study and has the potential to reduce the number of cyst aspirations and imaging follow-ups for breast masses that are indeterminate at conventional ultrasound, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.

17 May 2005

Whole-body MRI takes less than twenty minutes to accurately scan a patient’s entire body for cancer spread to the bone

Whole-body MRI with an automatic moving table is effective for evaluating the entire skeleton in patients with suspected bone metastasis (cancer that has spread to the bone from other parts of the body) in a single imaging scan-and it only takes between 15 and 18 minutes, say two different European studies.

17 May 2005

Digital mammography leads to significant decreases in the number of patients called back to the hospital for further mammograms

The use of digital mammography instead of conventional screen film mammography can lead to significant decreases in the number of patients called back to the hospital for further mammograms, making it easier on the patient and saving money, says a new study.

17 May 2005

Expandable electrodes safe and effective for radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors

The use of expandable electrodes with multiple tips in the treatment of liver tumors by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is safe and effective, making it a useful alternative to surgery in selected patients, say researchers from the University of Brescia in Italy.

17 May 2005

Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene help keep blood vessels open for cirrhosis patients

Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene, the same substance used in non-stick cooking utensils, improves their ability to keep blood vessels open in TIPS procedures, decreasing occurrences of relapse and avoiding intervention, say a group of researchers led by Vina C. Williams, MD, from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

17 May 2005

Over-the-phone transmission of diagnostic-quality ultrasound images is possible

Over-the-phone transmission of diagnostic-quality ultrasound images is possible, potentially paving the way for ultrasound examinations to be performed in poorer areas of the world, inexpensively transmitted via the Internet, and read by experienced radiologists elsewhere, a new study shows.

17 May 2005

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

MDCT pulmonary angiography is replacing the ventilation-perfusion lung scan to diagnose suspected pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients, say researchers from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

17 May 2005

Medical News

The brain damage wrought by a minor stroke can alter the way artists paint

No serious health risk for commuters on London's Underground

Using a mobile phone in rural areas seems to pose a greater risk of developing brain tumours than it does in urban areas

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

Vitamin D, taxotere combination promising for advanced prostate cancer

Six out of ten first-time mothers who had a prolonged labour say that the experience will affect them for life

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

Use of a common type of antidepressant may increase gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding

Chronic exposure to noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace induces hearing loss

Researchers create the first mouse model that develops a lymphoma the same way that humans do

Engineers have found a way to modify a plastic to anchor molecules that promote nerve regeneration, blood vessel growth or other biological processes

SU11248 drug show promise against neuroendocrine tumors-stubborn cancers that respond poorly to chemotherapy

Patients with suspicious axillary lymph nodes in their breasts should first undergo ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration to avoid unnecessary surgery

"Streaming detection" ultrasound could reduce number of diagnostic procedures for breast lumps

Whole-body MRI takes less than twenty minutes to accurately scan a patient’s entire body for cancer spread to the bone

Digital mammography leads to significant decreases in the number of patients called back to the hospital for further mammograms

Expandable electrodes safe and effective for radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors

Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene help keep blood vessels open for cirrhosis patients

Over-the-phone transmission of diagnostic-quality ultrasound images is possible

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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