HIV testing should no longer be accorded any special status
...r do not receive voluntary counselling and testing before chest x rays, or patients with chest infections do not receive voluntary counselling and testing before investigations are carried out. The current combination of a lack of time for pre-test counselling a...Three out of the four million newborn babies who die each year could be saved
...y March 3, 2005). Every hour around 450 babies die before the age of four weeks (the neonatal period), mainly from preventable causes. Neonatal deaths worldwide are double that of HIV/AIDS. Although 99% of these deaths occur in poor countries, almost all published research relates to the 1% of newborn death...MRI better than current standard in assessing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
...ge palpable tumors are now undergoing chemotherapy before surgery in an effort to reduce the size of their tumor, and MRI is the best way to predict if the chemotherapy is working, preliminary results of a study show. If the chemotherapy is successful, then the woman may be able to undergo breast-conservati...Meditation may reduce heart disease risk
...achial artery, the main artery that feeds the arm, before and after a blood pressure cuff was inflated for two minutes. They found essentially no difference in the ability of that vessel to relax after stress in either group at four months. But by eight months, EDAD or endothelial-dependent arterial dilatio...Most advanced CT scanner improves imaging of heart, avoids need for surgical inspection
... longer need to wait until a patient is stabilized before performing this critical diagnostic test." The new scanner installed at Hopkins is an Aquilon 64 CFX multislice CT scanner, manufactured by Toshiba. Similar devices also are manufactured by Siemens and General Electric. Features include production...Brain tumor with dismal prognosis in infants can be cured in older children
...urgically removed as much of the tumor as possible before treating children with radiation followed by chemotherapy. The success in raising the survival rate among these children reflects the long-standing leadership of St. Jude in addressing the needs of children who suffer from rare cancers, as well as mo...Both inherited traits and tumor mutations affect response to treatment of leukemia
...al fellow on the project. "Having this information before therapy begins could mean that such patients might benefit by using therapy with more drugs that aren't broken down by GSTM1, or by increasing the dose levels of the drugs." The 3/3 polymorphism of TYMS means that both maternal and paternal copies of...'Artery clearing' system does not provide benefit for patients undergoing PCI
... need for well-designed randomized clinical trials before advocating the widespread application of new technologies." (JAMA. 2005;293:1116-1118. Available post-embargo at JAMA.com )...Studies address issues of risk and survival in rapidly increasing GI cancers
...kelihood of survival: Those who were overweight before diagnosis (BMI 25-30 kg/m2) had an approximately 3...hageal adenocarcinoma. The study also found birth before 35 weeks of gestation was associated with a more than six-fold increase in risk. Researchers emphas...Parents who quit smoking may influence their offspring to quit as young adults
...ts. "We found that parents quitting smoking early, before their children reach third grade, is associated wi...diction, which that found parents who quit smoking before their children reached third grade significantly reduced their child's odds of becoming a smoker by ...NYU'S Duster cautions against FDA approval of 'race-based' pharmaceutical
...d Drug Administration to obtain more reliable data before approving the drug. Duster, president of the American Sociological Association, writes that research on isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine (BiDil), produced by NitroMed, incorrectly links a biological idea of race to heart disease and that socioeco...Genetic amplification (NAAT) test detects HIV more effectively than standard tests in urban study
...rred for prevention and treatment services earlier before they develop clinical symptoms," Dr. Priddy says. "Early detection and intervention for patients with acute HIV infection may be key in stopping the spread of drug-resistant HIV. Our results show that urban STD and drug clinics and HIV testing site...LRRK2 gene mutation causes Parkinson's disease in several families
...at appears to be typical Parkinson's disease cases before people develop symptoms," Farrer says. "We know if someone inherits the mutation they are going to get Parkinson's disease." Farrer and his colleagues are beginning to explore the cellular role of the LRRK2 protein and the reason it causes disease w...Disease testing for immigrants: Discrimination disguised as public health policy
...ies will be under no obligation to undergo testing before entering the UK. To base any decisions on the presence or absence of illness is appallingly discriminatory and emphasises the stigmatising nature of political debate. This is politics that undermines the peaceful and civilised values of society. And ...Study examines harm reduction among injection drug users
...syringe exchange programs, breaking the needle off before discarding or placing the syringe in a hard container before throwing it away. According to the study, 10 percent of study participants cited the Baltimore syrin...Plant derivative attacks the roots of leukemia
...edition of the journal, Blood. It will take months before a useable, pharmaceutical compound can be made from parthenolide, the main component in Feverfew. However, UR stem cell expert Craig T. Jordan, Ph.D., and Monica L. Guzman, Ph.D., lead author on the Blood paper, say their group is collaborating with ...Protein that promotes survival of stem cells might be key to poor leukemia prognosis
...during the initial development of the blood system before birth. Expression of Mc1-1 is also crucial for maintaining blood cells throughout life as red and white cells and platelets die and must be replaced. HSCs are also needed to rebuild the blood system of patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation f...Schepens scientists regenerate optic nerve for the first time
...xample, the optic nerve loses this ability shortly before birth. So for those afflicted by glaucoma, which destroys the optic nerve through excessive internal pressure, or with injuries that sever the optic nerve after that developmental milestone, destruction can be permanent and blinding. Chen and her res...Researchers model brain's electrical storm during a seizure
...cific area of the brain called the "seizure focus" before spreading out, and others, particularly ones linked to genetic causes, appear to start simultaneously in various parts of the brain. What is clear is that during a seizure, a strong pattern of electrical signals suddenly emerges from the random fluc...Referrals to palliative care come too late to improve quality of life for cancer patients
...te referrals were two times more likely to believe before admission that palliative care shortens patient li...units. Among 257 families who had low expectations before admission, 101 (39%) reported that the care was much better than expected, 76 families (30%) said it...