News briefs from the journal CHEST, February 2005
...ive protein (CRP) levels as an indication of total system burden of inflammation, researchers were able to determine each individual's amount of systemic inflammation. Results showed that smoking was associated with 1.6 increased odds of elevated CRP levels, a reduction in lung function was associated with...Abnormal brain activity during the observation of others' actions
...als. The work suggests that a faulty mirror-neuron system could represent the neural underpinnings of the social deficits characteristic of autism, alterations that ultimately lead to reduced reciprocal social abilities and perhaps prevent the normal development of empathy....New surgical procedure could save millions
... a high-resolution video-endoscope, and the entire system is delivered to the patient through a tiny tube th...e Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass. The fiber-optic camera system used to view the surgical site was designed by Pentax Medical Corp. of Montvale, N.J. The FDA approv...Pathogen-mimicking vaccine as strategy for cancer therapy
... vaccine, which is essentially tricking the immune system into thinking the vaccine is a bacterial infection...Speiser from the LICR Lausanne Branch. "The immune system mounts a response against the peptide antigen, the cancer-specific target, in the vaccine, and thus ...Dedicated hospital stroke centers improve quality of acute care
...ay's health systems don't have the stroke response system in place to quickly recognize, diagnose and provid...kes and get immediate help. "The success of this system depends greatly on people's ability to recognize signs and symptoms of a brain attack, or a stroke, ......ices are in short supply. Is the current benefit system adequate to meet the problems of entrenched poverty or is something different needed? Can benefits be made more flexible so that lone parents and long-term unemployed can carry part of their benefits with them into their often short-term jobs as the ...Stroke patients receive better care when hospitals 'get with the guidelines'
...in all patients. These data provide evidence that system change improves hospital-based compliance with these acute treatment and secondary prevention strategies." LaBresh added: "The ability of our hospitals to significantly improve the use of secondary prevention measures is particularly exciting becau...Association publishes blueprint to strengthen stroke care from prevention through recovery
...ers work at a state or regional level as part of a system that will analyze data from a range of health prov...on in recent years, he said. "That's why we need a system to better implement the advances that have been achieved," he said. "We tend to fixate on our own a...Rat whisking may provide insight into debilitating eye disorder
...rospasm. "We have been studying the rat whisker system as an example to help us understand how sensory sy... UCSD. "Also, this circuit could serve as a model system to deepen our understanding of a pathology in the human eyeblink circuit." The only neural circuits ...New treatment rivals chemotherapy for lymphoma, U-M study finds
... system. Lymphoma spreads easily through the lymph system and the bloodstream and consequently tends to be widespread when it is diagnosed. Traditional treatment often involves intensive chemotherapy, or a combination of chemotherapy and the monoclonal antibody rituximab. These treatments are usually given ...Inflammatory cells highly promising target in NF 1
...their efforts will be mast cells, which are immune system cells that are involved in asthma and allergic reactions. Mast cells play a role in neurofibromatosis because they also are involved in blood vessel formation -- and tumors need blood vessels in order to grow. "We are beginning to have a better under...Mayo Clinic researchers create 'obedient virus'; First step to use measles virus against cancer
...f Mayo Clinic-led researchers is first to devise a system that consistently converts the measles virus into a therapeutic killer that hunts down and destroys cancer cells -- and cancer cells only. Their research findings appear in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology http://www.nature.com/nbt/ . The ...Cardiac imaging is underused in women to diagnose disease
...ppreciate how women's hormones affect the vascular system and test results. Jennifer H. Mieres, M.D., chair of the committee that wrote the new statement, said that women should not be assessed with a "what's good for the goose is good for gander" approach to non-invasive testing. The latest data from hear...New way to block pox shows promise in lab study
... could contain the infection until the host immune system is fully activated, such a drug could be very valuable, he says. Virus-directed drugs tend to become less effective over time as the constantly mutating virus develops resistance to the drug, Dr. Reinherz explains. "The advantage of targeting signal...Women's heart risk underestimated by doctors, resulting in less preventive care than in men
...ts that policy makers and insurers need to address system constraints to better serve public health." Cardiologists, OBGyns, and PCPs did not rate themselves as very effective in helping patients prevent cardiovascular disease and managing their risk factors. OBGyns, in particular, did not consider themsel...Clinicians report missing patient information is common
...ntly reported to be located outside their clinical system but within the United States (52.3 percent), to be at least somewhat likely to adversely affect patients (44 percent), and to potentially result in delayed care or additional services (59.5 percent). Significant time was reportedly spent unsuccessful...Balancing care decisions for gravely ill patients
...Health Evaluation III (APACHE III), a computerized system that is designed to prospectively predict mortality rates in "real time" for ICU patients, to identify a group of patients with a very low predicted likelihood of survival. This group of extremely ill patients was then looked at in more detail. The ...Promise of 'bladder pacemaker' for people with spinal cord injury
...ed Grill a 5-year, $1.8 million grant to develop a system to sense involuntary bladder contractions and trig...d lubrication in women. "Our goal is to create a system that performs as well as existing technology, but that is less invasive to install and preserves as ...Nanoscale diagnostic sets sights on Alzheimer's
...bioengineering centers. "This will be a biosensing system with high sensitivity and specificity that can help health professionals diagnose many debilitating diseases. This is particularly important for diseases like Alzheimer's where a reliable diagnostic tool is lacking and early intervention could have a......ngness on the part of the University of California system to continue its 16-year-long rapid cancer case reporting relationship with the California State Cancer Registry," she said. "For well over a year, researchers were barred from access to large numbers of recently diagnosed cancer patients in a case th...