Hopkins scientist to direct international studies of antibiotic as new treatment for tuberculosis
A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert will lead two international studies of the effectiveness of the antibiotic moxifloxacin as a new treatment for tuberculosis, the highly contagious bacterial disease that kills more than 2 million people worldwide each year and is the leading cause of death of people living with HIV and AIDS. Moxifloxacin is currently approved in more than 100 countries,...Johns Hopkins begins aggressive screening for 'superbugs' in children
... ... The new hospital practice was introduced March 1 after a study conducted at Hopkins last year showed th...Johns Hopkins develops pancreas cancer risk model
... An estimated 10 percent of aggressive and highly fatal cases of the disease are caused by inherited genes. Even if there is a 100 percent chance that an individual carries a pancreas ca...Hopkins study reveals white blood cells can both hurt and help transplanted kidneys
... Researchers have long known that when blood flow is cut off and then returned to transplanted kidneys or other organs, immune system cells called T lymphocytes produce toxic natural chemicals that contribute to ischemic reperfusion injury (IRI). Nature cannot distinguish between deliberate surgical wounds needed to remove and re-implant a donor k...Hopkins scientists link immune response to 'ghost' parasites and severely congested sinuses
... A team of Hopkins sinus experts has found that the gene for the enzyme, acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase), is up to 250 times more active in people with severe sinus inflammation that persists even after surgery when compared to patients in whom surgery is successful. Sinus surgery is usually the treatment of last resort...Hopkins-led study finds that chronic form of depression runs in families
... Results of the study, published in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, with Johns Hopkins psychiatrist James B. Potash, M.D., as senior author, show that siblings, parents or children of people diagnosed with chronic major depression before the age of 31 have a 2.52-to-1 chance of also having the disorder. Moreover, f...Diagnosis and referrals for kidney disease fall well short of need, Johns Hopkins study shows
... Their findings, reported in the August issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, show that of 126 kidney specialists surveyed, 97 percent properly diagnosed CKD and 99 percent would have recommended specialized kidney care for the "patient." But only 59 percent of the 89 family physicians and 78 percent of 89 ge...Johns Hopkins Children's Center to lead largest-ever study on kidney disease in children
... "There has never, to our knowledge, been a study designed to systematically assess the changes in kidney function over time in children with early kidney disease and to determine how these changes affect behavior, learning, heart disease risk and growth," says Susan Furth, M.D., Ph.D., a nephrologist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, one of...Hopkins scientists show hallucinogen in mushrooms creates universal 'mystical' experience
... ... The agent, a plant alkaloid called psilocybin, mimics the effect of serotonin on brain receptors-as do some other hallucinogens-but precisely where in the brain and in what manner are unkn...Johns Hopkins lab scientists tame overactive CF protein
... ... ... ... "The hope is that these findings will be used to design therapies and drugs...Hopkins researchers develop new quick tool to sort out insect bites in children
... ... ... ... Insect-bite skin rashes mimic the symptoms of a variety of conditions, ranging from fungal infections, scabies, al...Hopkins scientists use embryonic stem cells, new cues to awaken latent motor nerve repair
In a dramatic display of stem cells' potential for healing, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports that they've engineered new, completed, fully-working motor neuron circuits -- neurons stretching from spinal cord to target muscles -- in paralyzed adult animals. ...... The research, in which mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells were injected into rats whose virus-damaged spinal cords model nerve d...Tracking computer-based error reports improves patient safety, Hopkins study finds
To err is human, but asking nurses, physicians and other hospital staff to report medication errors and log them into a computer database can help improve patient safety systems as well as human error rates, according to a study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Voluntary error-reporting systems are not new, but few studies have looked at the accuracy of the reporting and its impact, the...Pediatricians fail to screen for autism, Hopkins study finds
Few Maryland and Delaware primary care pediatricians screen patients regularly for autism and autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) as part of their overall look at possible developmental delays, according to results of a joint study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ...... Of the 255 pediatricians who participated in the study, 209 (82 percen...Two tests better than one for diabetes control, Johns Hopkins expert tells doctors
In a strongly worded review published in the recent edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the head of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center urges physicians and patients to better use the blood-testing tools at hand to manage the disease and prevent most of its dire impact on the heart, kidneys, nerves and vision....... "The message is, we have tools that are very accurat...Hopkins study suggests commercially available antibiotic may help fight dementia in HIV patients
An antibiotic commonly used to treat a variety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of human brain cells by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine neurologist Jeffrey Rumbaugh, M.D., Ph.D. ......Results of the lab study with ceftriaxone are expected to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 58th annual meeting on Ap...Hopkins study shows low-dose aspirin suppresses clumping of blood platelets in both sexes
A once-daily pill of low-dose aspirin helps lower the potential for clot-forming blood cells - in both men and women - to stick together in narrow blood vessels, a study from Johns Hopkins shows. ...... In what is believed to be the first direct comparison of blood cell testing in both sexes of 81 milligrams of acetyl salicylic acid a day, Hopkins researchers found aspirin therapy prevents the cl...Johns Hopkins scientists exploit novel route to reverse enlarged hearts in obese mice
Working on genetically engineered obese mice with seriously thickened hearts, a condition call cardiac hypertrophy, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used a nerve protection and growth factor on the heart to mimic the activity of the brain hormone leptin, dramatically reducing the size of the heart muscle. ...... Leptin is a protein hormone made by fat cells that signals the brain to stop eating....Emergency departments score poorly in child-saving drills, Hopkins study finds
A mock-drill study conducted in a third of North Carolina's hospital emergency departments (EDs) revealed that nearly all failed to properly stabilize seriously injured children during trauma simulations, according to a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Duke University Medical Center. Simulations were conducted in 35 of North Carolina's 106 EDs. Of the 35 EDs in the s...Johns Hopkins scientists map brain area that may aid hunt for human brain stem cells
A study led by a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon has provided the first comprehensive map of a part of the adult human brain containing astrocytes, cells known to produce growth factors critical to the regeneration of damaged neural tissue and that potentially serve as brain stem cells. The mapping study -- using special microscopes and chemical analysis of 42 samples of brain tissue taken at autopsy...Patient safety monitoring at Hopkins Hospital finds law of unintended consequences at work
Rigorous attention to patient safety and monitoring for unexpected spikes in bloodstream infection rates at The Johns Hopkins Hospital led a team of Hopkins specialists to uncover an unintended, surprising safety problem with a new device that was supposed to make patients safer and easier to treat. ...... "No one could have anticipated this outcome," says senior hospital epidemiologist Trish Pe...Hopkins researcher links gene mutation with poor outcomes in people with most common thyroid cancer
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that a mutation in the gene that triggers production of a tumor growth protein is linked to poorer outcomes for patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). A report on the study is published in the December issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism....... Mingzhao Xing, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinolo...Pular antidepressants boost brain growth, Hopkins scientists report
The beneficial effects of a widely used class of antidepressants might be the result of increased nerve-fiber growth in key parts of the brain, according to a Johns Hopkins study being published in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry.... ...The study on rats, led by Vassilis E. Koliatsos, M.D., a neuropathologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that s...Hopkins study describes potentially fatal heart condition among young athletes
A Johns Hopkins study has provided the most comprehensive description to date of people most likely to develop a relatively rare heart condition, called arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), known to be among the top causes of sudden cardiac death among young athletes. ...... In their study, to be published in the journal Circulation online Dec. 12, the Hopkins scientists analyzed c...Johns Hopkins study suggests link between caffeine dependence and family history of alcoholism
A study led by Johns Hopkins investigators has shown that women with a serious caffeine habit and a family history of alcohol abuse are more likely to ignore advice to stop using caffeine during pregnancy....Withdrawal symptoms, functional impairment and craving were cited by the women as reasons they could not cut out or cut back on caffeine use....... None of the women had a current alcohol-use...Hopkins study proves cochlear implants prevent or reverse damage to brain's auditory nerve system
New research at Johns Hopkins has clearly demonstrated the ability of cochlear implants in very young animals to forge normal nerve fibers that transmit sound and to restore hearing by reversing or preventing damage to the brain's auditory system. ... ...The findings in cats, published in Science online Dec. 2, help explain why implants are up to 80 percent successful in restoring hearing in youn...Hopkins study shows 30-day soft contact lenses pose very small risk of vision loss
A team of researchers led by the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute have determined that the corneal infection rate associated with the use of 30-day -extended-wear contact lenses made from silicone hydrogel is comparable to that previously reported for older lens types worn for fewer consecutive 24-hour periods. ... ...The study, published in the Dec. 1 issue of Ophthalmology, recruited 6,245 p...Drug compound restores youth to aging arterial cells in elderly hypertensives, Hopkins study shows
(Poster presentation #1116-58, Hall E, Dallas Convention Center) ......A compound called alagebrium, which is very similar to another used in anti-wrinkle creams, may be useful in reducing the deleterious effects of arterial aging in the majority of elderly Americans with systolic hypertension, a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins shows. ......Systolic hypertension refers to higher th...Hopkins study may change rules for treating heart failure
A Johns Hopkins study has raised doubts about a long-accepted notion of what's going on in many cases of heart failure, suggesting that nearly half of patients with the disorder may be getting the wrong treatment for their disease. ... ...A team of Hopkins scientists found that people with so-called nonsystolic heart failure - marked by relatively normal pumping action - do not have a problem wit...Johns Hopkins flu expert calls for mandatory vaccination of health care workers
Johns Hopkins' senior hospital epidemiologist and flu expert is calling for mandatory vaccination of all health care workers as the best means of protecting patients and hospital staff from widespread outbreaks of the viral illness. Studies by other United States researchers show that voluntary vaccination programs don't do the job and that each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die from influenza,...Hopkins study finds no 'cognitive decline' after use of heart-lung machine during bypass surgery
The use of a cardiopulmonary heart pump during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not significantly damage such high-level mental tasks as thinking, reasoning and remembering, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers recently published in Neurology.... ...CABG surgery is effective for the relief of angina and reducing the risk of a heart attack but has been widely feared...Nov. 11 event celebrates a century of brain science at Johns Hopkins
Media are invited to attend the Nov. 11 symposium "Discovery and Hope: A Celebration of Brain Science," featuring two Nobel laureates and a host of other top neuroscientists from around the country, at Turner Auditorium at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. The daylong symposium will begin at 8 a.m. ......Johns Hopkins researchers started delving into the functions and ab...Some outgrow allergy to tree nuts, Johns Hopkins Children's Center experts report
Nine percent of children allergic to almonds, pecans, cashews and other tree nuts outgrow their allergy over time, including those who've had a severe reaction such as anaphylaxis shock, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. ...... Their study, reported in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, also found that clinicians can use blood leve...Johns Hopkins celebrates its first century of neuroscience
...--Solomon Snyder, the neuroscience department's first and only director, leads a symposium and celebration that looks back at historic discoveries at Hopkins and looks ahead to what's coming next in the brain sciences. ... ...... What's in a name? At Johns Hopkins, a formal Department of Neuroscience was founded 25 years ago, but the institution's contributions to understanding and studying t...Hopkins emergency physician warns of post-hurricane disease and illness
A Johns Hopkins emergency physician who spent the past five weeks working on public health issues in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina warns that the disaster's potential for wreaking havoc and damage to people's health may continue for months after the hurricane has passed. ......In an editorial published this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, Thomas Kirsch, M.D., M....A Johns Hopkins study has affirmed the success of living kidney "paired donation" (KPD) as a means of efficiently finding more kidney donors who are a match for patients in need.... ...In the study, published in the Oct. 5 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, Hopkins surgeons report successfully performing KPD transplants on 21 out of 22 kidney patients whose willing donors w...National funding goes to Johns Hopkins to advance research on stem cell therapies for heart attack
Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins Heart Institute have been awarded more than $12 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study how stem cell therapies can be used to treat hearts damaged by heart attack or heart failure. ...... The five-year NHLBI funding is part of new federal program focused on cell-based therapies that could be ready for clinical trials testing...Hopkins geneticist discovers mutations in cancer cells that suggest new forms of treatment
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified three new genetic mutations in brain tumors, a discovery that could pave the way for more effective cancer treatments....... The Hopkins team, in conjunction with researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Md., discovered DNA abnormalities in two tyrosine kinase proteins already known to disrupt normal cell activity and contribute to tu...Johns Hopkins researchers discover key protein linked to transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis
Hopkins researchers have discovered a single molecule that is a cause of an autoimmune disease in the central nervous system, called transverse myelitis (TM), that is related to multiple sclerosis.... ...In a study published in the October issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, psychiatrist Adam Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicin...Hopkins experts highlight strategies to raise levels of so-called good HDL cholesterol
Cardiology experts at Johns Hopkins have issued interim guidelines for physicians on how best to treat low levels of HDL cholesterol, the so-called good cholesterol, which helps keep arteries clear from the buildup of LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol. More than 54 million Americans are estimated to need higher levels of HDL, according to the American Heart Association.... ...In an...