http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-one-third-texas-women-unnecessary-breast.html Surgery Fri, 17 May 2013 17:10:01 EST news288028519 Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ebola-secret-weapon-revealed.html Medical research Thu, 02 May 2013 15:02:45 EST news286725759 Ever since the appetite-regulation hormone called leptin was discovered in 1994, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms that control its action. It was known that leptin was made by fat cells, reduced appetite and interacted with insulin , but the precise molecular details of its function —details that might enable the creation of a new treatment for obesity—remained elusive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-block-protein-appetite-suppressing-hormone.html Medical research Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:13:00 EST news285437571 Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are as safe for teenagers – including those who have never given birth – as they are for adults, according to research from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-debunking-myth-iuds-proven-safe.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:00:06 EST news284658957 Performing surgery on a pregnant patient is a delicate matter. Risks to both mother and baby must be carefully weighed in every decision a surgeon makes. Recently, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a surgeon performed a groundbreaking robotic laparoscopic procedure on a 35-year-old pregnant patient whose cervix was too short to sustain a pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-physician-ground-robotic-cervical-surgery.html Surgery Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:49:36 EST news283780159 For years, scientists have been concerned about chemicals in the environment that mimic the estrogens found in the body. In study after study, researchers have found links between these "xenoestrogens" and such problems as decreased sperm viability, ovarian dysfunction, neurodevelopmental deficits and obesity. But experimental limitations have prevented them from exploring one of the most serious questions posed by exposure to xenoestrogens: what happens when—as in the real world—an individual is exposed to multiple estrogen-mimicking chemicals at the same time? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-combinations-estrogen-mimicking-chemicals-strongly-distort.html Health Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:15:27 EST news283691719 Scientists are getting closer to a Chagas disease vaccine, something many believed impossible only 10 years ago. Research from the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has resulted in a safe vaccine candidate that is simple to produce and shows a greater than 90 percent protection rate against chronic infection in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-potential-chagas-vaccine-candidate-unprecedented.html Medications Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:00:01 EST news283523344 Completion rates for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series across both genders continue to remain alarmingly low nearly seven years after its introduction, suggesting that better patient education and increased public vaccine financing programs are needed, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hpv-vaccine-trends-failures-patient.html Medications Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:04:37 EST news282485070 Colonoscopy is one of the most effective cancer screening procedures available. Colon cancer grows very slowly and can be treated if caught early through screening. But, perhaps because of this success, older Americans are undergoing screening colonoscopies despite recommendations against screening in adults aged 76 and older. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-colonoscopies-medicare-patients-potentially-inappropriate.html Cancer Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:09:03 EST news282409737 A new study has found a link between the activity levels of elderly people who have just been released from the hospital and the risk that they will require readmission within 30 days. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-recovery-motion-post-discharge-linked-hospital.html Health Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:11:05 EST news282388257 An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Houston has found a new way to influence the vital serotonin signaling system—possibly leading to more effective medications with fewer side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-rewiring-serotonin.html Neuroscience Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:19:01 EST news279994718 A few years ago, manufacturers of water bottles, food containers, and baby products had a big problem. A key ingredient of the plastics they used to make their merchandise, an organic compound called bisphenol A, had been linked by scientists to diabetes, asthma and cancer and altered prostate and neurological development. The FDA and state legislatures were considering action to restrict BPA's use, and the public was pressuring retailers to remove BPA-containing items from their shelves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-bpa-substitute-bisphenol-disrupts-hormone.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:04:03 EST news278096634 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered that the commonly used antidepressant drug paroxetine could also become a therapy for the vascular complications of diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-antidepressant-duty-diabetes-drug.html Diabetes Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:55:11 EST news274701291 Stillbirth is a tragedy that occurs in one of every 160 births in the United States. Compounding the sadness for many families, the standard medical test used to examine fetal chromosomes often can't pin down what caused their baby to die in utero. In most cases, the cause of the stillbirth is not immediately known. The traditional way to determine what happened is to examine the baby's chromosomes using a technique called karyotyping. This method leaves much to be desired because, in many cases, it fails to provide any result at all. Today, some 25 to 60 percent of stillbirths are still unexplained. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genetic-mysteries-stillbirth.html Health Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:42:55 EST news274023764 An FDA-approved drug initially used to treat insulin resistance in diabetics has shown promise as a way to improve cognitive performance in some people with Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-diabetes-drug-memory.html Neuroscience Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:00:09 EST news272633264