http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A more accurate, faster diagnostic test for Group B Streptococcal infection in babies has been reported in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The new test could allow better treatment and management of the disease and reduce the risk of mortality among newborns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-accurate-diagnostic-deaths.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Jun 2012 19:00:03 EST news259944620 (Medical Xpress) -- A simple diagnostic test developed at Oxford University, and launched today by Massachusetts-based Boston Heart Diagnostics, will identify those at increased risk of rare but serious side effects from taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-statin-side-effects.html Medical research Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:23:47 EST news257761417 A Rhode Island Hospital psychiatrist and researcher explains the negative impact of broadening the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). In a newly published commentary in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Mark Zimmerman, M.D., explains that lowering the diagnostic threshold for bipolar disorder will likely do more harm than good for patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-rhode-island-hospital-broadening-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:32:25 EST news254485938 For women with symptoms of the most common vaginal infection, a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that an over-the-counter diagnostic test may be just as accurate as having a test performed by a clinician. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-over-the-counter-vaginal-infection-good-doctors.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:50:34 EST news253968627 Can a simple diagnostic test used to measure a heart's electrical activity help predict heart attacks? And can that knowledge help doctors reroute their patients away from coronary heart disease? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-electrocardiography-heart-healthy-older-adults.html Cardiology Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:02 EST news253274112 A chromosomal abnormality in children with a deadly form of brain cancer is linked with a poorer chance of survival, clinician scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-abnormality-diagnostic-children-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:46:21 EST news252153972 Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively. A description of the method and the research results appear online in this month's issue of the EMBO Molecular Medicine journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-microscope-specific-cancers-molecular-analysis.html Cancer Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:05:08 EST news251395492 A team of scientists, led by the University of Liverpool, has made a major advance in the development of a diagnostic test for oesophageal cancer. The findings, achieved at STFC's ALICE accelerator facility, will lead to major improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-breakthrough-diagnostic-oesophageal-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:20:04 EST news247896621 (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new diagnostic test to help identify patients who have an increased risk of developing a rare brain infection while taking Biogen Idec's multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-fda-safety-screen-tysabri-patients.html Medications Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:50:09 EST news246304198 Kawasaki Disease (KD) is a severe childhood disease that many parents, even some doctors, mistake for an inconsequential viral infection. In fact, if not diagnosed or treated in time, it can lead to irreversible heart damage. After 50 years of research, including genetic studies, scientists have been unable to pinpoint the cause of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-kawasaki-disease-linked-currents.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:04:46 EST news240141841 A study led by Frank Cobelens of the Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and colleagues reports on the cost-effectiveness of implementing the Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) in high burden countries. Based on their findings, which are published in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors predict that Xpert will be a cost-effective method of TB diagnosis, compared with current standard techniques, in low- and middle-income countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-xpert-mtbrif-effective-tb-diagnosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:51:51 EST news239997100 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), an important diagnostic test, has traditionally been off limits to more than 2 million people in the United States who have an implanted pacemaker to regulate heart rhythms or an implanted defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death. Now, in a study published in the October 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, cardiologists at Johns Hopkins report that a protocol they developed has proved effective in enabling patients with implanted cardiac devices to safely undergo an MRI scan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-hopkins-mri-safe-people-implanted.html Cardiology Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:28:13 EST news236881685 A specific genetic alteration has been discovered as a defining feature of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a rare but devastating vascular cancer. These findings have also been used to develop a new diagnostic test for this blood vessel disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-rare-vascular-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:29:27 EST news234019737 The Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new diagnostic test that will help save the lives of hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients stricken with cryptococcosis, a fungal meningitis. The test was developed through a collaboration between Tom Kozel, professor of microbiology of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and Sean Bauman, president and CEO of IMMY (Immuno-Mycologics) of Oklahoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-fda-immy-university-nevada-reno.html Medications Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:00:08 EST news233413141 A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese. Supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, each study examined the genomes of tens of thousands of people. Combined, the studies offer the first comprehensive analysis into why some people, and some populations, have more or fewer white blood cells than others. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-massive-genome-genetics-white-blood.html Genetics Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:49:50 EST news228674977 Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a cheap and reliable diagnostic test for a rare form of cancer. The test involves screening tumour samples for a particular molecular fingerprint unique to this type of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-identification-fingerprint-rare-tumor-cheap.html Cancer Thu, 19 May 2011 09:45:59 EST news225017134 Removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids may help prevent high blood pressure and heart damage in children who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In some children with OSA, adenotonsillectomy can result in significantly lower blood pressure within 24 months of the procedure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-simple-surgical-procedure-heart-children.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 May 2011 10:39:31 EST news224761156 A new genomics study, led by the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, sets the stage for the first predictive diagnostic test in a serious immunodeficiency disease in children. If the disorder, common variable immunodeficiency disease (CVID), can be diagnosed early, children may receive life-saving treatments before the disease can progress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-puzzling-childhood-immune-disorder-gene.html Genetics Wed, 11 May 2011 14:05:13 EST news224341496 Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working on a potential diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease, based on biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-potential-diagnostic-alzheimer-cerebrospinal-fluid.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:02:42 EST news223030318 A new biomarker-based diagnostic test is more effective than the current best practice for early detection of adverse outcomes after acute kidney injury (AKI), which can be fatal for an estimated 50 percent of the critically ill patients who get the condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-biomarker-early-adverse-prognosis-acute.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:22:52 EST news222362559 Many patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) worry how quickly the disease will progress. Now, by noting the presence of certain markers in a commonly performed diagnostic test, Mayo Clinic researchers can predict whether patients will suffer a faster onset of disability and counsel them to help ease anxiety. The research is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-mayo-clinic-tool-disability-timeline.html Medical research Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:51:25 EST news221824270