http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Beep….beep……….beep……….beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. "We're losing him. Out of my way, nurse!" The quick-thinking young doctor charges the defibrillator paddles and places them on the chest of the lifeless patient, whose cardiac monitor is showing a straight green line. The patient gets a huge dose of electricity; his back arches and his limp body lifts up off the bed with the shock. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-medical-myth-flatlining-patients-life.html Cardiology Tue, 14 May 2013 09:10:01 EST news287740616 Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC), one type of "blue baby" syndrome, is a potentially deadly congenital disorder that occurs when pulmonary veins don't connect normally to the left atrium of the heart. This results in poorly oxygenated blood throughout the body, and TAPVC babies are born cyanotic - blue-colored - from lack of oxygen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mutation-wrong-way-plumbing-blue-baby-syndrome.html Medical research Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:14 EST news287573743 (Medical Xpress)—Ever since its introduction in the 1990s, the "clot-busting" drug tPA has been considered a "double-edged sword" for people experiencing a stroke. It can help restore blood flow to the brain, but it also can increase the likelihood of deadly hemorrhage. In fact, many people experiencing a stroke do not receive tPA because the window for giving the drug is limited to the first few hours after a stroke's onset. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tpa-clot-buster-brain-protector.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 May 2013 07:11:55 EST news287129505 (Medical Xpress)—Two babies at risk of brain injury following a lack of oxygen at birth have received xenon gas and cooling therapy while being transferred from one hospital to another in a specially equipped ambulance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-xenon-gas-successfully-babies-ambulance.html Other Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:40:33 EST news286522822 New research published in The Journal of Neuroscience suggests that modifying signals sent by astrocytes, our star-shaped brain cells, may help to limit the spread of damage after an ischemic brain stroke. The study in mice, by neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine, determined that astrocytes play a critical role in the spread of damage following stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-astrocyte.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:42:04 EST news282818517 Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results published in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-antioxidant-donated-liver-survival-percent.html Other Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:39:18 EST news281018346 The risk of ischaemic heart disease – a disease affecting some 150,000 Danes – is three times higher in persons with high levels of the so-called 'ugly' cholesterol. This is the finding of a new study of 73,000 Danes, which is shedding light on a long debate on this topic. The results have just been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-overlooked-ugly-cholesterol-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:30:01 EST news277994802 Chock-full of Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, fish oil can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the skin and joints, and promote healthy fetal development. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has found that it has a positive effect on bedsores, too. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fish-oil-bed-sores-critically.html Health Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:47:36 EST news273847643 (Medical Xpress)—Some infants are more susceptible to potentially life-threatening breathing problems after birth, and rare, inherited DNA differences may explain why, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-gene-linked-respiratory-distress-babies.html Pediatrics Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:17:55 EST news273241063 (Medical Xpress)—It seems as if a tumor deprived of oxygen would shrink. However, numerous studies have shown that tumor hypoxia, in which portions of the tumor have significantly low oxygen concentrations, is in fact linked with more aggressive tumor behavior and poorer prognosis. It's as if rather than succumbing to gently hypoxic conditions, the lack of oxygen commonly created as a tumor outgrows its blood supply signals a tumor to grow and metastasize in search of new oxygen sources – for example, hypoxic bladder cancers are likely to metastasize to the lungs, which is frequently deadly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-lack-oxygen-cancer-cells-growth.html Cancer Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:36:25 EST news266754978 When mice are born lacking the master gene Atoh1, none breathe well and all die in the newborn period. Why and how this occurs could provide new answers about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but the solution has remained elusive until now. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-master-gene-affects-neurons-birth.html Neuroscience Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:00:01 EST news266148023 Two to three percent of the children are born with an intellectual disability. Possibly by a genetic defect, but in 80% of these cases, we do not know – yet - which genes are responsible. VIB researchers at KU Leuven show that increased production of the HUWE1 protein is the cause in some patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-protein-huwe1-intellectual-disability.html Genetics Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:12:05 EST news265626718 The protein concentrate APOSEC, obtained from white blood cells, when given intravenously 40 minutes after an acute myocardial infarction, largely prevents scarring of the cardiac muscle. These were the findings of Hendrik Jan Ankersmit, Head of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Diagnosis and Regeneration in Cardiac and Thoracic Diseases at the MedUni Vienna, which were unveiled back in the autumn of 2011. A study by a team of researchers led by Ankersmit has now unravelled further mechanisms responsible for how APOSEC works. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-treatment-heart-aposec-mechanism-unravelled.html Cardiology Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:39:05 EST news265361880 Even when its clot-dissolving powers are removed, the stroke drug tPA can still protect brain cells from the loss of oxygen and glucose induced by a stroke, researchers have discovered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-tpa-effective-treatment.html Neuroscience Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:00:04 EST news261756644 Outcomes for children with brain injury acquired during childhood are difficult to predict and vary significantly, states an analysis of evidence on the topic published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-outcomes-children-brain-injury-difficult.html Pediatrics Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:00:01 EST news259237960 New research confirms an association between smoking and a reduced risk for a rare benign tumor near the brain, but the addition of smokeless tobacco to the analysis suggests nicotine is not the protective substance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-nicotine-rare-tumor.html Cancer Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:44:11 EST news254403839 An anecdotal observation of a possible link between sleep apnea and post-surgical delirium has been measured and confirmed by a team of researchers at the Duke University Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-apnea-patients-delirium-surgery.html Sleep apnea Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:37:54 EST news252074248 A collaborative team of researchers at Children's National Medical Center are making progress in understanding how to protect infants needing cardiac surgery from white matter injury, which impacts the nervous system. The synergistic team from the Children's National Heart Institute and Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Medical Center was led by Nobuyuki Ishibashi, MD, Joseph Scafidi, DO, Richard Jonas, MD, and Vittorio Gallo, PhD. The study, published online in the January edition of Circulation, identifies the stages of white matter development, as well as the areas and cells of the brain that are impacted by the amount of oxygen and any inflammation in infants with complex cardiac issues that affect brain oxygenation and cause swelling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-team-gains-white-infants-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:50:01 EST news250428821 (Medical Xpress) -- Boosting levels of the simple compound fumarate in mice significantly reduces damage from a heart attack, an Oxford University-led study has shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-fumarate-greatly-heart-mice.html Medical research Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:13:34 EST news250330405 Though it may not have felt like winter until recently, it is that time of year when environmental exposures to the cold weather will be causing many problems for people. Here are some tips for preventing and safely treating two common winter weather-related problems -- frost bite of the extremities and hypothermia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-medical-minute-winter-weather-related-problems.html Health Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:02 EST news245996921 (Medical Xpress) -- Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that an inflammatory mechanism known as inflammasome may lead to more damage in the heart following injury such as a heart attack, pointing researchers toward developing more targeted strategies to block the inflammatory mechanisms involved. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-role-inflammatory-mechanisms-heart.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:48:07 EST news241858027 Mitochondria are often called cellular "powerhouses" because they convert nutrients into energy. But these tiny structures also help determine cellular lifespan. Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) are now discovering how mitochondria alternate between duplicating and fragmenting and how these events help cells adapt to diverse physiological conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mitochondria-protein-therapeutic-heart-disease.html Cardiology Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:47:06 EST news240763601 After a heart attack, the portions of the heart damaged by a lack of oxygen become scar tissue. Researchers have long sought ways to avoid this scarring, which can harden the walls of the heart, lessen its ability to pump blood throughout the body and eventually lead to heart failure. But new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine shows that interrupting this process can weaken heart function even further. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-scarring-evil-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:40:36 EST news240576023 Memory is not a single process but is made up of several sub-processes relying on different areas of the brain. Episodic memory, the ability to remember specific events such as what you did yesterday, is known to be vulnerable to brain damage involving the hippocampus. The question is, what happens when damage to the hippocampus occurs very early in life? In a case study published in the September 2011 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, clinical neuropsychologists have reported that a child can develop normally despite severe damage to the hippocampus resulting from lack of oxygen in the first days of life. This supports the theory that the different aspects of memory rely on distinct areas of the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-recite-poem-days-earlier.html Neuroscience Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:14:43 EST news232276468 Researchers led by Montana State University have found a surprising condition that occurs in the lungs after an invasion of a common mold that can cause deadly infections in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-results-lung-mold.html Medical research Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:22:43 EST news231650544 (Medical Xpress) -- In a new study published in Nature Neuroscience, a team of researchers revealed the discovery of a key protein necessary for nerve repair and could lead to the development of a treatment for brain injuries due to a lack of oxygen, such a cerebral palsy, as well as multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects adults all over the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-infant-brain-injuries-cerebral-palsy.html Neuroscience Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:20:01 EST news228366899 A new study links the intermittent interruption of breathing that occurs in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to enhanced proliferation of melanoma cancer cells and increased tumor growth in mice, according to researchers in Spain. The study also found tumor cells of OSA mouse models tended to contain more dead cells, indicating a more aggressive type of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-obstructive-apnea-linked-cancer-growth.html Sleep apnea Tue, 17 May 2011 14:03:24 EST news224859783 Intravenous administration of epoetin alfa, a product that stimulates red blood cell production, to patients with heart attack who were undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), did not provide reduction in the size of the heart muscle involved and was associated with higher rates of adverse cardiovascular events, according to a study in the May 11 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-outcomes-erythropoietin-heart-patients-pci.html Medical research Tue, 10 May 2011 16:25:29 EST news224263508