http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Over 40,000 people die each year in the United States from influenza-related diseases. In patients whose immune systems are compromised, antiviral therapy may be life-saving, but it needs to be initiated quickly. It is therefore crucial to diagnose and type the influenza rapidly. Scientists in the Netherlands have designed and evaluated a set of molecular assays that they say are a sensitive and good alternative for conventional diagnostic methods and can produce results in one day without the need for additional equipment. The results are published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-molecular-tools-influenza.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:49:57 EST news285421790 New research from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, published in the Journal of Surgical Research, may help clinicians determine which patients are at highest risk for post-surgical blood clots in the legs or lungs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-physicians-post-surgical-venous-thromboembolisms.html Surgery Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:44:33 EST news283005817 Public health agencies in five U.S. states are assessing the rabies risk for hundreds of people who may have had close contact with an infected organ donor and four transplant recipients, one of whom died, officials said Saturday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hundreds-rabies-transplant-death.html Other Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:48:27 EST news282728900 (Medical Xpress)—Nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in bee venom can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. The finding is an important step toward developing a vaginal gel that may prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nanoparticles-bee-venom-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:20:29 EST news281953153 Men who reported permanent stress have a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than men who reported no stress. This is the finding of a 35-year prospective follow-up study of 7,500 men in Gothenburg, by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-permanent-stress-diabetes-men.html Diabetes Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:57:04 EST news279457011 A team of researchers from Université Laval, CHU de Québec, and pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defense mechanisms in people with Alzheimer's disease. This major breakthrough, details of which are presented today in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), opens the door to the development of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and a vaccine to prevent the illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-major-alzheimer-vaccine.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:49:36 EST news277476510 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the Université Bordeaux Segalen, France, and their Swedish colleagues have recently demonstrated that constant exposure to blue light is as effective as coffee at improving night drivers' alertness. Based on tests conducted in real driving conditions, the results have been published in the journal PLoS One. They could pave the way for the development of an electronic anti-sleep system to be built into vehicles. Before then, the scientists will be testing this equipment in a broader range of situations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-coffee-blue-night-drivers.html Other Fri, 23 Nov 2012 06:27:19 EST news272874384 In a study published June 25 in the Journal of Neuroscience, a collaborative team of researchers led by Linda J. Van Eldik, director of the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and D. Martin Watterson of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, present results showing that a new central nervous system drug compound can reduce Alzheimer's pathology in a mouse model of the disease. The drug, called MW-151, is a selective suppressor of brain inflammation and overproduction of proinflammatory molecules from glial cells. The drug can be taken by mouth and readily enters the brain. The new study tested the hypothesis that intervention with drugs like MW-151 could be effective as a preventive measure, when administered at an early stage before Alzheimer's pathology appears, as well as after disease symptoms have begun to appear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-effect-early-drug-administration-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:10:42 EST news262368632 A drug that has been shown to prevent HIV infection in a significant number of cases must be combined with behavioral approaches if the U.S. health care establishment is to succeed in reducing the spread of the virus, according to the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hiv-behavioral-strategies-apa.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 14 May 2012 13:56:00 EST news256222504 Over the past three decades, researchers have firmly established that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have healthy effects on the heart. Omega-3 fatty acids seem to help both in preventing cardiovascular disease as well as in preventing future heart attacks, strokes, and other adverse events in people who have established cardiovascular disease. These findings have been so strong that the American Heart Association now recommends eating fish or taking fish oil as a preventive measure both for healthy individuals and those with cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanism behind omega-3's healthy effects isn't yet known. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-omega-fatty-acids-dont-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:24:19 EST news254503413 (HealthDay) -- Although vitamin deficiencies have been linked to canker sores, taking a daily multivitamin won't prevent this common mouth ailment, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-multivitamins-wont-canker-sores.html Dentistry Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:50:01 EST news252905487 (HealthDay) -- Aspirin works as well as Plavix in patients with blocked leg arteries, a new European study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-aspirin-good-plavix-poor-leg.html Cardiology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:10:01 EST news249151072 Three British tourists have died after catching Legionnaires' Disease in a Spanish seaside hotel, regional authorities said Friday, as they shut the hotel to stop the deadly bug spreading. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-deadly-bug-britons-spain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:01:13 EST news247471249 (AP) -- Tens of thousands of women with risky, French-made breast implants should have them removed at the state's expense, the health minister recommended Friday, adding that such removals were "preventive" and not urgent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-france-risky-breast-implants.html Other Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:13:18 EST news243835967 In premenopausal women who have repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs), the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) appeared more effective than cranberry capsules for preventing recurrent infections, at the risk of contributing to antibiotic resistance, according to a report in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-antibiotic-effective-cranberry-capsules-urinary.html Medications Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:49:24 EST news230831340