http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In ICU patients who have septic shock, the anatomic source of infection has a strong effect on the chances of survival, according to a new study from researchers in Canada. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-source-infection-affects-hospital-mortality.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 May 2013 09:09:50 EST news288259780 When the space shuttle Atlantis touched down in the summer of 2011 at Cape Canaveral, closing the book on the U.S. shuttle program, a team of U.S. Army researchers stood at the ready, eager to get their gloved hands on a small device in the payload that housed a set of biological samples. On Monday, April 22, at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston, the team will present the results of nearly two years' worth of study on those samples, results that shed light on how the human immune system responds to stress and assaults while in space – and maybe here on Earth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effects-microgravity-human-body.html Immunology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:05 EST news285849779 Though the toll of sepsis is known to be enormous – it is estimated to cost the U.S. health care system $24.3 billion each year, and is the nation's third-leading killer, behind heart disease and cancer – the true magnitude of incidence of and death from the illness remains unknown. There is substantial variability in these numbers, depending on the method used to identify the condition in patients treated at hospital across the United States, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The authors say these discrepancies limit the potential to improve treatment for the condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-lack-consensus-health-sepsis-poses.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:31:37 EST news285323489 Administration of the drug eritoran to patients with severe sepsis and septic shock failed to demonstrate a significant effect on reducing all-cause 28-day mortality or 1-year mortality, compared with placebo, according to a study in the March 20 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drug-significantly-death-patients-severe.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:13 EST news282927324 New research from the University of California, San Diego published in the Jan. 23 issue of Science Translational Medicine moves researchers closer to understanding and developing treatments for shock, sepsis and multiorgan failure. Collectively, these maladies represent a major unmet medical need: they are the number one cause of mortality in intensive care units in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. There is currently no treatment for these conditions in spite of many clinical trials. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-blocking-digestive-enzymes-reverse-multiorgan.html Medical research Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:00:05 EST news278165261 Failure to launch an adequate immune response may be at the root of septic shock, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 17th. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-surviving-sepsis-lect2.html Medical research Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:04 EST news274958860 Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are the immune system's patrol. They recognize foreign threats and trigger a defensive response, while restraining immune reactions against inappropriate targets like host proteins. They achieve the former via a mechanism called cross-presentation, which displays pieces of pathogens to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs)—the immune system's 'attack dogs'—while the latter function relies on cDC interactions with regulatory T (Treg) cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-cellular.html Medical research Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:00:23 EST news273488412 Following an infection, dysregulation of the immune system can result in a systemic inflammatory response and an often fatal condition called severe sepsis or septic shock. Sepsis is not uncommon, yet its cause and underlying immune dysfunction remain poorly understood. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a component of the immune system, now appear to have an important role in suppressing the immune response in advance of sepsis, and understanding this role may lead to new therapeutic strategies for improving patient outcomes, as described in a review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-closer-deadly-sepsis.html Medical research Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:56:11 EST news272292918 Although obesity is linked to a variety of health risks, new research indicates that obese patients may have an advantage over nonobese patients in certain health situations, including septic shock and acute asthma exacerbation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-obesity-paradox-extra-weight-linked.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 22 Oct 2012 03:58:41 EST news270097114 (AP)—Hong Kong authorities said one woman has died and three others have been hospitalized after undergoing a beauty treatment involving blood transfusions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hk-woman-dies-hospitalized-beauty.html Health Thu, 11 Oct 2012 04:06:51 EST news269147202 The genetics of a patient affects the extent of septic shock development and response to therapy. European researchers have identified genes related to sepsis in a study group of more than 2,500 patients in Europe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-genetic-fatalities-due-sepsis.html Medical research Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:26:23 EST news267089175 A novel antimicrobial catheter that remains infection-free for up to twelve weeks could dramatically improve the lives of long-term catheter users. The scientists who have developed the new technology are presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-long-term-antimicrobial-catheter.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:00:02 EST news265893114 Septic shock is the most severe outcome associated with pathogen infection in the bloodstream. It is a life-threatening condition invariably leading to multiple organ dysfunctions. Currently, septic shock is one of the most frequent causes of death in intensive care units worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-immune-haywire-sepsis.html Medical research Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:23:54 EST news260180622 University of Granada researchers have tested melatonin analogues in rats that inhibit the enzyme nitric oxide synthase, which is involved in the development of the diseases referred above. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-substances-alzheimer-parkinson-disease.html Medical research Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:33:16 EST news258802352 (Medical Xpress) -- Recognition of severe septic shock early and starting a patient on an effective antibiotic treatment immediately is critical to saving lives, according to an editorial by two Virginia Commonwealth University physicians published in the May 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-early-identification-treatment-septic.html Medications Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:00:01 EST news257753676 Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-key-gene-responsible-chronic-inflammation.html Genetics Thu, 24 May 2012 12:13:08 EST news257080377 Frank M. Brunkhorst, M.D., of Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany, and colleagues conducted a study to compare the effect of the antibiotics moxifloxacin and meropenem with the effect of meropenem monotherapy on sepsis-related organ dysfunction. Early appropriate antimicrobial therapy leads to lower mortality rates associated with severe sepsis. The authors hypothesized that maximizing the potential benefit and appropriateness of initial antibiotics by using 2 antibiotics would improve clinical outcomes compared with monotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-combination-antibiotic-treatment-result-failure.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 21 May 2012 11:00:22 EST news256812317 Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new 'off switch' in our immune response which could be boosted in diseases caused by over-activation of our immune system, or blocked to improve vaccines. The findings are published this week in the journal Nature Communications. The research was funded by Health Research Board, Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-immune-response.html Immunology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:47:37 EST news249652053 Fever control using external cooling in sedated patients with septic shock is safe and decreases vasopressor requirements and early mortality, according to a new study from researchers in France. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fever-external-cooling-early-mortality.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:50:01 EST news248675831 The introduction of new antibiotic regimes to tackle hospital-acquired infections, such as C. difficile, must take into account the possibility of increased infections following specific surgical procedures. That is the key finding of a study published in the November issue of the urology journal BJUI. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-drugs-tackle-hospital-acquired-infections-post-op.html Medications Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:38:35 EST news239276307 A team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says it has found a way to block a group of fatal bacterial toxins that have to date resisted all attempts to arrest them through the use of conventional drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-path-blocking-fatal-toxins.html Medical research Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:56:02 EST news235155349 Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have uncovered how the body's immune system launches its survival response to the notorious and deadly bacterium anthrax. The findings, reported online today and published in the June 22 issue of the journal Immunity, describe key emergency signals the body sends out when challenged by a life-threatening infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-immune-anthrax-infections.html Medical research Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:45:37 EST news227447097