http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Whether from surgery or battle wounds, ugly scars can affect body and mind. Now a new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal offers a new strategy to reduce or eliminate scars on the skin. Specifically, scientists from NYU describe how agents that block receptors for adenosine (a molecule generated from ATP which is used by the body to provide energy to muscles) can be applied topically to healing wounds to reduce scar size, yielding skin that feels more like the original, unscarred skin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-scientists-treatment-scarring.html Medical research Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:24:11 EST news260796238 A study spearheaded by a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has tracked the trajectories of key immune cells in response to short-term stress and traced, in great detail, how hormones triggered by such stress enhance immune readiness. The study, conducted in rats, adds weight to evidence that immune responsiveness is heightened, rather than suppressed as many believe, by the so-called "fight-or-flight" response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-stress-boost-immune.html Immunology Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:00:01 EST news259518484 A unique new medicine that can start and accelerate healing of diabetic and other chronic wounds is being developed at Umeå University in Sweden. After several years of successful experimental research, it is now ready for clinical testing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-discovery-unique-medicine-treatment-chronic.html Medical research Mon, 28 May 2012 18:42:00 EST news257449308 (AP) -- America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-vets-disability.html Health Sun, 27 May 2012 14:40:45 EST news257348423 Diabetic foot infections are an increasingly common problem, but proper care can save limbs and, ultimately, lives, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-treatment-common-diabetic-foot-infections.html Diabetes Tue, 22 May 2012 04:30:02 EST news256879035 Allegations of widespread, sustained torture and other human rights violations by the Government of Sudan and Janjaweed forces against non-Arabic-speaking civilians are corroborated in a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine. In the study medical forensic experts reviewed the medical records of patients seen at a clinic in Darfur. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-credible-medical-evidence-widespread-torture.html Health Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:00:17 EST news252688578 A drug candidate that has shown promise for neutralizing dangerous bacteria also prevents the parasite that causes malaria from growing, new research by a Yale University team headed by Nobel laureate Sidney Altman shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-compound-halts-growth-malaria-parasite.html Medical research Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:00:17 EST news252585368 Researchers have combined bioactive peptides to successfully stimulate wound healing. The in vitro and in vivo study, published today in PLoS ONE, demonstrates that the combination of two peptides stimulates the growth of blood vessels and promotes re-growth of tissue. Further development of these peptides could lead to a new treatment for chronic and acute wounds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-bioactive-peptides-wound-vivo.html Medical research Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:55:53 EST news249299746 (HealthDay) -- Chronic leg ulcers (CLUs) that don't heal after three months of appropriate treatment have an overall skin cancer frequency of 10.4 percent, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in the Archives of Dermatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-skin-cancer-frequency-chronic-leg.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:52:40 EST news249137547 A research team led by UC Davis Health System scientists has developed a novel technique to enhance bone growth by using a molecule which, when injected into the bloodstream, directs the body's stem cells to travel to the surface of bones. Once these cells are guided to the bone surface by this molecule, the stem cells differentiate into bone-forming cells and synthesize proteins to enhance bone growth. The study, which was published online today in Nature Medicine, used a mouse model of osteoporosis to demonstrate a unique treatment approach that increases bone density and prevents bone loss associated with aging and estrogen deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-method-stem-cells-bone-formation.html Medical research Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:55:56 EST news247744547 An increasing number of abdominal gunshot and stab wounds are being treated without the need for unnecessary operations, according to a study in the January Trauma Supplement published by BJS, the British Journal of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-trauma-centers-non-surgical-options-abdominal.html Other Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:51:01 EST news244979435 (Medical Xpress) -- Most everyone that has been keeping abreast of world events knows that the clock is ticking on antibiotics; bacteria have been slowly developing a resistance and development of new antibiotics has slowed to a crawl, thus the day will soon come that all of the tools were are currently using to fight bacterial infections will be lost, leaving everyone at their mercy. This problem has not gone unnoticed by those at the upper reaches of the military establishment in the United States, thus it should not come as a surprise to anyone that DARPA, via the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to completely replace antibiotics with something new and better. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-darpa-antibiotic.html Medications Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:17:45 EST news241269449 Many infections, even those caused by antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, resist treatment. This paradox has vexed physicians for decades, and makes some infections impossible to cure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-bacteria-dont.html Medical research Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:50:01 EST news240767336 The lowly and simple roundworm may be the ideal laboratory model to learn more about the complex processes involved in repairing wounds and could eventually allow scientists to improve the body's response to healing skin wounds, a serious problem in diabetics and the elderly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-worms-reveal-secrets-wound-healing-response.html Medical research Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:40:01 EST news240763772 Tissue with wound-like conditions allows tumors to grow and spread. In mouse lung cancer cells, treatment with silibinin, a major component of milk thistle, removed the molecular billboards that signal these wound-like conditions and so stopped the spread of these lung cancers, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Carcinogenesis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-thistle-lung-cancer-mice.html Cancer Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:47:19 EST news240594430 (Medical Xpress) -- The images of war often stay with those who have experienced it long after a conflict is over. While the physical wounds are apparent, we are learning more and more about the toll these conflicts take on a soldier’s mental health, particularly in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-biology-ptsd.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:50:01 EST news240136273 Food-safety experts have long believed that Salmonella bacteria could only enter tomatoes through wounds in the stem or fruit — but a new University of Florida laboratory study shows it can also happen another way. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-lab-conditions-salmonella-tomato-fruits.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:24:50 EST news240132283 Millions of Americans suffer from wounds that don't heal, and while most are typically associated with diabetes, new research has identified another possible underlying cause – autoimmune diseases. The finding represents an unappreciated link that could lead to important new insights in wound healing, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-link-autoimmune-diseases-wounds-dont.html Medical research Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:41:06 EST news239784057 (Medical Xpress) -- At the recent Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy, Dr. Lawrence Eron from the University of Hawaii presented his results on the use of maggots to heal diabetic wounds. The small trial treated 37 diabetic patients with 27 showing successful outcomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-maggots-diabetic-wounds.html Medical research Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:32:26 EST news236338324 A simple item found in almost every medicine cabinet – a cotton swab -- may be a key tool in the fight against post-surgical wound infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-cedars-sinai-surgeon-simple-cotton-swab.html Other Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:33:18 EST news228475990 (PhysOrg.com) -- Melbourne researchers have developed smart bandages that change colour to reveal the state of the wound beneath. Their invention could reduce the $500 million cost of chronic wound care in Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-australians-smart-bandage.html Medical research Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:43:54 EST news226550605 New information has come to light explaining how injured skin cells and touch-sensing nerve fibers coordinate their regeneration during wound healing. UCLA researchers Sandra Rieger and Alvaro Sagasti found that a chemical signal released by wounded skin cells promotes the regeneration of sensory fibers, thus helping to ensure that touch sensation is restored to healing skin. They discovered that the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide, which is found at high concentrations at wounds, is a key component of this signal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-power-hydrogen-peroxide.html Medical research Tue, 24 May 2011 17:47:20 EST news225478022 Imagine a battlefield medic or emergency medical technician providing first aid with a special wad of cottony glass fibers that simultaneously slows bleeding, fights bacteria (and other sources of infection), stimulates the body's natural healing mechanisms, resists scarring, and—because it is quickly absorbed by surrounding tissue — may never have to be removed in follow-up care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-cotton-candy-like-glass-fibers-venous.html Medical research Tue, 03 May 2011 10:45:16 EST news223638257 Manuka honey could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and could even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-honey-reverse-antibiotic-resistance.html Medical research Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:38:17 EST news221884675