Biology News Net - Health & Medicine

Medicare patients 5.5 times more likely to get cataract surgery than VA patients, study finds

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:56:40 -0500

Patients seen at private facilities reimbursed by Medicare were more than 550 percent more likely to have routine cataract surgery than those who received their care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a strong indication that the frequency of cataract surgery may be responsive to financial incentives to either or both the medical facility and the physicians who perform the procedure.

UAB oncologists: HPV vaccine protects from cancer recurrence

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:45:42 -0500

A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer also may protect females from post-surgical recurrence of the disease, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Carnegie Mellon researchers seek to control blood loss

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:01:12 -0500

Carnegie Mellon University's Matt Oberdier is developing a new hydrosurgery system to help physicians better manage excessive bleeding during surgery.

New Alzheimer's test offers better opportunities for early detection

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:46:35 -0500

Early detection is key to more effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive impairment, and new research shows that a test developed at the University of Tennessee is more than 95 percent effective in detecting cognitive abnormalities associated with these diseases.

Groundbreaking research to find vaccine for hepatitis C

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:37:49 -0500

Researchers at the South West Liver Unit, based at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and supported by the Peninsula Medical School, are working to save more lives and improve the health of Hepatitis C sufferers around the world by developing a vaccine for the disease.

How estrogen feeds breast tumors

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:58:57 -0500

A new study is providing insight into how estrogen fuels many breast cancers, and researchers say the findings could lead to new cancer-fighting drugs.

Popular nanoparticle causes toxicity in fish, study shows

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:58:54 -0500

A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study.

Hepatitis B and C remain public health issue -- up to 5.3 million Americans infected

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:36:32 -0500

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirmed that 3.5 to 5.3 million people (1-2 % of the U.S. population) have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Despite efforts by federal, state and local government agencies to control and prevent these diseases, they remain a serious public health concern. The major factor impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV is lack of knowledge and awareness among health care providers, social service professionals, members of the public, and policy-makers. The full IOM report is now available online and published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Flightless mosquitoes developed to help control dengue fever

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:55:23 -0500

Irvine, Calif. – A new strain of mosquitoes in which females cannot fly may help curb the transmission of dengue fever, according to UC Irvine and British scientists.

UAB-led study shows simple steps could reduce stillbirths by up to 1 million

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:04:29 -0500

BIRMINGHAM, Ala - New findings in a study led by the director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Neonatology show that that training birth attendants in essential newborn-care techniques reduced stillbirths by more than 30 percent - and potentially could save as many as 1 million lives worldwide each year.