June 25, 2015 - New results in animals highlight a major safety concern regarding a class of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents used in millions of patients each year, according to a paper published online by the journal Investigative Radiology. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. The study adds to concerns that repeated use of specific "linear"-type gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) lead to deposits of the heavy-metal element gadolinium in the brain. The results will have a major impact on the multimillion-dollar market for MRI contrast agents, ...

Many patients in the latter stage of Parkinson's disease are at high risk of dangerous, sometimes fatal, falls. One major reason is the disabling symptom referred to as Freezing of Gait (FoG) -- brief episodes of an inability to step forward that typically occurs during gait initiation or when turning while walking. Patients who experience FoG often lose their independence, which has a direct effect on their already degenerating quality of life. In the absence of effective pharmacological therapies for FoG, technology-based solutions to alleviate the symptom and prolong ...

While the use of antiangiogenesis drugs that block the growth of new blood vessels can improve the treatment of some cancers, clinical trials of their ability to prevent the development of new metastases have failed. Now a study from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center may have found at least one reason why. In their paper published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, an MGH research team reports finding that the growth of metastases in lymph nodes -- the most common site of cancer spread -- does not require new blood vessels but instead ...

A good or mediocre appetizer has the potential to significantly change how the main course is enjoyed, according to one Drexel food science professor. Jacob Lahne, PhD, an assistant professor in the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management, recently found that a comparatively good appetizer could make people enjoy the main course less than if it were preceded by a mediocre appetizer. Lahne tested and analyzed subjects' hedonic (liking) responses to a main dish of "pasta aglio e olio" (pasta with garlic and oil) after they had either a good or mediocre bruschetta ...

Nature loves crystals. Salt, snowflakes and quartz are three examples of crystals - materials characterized by the lattice-like arrangement of their atoms and molecules. Industry loves crystals, too. Electronics are based on a special family of crystals known as semiconductors, most famously silicon. To make semiconductors useful, engineers must tweak their crystalline lattice in subtle ways to start and stop the flow of electrons. Semiconductor engineers must know precisely how much energy it takes to move electrons in a crystal lattice. This energy measure is the ...

Scientists from UCL (University College London) have designed a chemical compound that has reduced the growth of pancreatic cancer tumours by 80 percent in treated mice. The compound, called MM41, was designed to block faulty genes. It appears to do this by targeting little knots in their DNA, called quadruplexes, which are very different from normal DNA and which are especially found in faulty genes. The findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports, showed that MM41 had a strong inhibiting effect on two genes -- k-RAS and BCL-2 -- both of which are found in the ...

Wading bird numbers in the Florida Everglades are driven by water patterns that play out over multiple years according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Florida Atlantic University. Previously, existing water conditions were seen as the primary driving factor affecting numbers of birds, but this research shows that the preceding years' water conditions and availability are equally important. "We've known for some time that changes in water levels trigger a significant response by wading birds in the Everglades," said James Beerens, the study's lead author ...

Researchers from The University of Manchester are part of a team that has identified an important new approach to diagnose infections in critically ill patients rapidly and accurately. A study by colleagues in Salford and Manchester found that chemically analysing breath specimens from patients in intensive care can reveal bacterial infection in the lower respiratory tract of ventilated patients at risk of developing pneumonia. Although the work is in its early stages, the findings so far look very exciting and could potentially have a huge effect on clinical practice ...

A pioneering new technique to produce high-quality, low cost graphene could pave the way for the development of the first truly flexible 'electronic skin', that could be used in robots. Researchers from the University of Exeter have discovered an innovative new method to produce the wonder material Graphene significantly cheaper, and easier, than previously possible. The research team, led by Professor Monica Craciun, have used this new technique to create the first transparent and flexible touch-sensor that could enable the development of artificial skin for use in ...

Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have used DNA barcoding to elucidate the diversity of the sponge fauna found in Antarctic waters. The data provide new insights into the evolution of this poorly characterized group. Sponges constitute an important component of marine ecosystems in the waters around Antarctica. As filter feeders that rely on food particles suspended in the water passing through complex networks of canals lined with flagellated cells, they provide protected niches for many other organisms. "In spite of their considerable ecological ...

How a chimpanzee views a video of an infant chimp from another group being killed gives a sense of how human morality and social norms might have evolved. So says Claudia Rudolf von Rohr of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, lead author of a paper in Springer's journal Human Nature. It provides the first evidence that chimpanzees, like humans, are sensitive to the appropriateness of behaviors, especially those directed toward infants. It also shows that these primates might only take action when a member of their own group is being harmed. The researchers filmed ...

Working with heart muscle cells from diabetic rats, scientists at Johns Hopkins have located what they say is the epicenter of mischief wreaked by too much blood sugar and used a sugar-gobbling enzyme to restore normal function in the glucose-damaged cells of animal heart muscles. In addition to much-needed insight into the process of diabetes-related heart damage, the study, described June 24 in the journal Diabetes, offers a clue to a possible treatment strategy for diabetic cardiomyopathy, a condition marked by progressive weakening of the heart muscle found in 60 ...

Nashville, Tenn., June 25, 2015--Collecting and reporting hospital infection data to federal health agencies takes more than 5 hours each day, at the expense of time needed to ensure that frontline healthcare personnel are adhering to basic infection prevention practices such as hand hygiene, according to a recent case study, to be presented on Saturday, June 27 at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Infection preventionists (IPs) play a critical role in the effort to eliminate healthcare-associated ...

Nashville, Tenn., June 25 -- A pilot antibiotic stewardship program at a pediatric long-term care facility brought about a 59 percent decrease in use of a topical antibiotic and an 83 percent decrease in orders for antibiotics without proper documentation during a six-month period, according to a new study. When the infection prevention team at Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in Yonkers, N.Y. noticed that certain antibiotics were being prescribed for a prolonged period of time and for non-infection indications, they launched a trial program to make improvements in antibiotic ...

New research from Lund University in Sweden questions the prevailing doctrine on how the brain absorbs and processes information. The idea that the brain has a mechanism to maintain activity at the lowest possible level is incorrect. What happens in the brain when we think and which components make up a thought? Researchers in Lund have taken a major step towards understanding this central issue. Since the 1980s, there has been a general consensus among neuroscientists that the brain has a system to maintain brain activity at the lowest possible level while retaining ...

In a comprehensive assessment of Antarctic biodiversity, published in Nature this week, scientists have revealed the region is more diverse and biologically interesting than previously thought. The team of scientists, led by Monash University, along with colleagues from the British Antarctic Survey, University of Waikato in New Zealand, and Australian National University, looked at how recent investigations have revealed the continent and surrounding ocean is rich in species. They are also very highly diversified into a variety of distinct ecological regions that differ ...

A unique program combining a life review writing workshop with conversations between seniors and college students enhances the sense of meaning in life for older adults living independently, finds a new study by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. The study is published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Americans are living longer than ever. The majority of older adults in our aging population want to remain in their own home or "age in place," as opposed to moving to housing for seniors or moving ...

London, UK (June 25, 2015)- We all feel emotion, we all get upset, can feel low, angry and overjoyed, but when do these emotional responses become something of a medical concern? When are these feelings inappropriate, too intense, or lasting too long? When is the emotional state you are in classed as depression? In light of the 5th revision of the influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5), where a person can now be diagnosed as undergoing a "major depressive episode" if showing depressive symptoms for more than two weeks after bereavement, ...

Mapping brain is like 'charting new galaxies in outer space' Old map based on stroke; new one based on neurodegenerative disease More precise brain target for future therapies to restore language CHICAGO -- For 140 years, scientists' understanding of language comprehension in the brain came from individuals with stroke. Based on language impairments caused by stroke, scientists believed a single area of the brain -- a hotdog shaped section in the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere called Wernicke's region -- was the center of language comprehension. Wernicke's ...

Research on treatments for health problems, such as diabetes, stroke and schizophrenia, is not being focused on the treatments considered most important by patients and clinicians, according to a study published in the open access journal Research Involvement and Engagement. The study suggests that current research is instead favoring drug treatments over physical or psychological therapies, or interventions to improve educational approaches or service organization. Study author Iain Chalmers, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration and James Lind Alliance, ...

A single supportive close friendship can help young people from low-income backgrounds to thrive in challenging circumstances, according to a new University of Sussex study. The research, led by psychologist Dr Rebecca Graber, is published today, Thursday 25 June, in the British Journal of Psychology. Young people from low-income areas typically face substantial challenges to good physical health, mental health, academic achievement and employment. Previous research has linked these challenges to involvement with peers and membership of larger friendship groups - ...

Smokeless tobacco and, more recently, e-cigarettes have been promoted as a harm reduction strategy for smokers who are "unable or unwilling to quit." The strategy, embraced by both industry and some public health advocates, is based on the assumption that as smoking declines overall, only those who cannot quit will remain. A new study by researchers at UC San Francisco has found just the opposite. The researchers analyzed survey data spanning 18 years in the United States and six years in the European Union. They found that, contrary to the prevailing assumptions, ...

An investigation published by The BMJ today reveals how the controversial concept of "harm reduction", embraced enthusiastically by the tobacco industry, has sharply divided the public health community. On one side of the increasingly bitter dispute are those who believe it is time to work with the industry in support of products such as e-cigarettes. Those in the other camp, however, not only contest the claimed public health benefits of the new products but also fear harm reduction is a cynical and superficial smokescreen for an industry that has every intention of ...

Women who have experienced a stillbirth have up to a fourfold increased risk of stillbirth in a second pregnancy compared to those who had an initial live birth, finds a new meta-analysis published in The BMJ this week. Stillbirth rates have declined across most of Europe, but the UK still has a major public health problem. Ranked 33rd out of 35 for stillbirth rates among European countries, the UK recorded 3,286 stillborn babies in 2013. "Stillbirth is one of the most common adverse obstetric outcomes and a traumatic experience for parents," explain Sohinee Bhattacharya ...

Countries most affected by HIV must focus on stopping new HIV infections and expanding access to antiretroviral treatment or risk the epidemic rebounding, urges a major new report from the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission. "We must face hard truths--if the current rate of new HIV infections continues, merely sustaining the major efforts we already have in place will not be enough to stop deaths from AIDS increasing within five years in many countries," said Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Co-Chair of the Commission, and ...