Patients with pancreatic cancer have a different and distinct profile of specific bacteria in their saliva compared to healthy controls and even patients with other cancers or pancreatic diseases, according to research presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. These findings could form the basis for a test to diagnose the disease in its early stages. "Our studies suggest that ratios of particular types of bacteria found in saliva may be indicative of pancreatic cancer," says Pedro Torres of San Diego State University who presented ...

(Philadelphia, PA) – A statin drug commonly used to lower cholesterol is not effective in reducing the number and severity of flare ups from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of a large multicenter clinical trial designed and directed by Gerard J. Criner, MD, Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Criner, who served as the study's Principal Investigator, will report the results on May 18 at the American Thoracic Society's annual international scientific meeting in San ...

Jerusalem, May 18, 2014 – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (NYSE: TEVA) today announced that results from a real-life, retrospective, observational study of QVAR® will be presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2014 International Conference in San Diego on May 18, 2014. QVAR® is an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) indicated in the maintenance treatment of asthma as a prophylactic therapy in patients 5 years of age and older. Data to be presented at the meeting evaluated the benefit of treating asthma with small particle treatments, like QVAR®, in comparison ...

Bacteria live in the bladders of healthy women, discrediting the common belief that normal urine is sterile. This finding was presented today by researchers from Loyola University Chicago at the 114th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston. "Doctors have been trained to believe that urine is germ-free," said Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, co-investigator and dean, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM). "These findings challenge this notion, so this research opens the door to exciting new possibilities for patient treatment." ...

A University of Florida study shows that the same bacteria that cause gum disease also promotes heart disease – a discovery that could change the way heart disease is diagnosed and treated. Researchers report their findings today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. "We report evidence that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream in mice increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease. Our hope is that the American Heart Association will acknowledge causal links between oral disease and increased heart disease. That will ...

Women plagued by repeated urinary tract infections may be able to prevent the infections with help from over-the-counter painkillers, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that inhibiting COX-2, an immune protein that causes inflammation, eliminated recurrent urinary tract infections in mice. COX-2 is one of the proteins blocked by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen. "If we can confirm this link in clinical ...

Contrary to popular belief, urine is not sterile and the bacteria in it may be associated with overactive bladder (OAB) in some women, according to research presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. "The presence of certain bacteria in women with overactive bladder appear associated with OAB symptoms," said Evann Hilt, lead investigator and second-year master's student at Loyola University Chicago. For years doctors have been trained to believe that urine is germ-free. In 2012, Hilt's coauthors used modern, DNA-based detection ...

Athens, 18 May 2014: Heart failure hospitalisation more than doubles during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flares, according to a study of more than 5 million Danish people. The research was presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014, held 17-20 May, in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Dr Søren L. Kristensen, lead author, said: "Previous studies have shown an association between chronic inflammatory diseases (psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ...

Birth weight, hours slept, eyeglasses, city birds, washing machines, teenage schoolgirls and other quantifiable signals of well-being can help measure the wealth of a nation beyond Gross Domestic Product, experts say. Moving beyond GDP to sustainability — the focus of a UN­-backed high-level symposium May 19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — requires broad indicators of a nation's social and environmental well-being to complement measures of economic production and income. "World leaders are acknowledging GDP's limitations, as well as the need for broader measures to evaluate ...

p>Athens, 16 May 2014: The PARADIGM-HF trial has been stopped early for a benefit to patients that was overwhelmingly statistically significant. In the largest ever study of a heart failure treatment, LCZ696 won a head to head comparison with gold standard treatment and improved the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalisation, and reduced cardiovascular mortality alone. The latest update on the trial, describing the design and baseline characteristics of patients, was presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014 by Professor ...

Athens, 18 May 2014: Clinicians have been urged to consider using spironolactone in their patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) after a post-hoc analysis of the TOPCAT trial showed benefit in patients from the Americas. The research was presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014 in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Professor Bertram Pitt said: "We've had many studies showing that ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers ...

Athens, 18 May 2014: Hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases increased during the Greek financial crisis, according to two studies from Athens. The research was presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014, held 17-20 May in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Dr Alexios Samentzas said: "Greece plunged into an economic crisis in 2008 and since then there have been rises in unemployment, wage reductions and a fall in standard of living. Previous studies have shown ...

DETROIT – A vast majority of so-called "super-frequent user" patients who seek care in the Emergency Department (ED) have a substance abuse addiction, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. A patient is considered a super-frequent user who visits the ED at least 10 times a year. ED physicians have long theorized that patients who frequent the ED for their care have a substance abuse addiction. Few studies have actually measured the rate of addiction of these patients. The study's key findings: 77 percent of patients had a substance abuse addiction. 47 percent ...

(NEW YORK – EMBARGO May 17, 2014) Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will present several landmark studies at the 2014 American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting May 17-19, 2014 in Orlando, FL, including data on an immune response in prostate cancer tumors, effects of paternal age on stimulated insemination live birth rates, issues of sexual function after cystectomy and a comparison of modalities for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Meeting attendees will be able to view a live 3-dimensional video feed of a robotic ...

Athens, 17 May 2014: Poor diuretic response is associated with worse in-hospital and post-discharge clinical outcomes, results of the RELAX-AHF trial reveal. The study also found that serelaxin has a neutral effect on diuretic response. These novel data from the RELAX-AHF trial were presented by lead author Professor Adriaan A. Voors at the Heart Failure Congress 2014, held 17-20 May in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. RELAX-AHF was a double blind, placebo-controlled trial ...

Athens, 17 May 2014: Worsening symptoms and signs of heart failure (WHF) in patients admitted to a hospital is a common sign of treatment failure and can lead to long-term consequences for the patient, including longer length of hospitalization and a higher risk for readmission and death, according to a late-breaking study (RELAX-AHF, PROTECT) presented in Athens at the ESC's Heart Failure Congress 2014 Heart failure is the most common reason for admission to hospital in people over 65 years old and affects millions of people each year. Research has shown that the outcomes ...

Athens, 17 May 2014: Negative iron balance predicts survival in patients with acute heart failure, according to research presented for the first time today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014 in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Professor Ewa Jankowska, first author of the study, said: "Patients with acute heart failure have a major collapse in homeostasis. Iron is a key micronutrient that is required for the maintenance of homeostasis. Iron is needed for cellular metabolism ...

Athens, 17 May 2014: Cardiologists have discovered biomarkers that can be used to develop a screening test to detect Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a life-threatening disorder that is the primary cause of mortality in pregnant women in developing countries. The results, which can lead to the immediate treatment of PPCM in new mothers and a significant reduction in mortality, were presented at Heart Failure 2014, which opened the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure in Athens the 17 to the 20 May. "For pregnant women there are two major causes of death: massive hemorrhage ...

Athens, 17 May 2014: Sleeping pills increase the risk of cardiovascular events in heart failure patients by 8-fold, according to research from Japan. The study was presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014, held 17-20 May in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Dr Masahiko Setoguchi said: "Sleeping problems are a frequent side effect of heart failure and it is common for patients to be prescribed sleeping pills when they are discharged from hospital. They also have other ...

For the first time, scientists have developed an early warning system to predict the risk of dengue infections for the 553 microregions of Brazil during the football World Cup. The estimates, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, show that the chance of a dengue outbreak is enough of a possibility to warrant a high-alert warning in the three northeastern venues (Natal, Fortaleza, and Recife) but is likely to be generally low in all 12 host cities. Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. In some cases, it causes ...

SALT LAKE CITY, May 16, 2014 – University of Utah researchers devised a way to watch newly forming AIDS virus particles emerging or "budding" from infected human cells without interfering with the process. The method shows a protein named ALIX gets involved during the final stages of virus replication, not earlier, as was believed previously. "We watch one cell at a time" and use a digital camera and special microscope to make movies and photos of the budding process, says virologist Saveez Saffarian, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and senior author of ...

CINCINNATI—About one in seven men will develop prostate cancer over the course of a lifetime, and about one in 36 men will die from it. This is why findings by Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers, showing that a tumor suppressive microRNA, when activated by an anti-estrogen drug, could contribute to development of future targeted therapies, are important. These findings are published in the May 16, 2014 edition of the journal PLOS ONE. "MicroRNAs, or miRNAs, are short RNA molecules that play a prominent role in regulating gene expression. One miRNA can target multiple ...

PITTSBURGH, May 16, 2014 – The first direct proof of a long-suspected cause of multiple HIV-related health complications was recently obtained by a team led by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research (CVR). The finding supports complementary therapies to antiretroviral drugs to significantly slow HIV progression. The study, which will be published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and is available online, found that a drug commonly given to patients receiving kidney dialysis significantly diminishes the levels of bacteria that ...

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have developed a transgenic mouse that synthesizes both the omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids within its tissues on a diet of carbohydrates or saturated fats. Called "essential" because they are necessary to maintain important bodily functions, omega fatty acids cannot naturally be synthesized by mammals and therefore must be acquired by diet. Significant evidence suggest that the ratio of dietary omega-6 to omega-3 has important implications for human health, further increasing interest in the development of ...

New animal studies by Johns Hopkins cardiovascular researchers strongly suggest that sildenafil, the erectile dysfunction drug sold as Viagra and now under consideration as a treatment for heart failure, affects males and females very differently. The results of their investigations in varied male and female mouse models of heart failure are so clear-cut, says lead scientist Eiki Takimoto, M.D., Ph.D., that physicians may need to take gender into consideration when prescribing certain medications and that drug developers would be wise to take them into careful account ...