2010 AAO-HNSF new research highlights: Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010
2010-09-28
PACU PTH Facilitates Safe Outpatient Total Thyroidectomy
Presenters: William Pechter, MS; David Steward, MD; Jeffrey Houlton, MD; Naresh Panda, MS, FRCSEd
Time: 8: 32 am
Location: 254
Boston, MA – A study was performed reviewing thyroidectomies from March 2008 to November 2009, to determine if a serum parathyroid hormone (PTH)-based discharge algorithm can be used to safely facilitate outpatient total thyroidectomy.
In a presentation at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers revealed that 180 patients (mean age 48.9, 83.3% female) underwent ...
More developing countries show universal access to HIV/AIDS services is possible
2010-09-28
28 September 2010 | GENEVA / NAIROBI / WASHINGTON D.C – Significant progress has been made in several low- and middle-income countries in increasing access to HIV/AIDS services, according to a new report released today. The report Towards Universal Access by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is the fourth annual report for tracking progress made in achieving the 2010 target of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.
The report assessed ...
GOES-13 Satellite sees Lisa a tropical storm ... for now
2010-09-28
The GOES-13 satellite has been keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Lisa and watched her birth, graduation to depression then tropical storm and back to depression. Now, Lisa has grown back to tropical storm status, but it may be short-lived.
At 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 24, Tropical Storm Lisa had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and she may strengthen and weaken over the weekend, but by Sunday colder waters will zap her energy source and she is forecast to be a depression.
Meanwhile, on Sept. 24, she was still frolicking in the eastern Atlantic, about 320 miles ...
Scientists discover gene linked to a common form of migraine
2010-09-28
Montreal, September 26th, 2010 at 1:00 PM – An international study led by scientists at Université de Montréal and University of Oxford, has identified a gene associated with common migraines. Their findings show that a mutation in the KCNK18 gene inhibits the function of a protein called TRESK. TRESK normally plays a key role in nerve cell communication. Published today in Nature Medicine, this study may have implications for people who suffer from recurrent headaches, which include more than six million Canadians.
Previously, genes for migraine have been found only ...
Single electron reader opens path for quantum computing
2010-09-28
A team led by engineers and physicists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, have developed one of the key building blocks needed to make a quantum computer using silicon: a "single electron reader". Their work was published today in Nature.
Quantum computers promise exponential increases in processing speed over today's computers through their use of the "spin", or magnetic orientation, of individual electrons to represent data in their calculations.
In order to employ electron spin, the quantum computer needs both a way of changing the ...
2010 AAO-HNSF miniseminars: Monday, Sept. 27, 2010
2010-09-28
Boston, MA – The 2010 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), the largest meeting of ear, nose, and throat doctors in the world, will convene September 26-29, 2010, in Boston, MA.
Featuring more than 305 scientific research sessions, 594 posters, and several hundred instruction course hours for attendees, the annual meeting is a unique opportunity for journalists from around the world to cover breaking science and medical news. Reporters will have access to the latest research and clinical advances ...
2010 AAO-HNSF new research daily highlights: Monday, Sept. 27, 2010
2010-09-28
Inner Ear Stem-Cell Transplantation in Cochlear Cultures
Presenters: Dylan K. Chan, MD, PhD; Saku Sinkkonen, MD, PhD; Alan G. Cheng, MD; Stefan Heller, PhD
Time: 9:46 am
Location: Room 209
Boston, MA – Researchers have developed an in vitro system to investigate hair-cell regeneration techniques and evaluate the ability of transplanted inner-ear stem-cell spheres to integrate into the organ of Corti and differentiate into mature hair cells.
In a presentation at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers revealed that co-culture between inner-ear ...
Gut-invading worms turn enemy T cells into friends
2010-09-28
Intestinal worms sidestep the immune system by inducing the development of suppressive T cells, according to a study published on September 27th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org).
Immune T cells are essential for the clearance of invading microbes, including intestinal worms, but turning off immune responses is essential for avoiding collateral tissue destruction. This job falls in part to a population of suppressive T cells called regulatory T (T reg) cells. A team of researchers, led by Rick Maizels at the University of Edinburgh, show that gut-invading ...
Acupuncture not effective in stroke recovery
2010-09-28
Acupuncture does not appear to aid in stroke recovery, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091113.pdf
Acupuncture is often used to supplement traditional stroke rehabilitation, although its effectiveness is uncertain. It is necessary to have evidence of effectiveness from rigorous randomized clinical trials to recommend routine therapeutic use.
This study, perhaps the most comprehensive to date as it includes trials published in English language and Asian journals, was ...
Mindfulness meditation may ease fatigue, depression in multiple sclerosis
2010-09-28
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Learning mindfulness meditation may help people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) with the fatigue, depression and other life challenges that commonly accompany the disease, according to a study published in the September 28, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In the study, people who took an eight-week class in mindfulness meditation training reduced their fatigue and depression and improved overall quality of life compared to people with MS who received only usual medical care. The positive effects ...
NIH scientists freeze virus fragment in shape recognized by immune system
2010-09-28
One approach to an HIV vaccine is to teach the immune system to recognize certain protein structures on the viral surface and produce antibodies that bind to those structures and neutralize HIV. A strategy for designing such a vaccine involves identifying the key viral surface structures, snipping them off and developing a method to present these fragments to the immune system. When some parts of the surface of HIV are removed, however, they change shape such that antibodies no longer recognize and bind to them. A research team led by investigators at the Vaccine Research ...
Controlling bone formation to prevent osteoporosis
2010-09-28
Aging disrupts the balance between bone formation and bone destruction, resulting in osteoporosis, which is characterized by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fracture. Recent data have suggested that this imbalance is a result of a decrease in formation of bone forming osteoblast cells from mesenchymal cells upon aging. Instead, these cells form more fat cells. Insight into this age-related switch in cell type generation has now been provided by a team of researchers, led by Hiroshi Takayanagi, at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, working in mice. The data ...
JCI table of contents: Sept. 27, 2010
2010-09-28
EDITOR'S PICK: Controlling bone formation to prevent osteoporosis
Aging disrupts the balance between bone formation and bone destruction, resulting in osteoporosis, which is characterized by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fracture. Recent data have suggested that this imbalance is a result of a decrease in formation of bone forming osteoblast cells from mesenchymal cells upon aging. Instead, these cells form more fat cells. Insight into this age-related switch in cell type generation has now been provided by a team of researchers, led by Hiroshi Takayanagi, at ...
VCU study: Researchers discover a drug combination that shrinks tumors in vivo
2010-09-28
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 27, 2010) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have shown that the impotence drug Viagra, in combination with doxorubicin, a powerful anti-cancer drug, enhances its anti-tumor efficacy in prostate cancer while alleviating the damage to the heart at the same time.
For more than four decades the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin has been used to treat a number of human cancers, including that of the prostate. Despite doxorubicin's clinical efficacy for cancer treatment, its use is associated ...
LIMK plays a key role in cancer metastasis
2010-09-28
Researchers have shown that LIM kinase (LIMK), an important regulator of actin cytoskeleton dynamics, plays a key role in cancer metastasis. The study appears online on September 27 in The Journal of Cell Biology www.jcb.org.
Cancer metastasis is a multi-stage process that starts with the invasion of tumor cells into their surrounding tissue. The ability of metastatic cells to invade requires reorganization of the actin-myosin cytoskeleton, which is controlled by a sophisticated network of signals sent between a number of cellular components.
LIMK has been shown previously ...
Pine-bark extract has no effect on blood pressure, Stanford study finds
2010-09-28
STANFORD, Calif. - Add pine-bark extract to the list of dietary supplements that don't live up to their promises of improved health. A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine shows that pine-bark extract had no effect in lowering blood pressure or reducing other risk factors for heart disease.
Senior author Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, said the findings are part of a growing body of evidence that antioxidant supplements don't improve heart function.
"While there's a good biological basis to presume that antioxidant supplements might have a beneficial ...
Medical imaging may detect unrelated diseases in research participants
2010-09-28
In about 40 percent of research participants undergoing medical imaging, radiologists may detect a tumor or infection unrelated to the study but that may be meaningful to the individual's health, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"An incidental finding in human subjects research is defined in a major consensus project as an observation 'concerning an individual research participant that has potential clinical importance and is discovered in the course of conducting research, but is beyond ...
Lifestyle intervention for overweight patients with diabetes provides long-term benefits
2010-09-28
An intensive lifestyle intervention appears to help individuals with type 2 diabetes lose weight and keep it off, along with improving fitness, control of blood glucose levels and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Improving blood glucose control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes is critical in preventing long-term complications of the disease, according to background information in the article. Emphasis has been placed ...
Outcomes of communication about end-of-life care appear to differ between black and white patients
2010-09-28
While both black patients and white patients appear to benefit from end of life discussions with their physician, black patients are less likely to experience end-of-life care that accurately reflects their preferences, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Although black patients are also more likely than white patients to desire life-prolonging measures, receipt of life-prolonging care at the end of life is associated with greater distress and with poorer quality of life," the authors write ...
Exercise associated with lower rate of fractures in elderly women
2010-09-28
Home-based exercises followed by voluntary home training seem to be associated with long-term effects on balance and gait (manner of walking), and may help protect high-risk, elderly women from hip fractures, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Falls are responsible for at least 90 percent of all hip fractures," the authors write as background in the article. "Hip fractures place the greatest demands on resources and have the greatest effect on patients because they are associated with high ...
No cardiovascular benefit observed for pine-bark extract
2010-09-28
Use of pine bark extract, at a dose of 200 milligrams per day, appears safe but did not improve risk factors for heart disease, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Although traditional strategies such as prescription medications, dietary changes and physical activity have proven benefits for reducing cardiovascular disease risk, a substantial population seeks alternative therapies, including various dietary supplements, to lower cardiovascular disease risk," the authors write as background ...
Complexity not so costly after all, analysis shows
2010-09-28
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---The more complex a plant or animal, the more difficulty it should have adapting to changes in the environment. That's been a maxim of evolutionary theory since biologist Ronald Fisher put forth the idea in 1930.
But if that tenet is true, how do you explain all the well-adapted, complex organisms---from orchids to bower birds to humans---in this world?
This "cost of complexity" conundrum puzzles biologists and offers ammunition to proponents of intelligent design, who hold that such intricacy could arise only through the efforts of a divine designer, ...
Software downloaded during office visits could cut risk of ICD shocks
2010-09-28
Software downloaded during a routine office visit cuts the risk of inappropriate shocks by 50 percent for patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
"Hundreds of patients have been saved from unnecessary shocks by software that is safe and can be painlessly downloaded in one minute during a standard defibrillator check," said Charles D. Swerdlow, M.D., lead author of the study and a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and ...
Risk model based on Get with the Guidelines analysis can help
2010-09-28
Using data from more than 270,000 hospital stroke admissions, scientists have identified how to predict which patients are at greatest risk of dying in the hospital after stroke. Before their study, well validated models to predict in-hospital death risk after stroke were lacking, the researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
"A mortality risk assessment tool for hospitalized stroke patients is important to clinicians, hospitals and patients," said Eric E. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study and assistant professor of neurology ...
Fungal spores travel farther by surfing their own wind
2010-09-28
VIDEO:
In a few tenths of a second, Sclerotinia expels hundreds of thousands of spores in a plume that can rise 20 cm, much higher than any single spore by itself....
Click here for more information.
Long before geese started flying in chevron formation or cyclists learned the value of drafting, fungi discovered an aerodynamic way to reduce drag on their spores so as to spread them as high and as far as possible.
One fungus, the destructive Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, ...
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