All news from Pathology & Microbiology
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a potentially deadly infection in the large intestine most common in people who need to take antibiotics for a long period of time, particularly in Australia's ageing population. But when doses of a new antibiotic called Ramizol were given to hamsters infected with a lethal dose of the bacteria, a significant proportion of hamsters survived the infection. The research was recently published in journal Scientific Reports.
Real-time data from health facilities is critical for policy planning and resource allocation. Knowledge is power and the future will belong to those who collect and use data wisely to drive decision-making. Health systems now have the opportunity to be learning systems if they act on local data and adapt based on locally-identified needs and challenges.
Real-time data from health facilities, including complete and high-quality records on the causes of death, is critical for health policy planning and allocation of resources. A special drive is needed to ensure complete birth and death registration. In the absence of real data, one is forced to use modeling and other methods of estimation, which have their own limitations.
Brief, text-based, self-administered exercises can significantly increase in-the-moment happiness for adults recovering from substance use disorders, report researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Recovery Research Institute.
Higher levels of physician-level continuity were strongly associated with lower total health care costs and hospitalizations, even among seriously ill patients, according to findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.
Elderly men who experience extended episodes of interrupted breathing while asleep have a high risk of heart problems. Research shows for the first time that poor blood oxygenation is a good indicator of the chance of heart-related death, which cannot be attributed to sleep apnea alone.
At least 680 people have been infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, with 414 deaths so far, and the first Ebola outbreak in an active war zone. But it could get worse: Health officials this week are concerned that Ebola appears to be spreading in the direction of Goma, a major population center in DRC.
So far, the outbreak has not affected DRC’s biggest cities. But Ebola in Kayina “raises the alarm” for Ebola reaching Goma, Peter Salama, the head of the new Health Emergencies Program at the World Health Organization, told Vox.
The human ear, like those of other mammals, is so extraordinarily sensitive that it can detect sound-wave-induced vibrations of the eardrum that move by less than the width of an atom. Now, researchers at MIT have discovered important new details of how the ear achieves this amazing ability to pick up faint sounds.
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are a class of chemicals used to produce materials commonly found in everyday life, such as some plastics, tin cans, electrical and household appliances, cosmetics, pesticides, etc. EDs are, however, not without danger: these molecules interfere with the endocrine system, disrupting the physiological production and the target effects of hormones
A multidisciplinary team of researchers has identified specific cognitive deficits in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Their findings support the theory of accelerated aging after SCI and have important implications for further research.
Dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin given within 24 hours after the high-risk transient ischemic attack or minor ischemic stroke can reduce subsequent strokes, according to findings published in The BMJ.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. While the number of cases diagnosed is on the rise, the overall survival rate has improved, but survival is uneven across the country.
California's new governor, Gavin Newsom, has hit the ground running with a package of healthcare reform proposals that have national implications. In conjunction with recent initiatives in other states and cities including New York City to move toward universal health coverage, Newsom's program gives additional impetus to the nationwide movement to guarantee healthcare for all, partly by building on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
