Pregnant women with congenital heart defects (CHDs) have more comorbidities and more complications at delivery; a large new study using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data confirms. “Women with congenital heart disease are at a higher risk of a number of cardiovascular events and complications during pregnancy,” Dr. Lauren E. Schlichting of Brown University in Providence,…
Retinopathy is any damage to the retina of the eyes, which may cause vision impairment. Retinopathy often refers to retinal vascular disease or damage to the retina caused by abnormal blood flow. Age-related macular degeneration is technically included under the umbrella term retinopathy but is often discussed as a separate entity. Retinopathy, or retinal vascular disease; can…
New research from Massey University’s College of Health has shed light on how an emerging therapy for respiratory support works something that benefit patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and others that require acute or long-term respiratory support. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common condition in intensive care unit patients…
New research led by the University of Sheffield has discovered how a hospital superbug; evades the immune system to cause infection – paving the way for new treatments. The study, led by the University of Sheffield’s Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, investigated how Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), bacteria commonly found in the digestive tracts…
Outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses like yellow fever, dengue, Zika and chikungunya are rising around the world. Climate change has created conditions favorable to mosquitoes’ spread; but so have human travel and migration and accelerating urbanization, creating new mini-habitats for mosquitoes. In today’s Nature Microbiology, a large group of international collaborators combined these factors into prediction models;but…
The European Commission (EC) has approved risankizumab (Skyrizi, AbbVie) for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy. The action comes 2 months after the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommend approval of the drug. Rizankizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the p19…
Neuroscientists and computer vision scientists say a new dataset of unprecedented size comprising brain scans of four volunteers who each viewed 5,000 images will help researchers better understand how the brain processes images. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Fordham University, reporting today in the journal Scientific Data, said acquiring functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans…
Improvements sustained at 10 years for patients treated with the Mobi-C cervical disc; in the trial that led to its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, a new study shows. This included maintenance of scores for pain, neck disability, and neurologic status; with no worsening of radiographic adjacent segment degeneration…
New research from the UBC Sauder School of Business reveals that Metro Vancouver emergency patient acuity levels sometimes come second to wait time targets; so largely due to doctors being unclear around existing emergency room prioritization guidelines. The study find that patient acuity levels are consider more seriously once wait time targets have passed. Decision…
More than 1,000 students and staff members at two Los Angeles universities quarantine; but on campus or sent home this week in one of the most sweeping efforts yet by public health authorities; to contain the spread of measles in the U.S., where cases have reached a 25-year high . By Friday afternoon, two days…
Scientists who recently announced an experimental genetic test that can help predict obesity got immediate pushback from other researchers, who wonder whether it is really useful. The story behind this back-and-forth is, at its core, a question of when it’s worth diving deep into DNA data banks when there’s no obvious way to put that…
Exceeding noise levels of 100 decibels, the grunting sounds produce by some tennis players when hitting the ball are on a par with motorbikes or chainsaws. While fans react to these impressive exhalations with either annoyance or amusement, the habit has also been a source of intense debate among professionals. For instance, Serena Williams has…