Women diagnosed with cancer while pregnant have plenty to worry about. A new study may help reduce that burden, since it shows that typical cancer treatments may have no significant adverse effect on their fetus or newborn.
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Clostridium difficile, aka C. Diff. is a very serious, common infection that can cause life-threatening diarrhea. It is very difficult to treat with antibiotics, especially since the infection often arises from antibiotic use for other infections. But there may be new way to control it by use of a novel antibody.
Researchers in Japan are reporting a first in the field of stem cell research: a kidney grown from same cells in the lab and transplanted into both mice and pigs. But more importantly, they got the kidney to work inside these models.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body fails to produce insulin. But Belgian researchers have come up with a potential solution: reprogramming pancreatic cells to produce insulin and respond to glucose. They announced this week that it's working well in models, with study in humans to hopefully take place.
When a mild fever strikes healthy kids or adults, that small temperature rise is usually followed with a move towards the medicine cabinet. But there's a broad body of research that indicates that so-called over-the-counter remedies are simply unnecessary, because the body is perfectly designed to handle this physiological intrusion.
Take a look at this short, clever video from the American Chemical Society for tips on how to avoid getting kidney stones.
American kids are getting 12 percent of their calories everyday from fast food, and one third of them eat fast food offerings each day, according to recent news stories. This may sound troubling from a public-health perspective, but upon closer inspection, these data aren't all that concerning.
If there's anything we could use in the U.S., when it comes to the so-called 'War on Drugs," is a better way to fight it, an ongoing battle that sometimes seems hopeless. But research is underway, with three papers appearing simultaneously focusing on probing the mechanisms of cravings in the brain.
Sickle-cell disease is a painful, life-shortening, debilitating, inherited disease of hemoglobin in red blood cells, affecting persons of African descent. Children had been cured with bone marrow/stem cell transplants. Now, in a small study, adults are being cured with a less-intensive regime.
A new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported that patients who took Jardiance, a novel hypoglycemic drug that was developed by Boehringer and Lilly, had a 38 percent reduction in cardiovascular deaths. This is the first evidence that a drug that lowers blood sugar has an impact on cardiovascular disease.
The hygiene hypothesis has some new data. Researchers believe they have evidence that a lack of four bacteria genera early in life leads to a high risk of asthma. However, the study is small and the data is anything but conclusive.
Though stress may sometimes be beneficial when performance is enhanced due to the positive effects of anticipatory anxiety prolonged stress, especially stemming from childhood, may lead to long-term chronic physiological issues.
New York City has criminalized K2, or "synthetic marijuana." While this is the right thing to do, the effect will be short-lived since five psychoactive chemicals that give the dangerous street drug its properties can, and eventually will, be easily tweaked to skirt the law.
A relatively small study--50 patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery vs. 50 controls getting PT alone--showed a significant benefit for the surgery. But complications occurred with surgery. Some of the nonsurgical patients elected surgery later. While not definitive, surgery works well for most with knee OA.
According to a recent report in JAMA, lower back pain sends over 2.5 million Americans to hospital emergency departments every year. Such pain, when not due to radiculopathy (sciatica, for example) might be treated with several different drugs, or a combination of pharmaceuticals.
Subway announced recently that it will begin a long initiative to phase out meat from animals fed antibiotics as a growth enhancer. It's a win for public health, but the reality is that basically anyone, anywhere can get Subway to do just about anything at this point if one screams loud enough.
A new study sheds light on the aberrant, habitual brain mechanisms underlying anorexia nervosa, a devastating and potentially fatal eating disorder resistant to most treatments. Another study shows the unique patterns of brain activity that help make us different from each other.
The next time you plan on working overtime, you might want to think again because the extra green may not be worth it. According to a recent study, working longer hours could be associated with an increased risk of stroke.
A new study seeks to link fracking with pre-term and premature births. But researchers failed to do any measurements on any putative toxicants in the environment or in the mothers or babies.
In microbiome research, it's still too early to determine what is correlation and what is causation. However, some researchers are finding ways to use correlation effectively. One way is to improve screening for colorectal cancer, and a new study finds this may help in treatment, too.
Now that fall is upon us, cold and flu season is right around the corner. People are more likely to be indoors and transferring germs by shaking hands, coughing, and sneezing. The best way to avoid catching the flu is by receiving a vaccination now, before the virus hits.
An EPA employee had a bizarre response to our article on making kids with peanut allergies safer.
A study claims that infants given corticosteroids to treat asthma may face stunted growth in their future. However, the coverage of the study misses the point: despite the concern about potential height, asthma is still a deadly disease and steroids are still an effective treatment.
Students with peanut allergies have forced many schools to ban these nuts. However, scientists are working on a solution: trying to create a peanut without the allergenic proteins. They report they are close to a finished product, but regulatory questions abound as the definition of "GMO" is examined.
Needle exchange programs where addicts can exchange dirty syringes for clean ones are effective in preventing the spread of HIV, a finding that's highlighted in a new CDC report. But in terms of curbing the overall drug abuse problem, the programs themselves remain controversial.
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