Digital networks help to bridge staffing gaps at Canadian hospitals
The northeastern corner of Ontario — a vast area extending from just northeast of Wawa to Hudson Bay — has 51 hospitals and one permanent radiologist. That's why Northern Radiology (NORrad) was created seven years ago to allow nine of those hospitals to share digital diagnostic images such as X-rays and ultrasounds. Before NORrad, emergency-room physicians in remote communities with only limited diagnostic capabilities often had to ship patients out to larger centres.
Wheelchair arm controlled by thought alone
A wheelchair-mounted robotic arm controlled by thought alone has been created by scientists at the University of South Florida. The device could give people with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or full body paralysis the ability to perform simple day to day functions that would otherwise be impossible. "We aren't reading people's thoughts," said Redwan Alqasemi, a scientist at the University of South Florida who, along with Rajiv Dubey and Emanuel Donchin of USF, helped develop the software and hardware. "This is the first time a person with severe disabilities like ALS can perform daily activities for themselves."
Bird flu war could soon be won
Researchers have discovered human antibodies that neutralise not only H5N1 bird flu, but other strains of influenza as well. They now hope to develop them into life-saving treatments. The antibodies — immune system proteins that attach to invaders such as viruses —also might be used to protect frontline workers and others at high risk in case a pandemic of flu broke out, the researchers said.
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Colorectal cancer most common
Taiwan recorded 73,293 new cancer cases in 2006, with the largest number being colorectal cases, according to the latest cancer incidence report released yesterday by the Department of Health=. The figures mean that on average, a new cancer patient was being diagnosed in the country every 7 minutes, 10 seconds in 2006, up slightly from the average of 7 minutes, 38 seconds in 2005, when 68,907 new... [Read more]
Traffic Triples Heart Attack Risk
Whether you drive, take the bus, or bicycle, being in heavy traffic triples your risk of heart attack within one hour. Air pollution from car fumes is the likely culprit, suggest Annette Peters, PhD, and colleagues at the Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center, Munich, Germany. In a previous study, Peters and colleagues found that a sizeable proportion of heart attacks — about 8% —... [Read more]
Pfizer Cancer Drug Shows Benefits, Shares Rise
A late-stage clinical study of Pfizer Inc’s (PFE) Sutent was halted early after the drug showed significant benefit in patients with a rare form of cancer, the drugmaker said on Thursday, sending its shares up 3.5%. An independent committee monitoring the study recommended halting it after concluding that patients on Sutent stayed free of disease progression for longer than those on placebo... [Read more]
Nano-treatment to torpedo cancer
Nanotechnology has been used for the first time to destroy cancer cells with a highly targeted package of “tumour busting” genes. The technique, which leaves healthy cells unaffected, could potentially offer hope to people with hard-to-treat cancers where surgery is not possible. Although it has only been tested in mice so far, the researchers hope for human trials in two years. The UK... [Read more]
A step closer to reading the mind
Scientists say for the first time they have understood someone’s thoughts by looking at what their brain is doing. The hippocampus is widely known to be integral to memory, but researchers say they now see just how images are stored and recalled in this part of the brain. Wellcome Trust scientists trained four participants to recognise several virtual reality environments. Discernible patterns... [Read more]
Robin Williams To Undergo Heart Surgery
Robin Williams has postponed the remainder of his comedy tour so he can undergo heart surgery. Concerns were raised about Williams’ health on Wednesday when he was ordered by doctors to take a week of rest after complaining of shortness of breath. Reports on today suggested the comedy actor has been admitted to a Miami hospital to undergo tests, prompting his spokesperson to confirm Williams... [Read more]
Million Woman Study Links Alcohol Use to Cancer in Women
In seeming contradiction to previous studies where findings supported the benign or beneficial effects of alcohol consumption, a current study by researchers at the University of Oxford in Great Britain has linked even minimal alcohol use and cancer in women. The type of alcohol consumed was irrelevant. The so-called Million Women Study of middle-aged women in the United Kingdom found that low to... [Read more]
China approves food safety law: state media
China on Saturday approved a long-awaited food safety law, state media reported, in a bid to end repeated scandals involving dangerous food products in the country. The law has been in the works since October last year after a huge scandal erupted over contaminated milk which killed at least six children and sickened nearly 300,000 others in China. “The law will see the establishment of a monitoring... [Read more]
Rapid HIV evolution avoids attack
HIV is evolving rapidly to escape the human immune system, an international study has shown. The Nature study highlights just how tough it could be to develop a vaccine that keeps pace with the changing nature of the virus. The researchers showed HIV was able to adapt rapidly to counter human genes controlling immune system molecules that can target it for destruction. However, they stressed this... [Read more]
Man Gave Sperm 3 Times, Believes He May Be Octuplets’ Dad
A man who may be the biological father of Nadya Suleman’s octuplets says he is willing to help the single mother of 14, even though he is not certain it was his donated sperm that she used to become pregnant. In an exclusive interview airing this Monday on “Good Morning America,” the possible father said Suleman brought him to the clinic at which she received in vitro fertilization... [Read more]
Doctors hail first US face transplant
Doctors hailed a groundbreaking transplant to replace 80 per cent of a woman’s face, saying it is a means for the severely disfigured to “face the world” without humiliation. It was the world’s first near-total facial transplant and the fourth known facial transplant to have been successfully performed to date. [Read more] Read More →
Eating fish may prevent kidney decline in diabetics
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Eating fish at least twice a week seems to reduce the incidence of kidney disease in patients with diabetes, according to findings from a large British study. Although diabetics are advised to limit dietary protein to delay the progression of kidney disease, recent observations suggest that the benefit to the kidneys may have to do with “the protein source rather... [Read more]
