news 2018

New research led by the Hip Implant Prosthesis Study (HIPS) team at the University of Bristol Medical School has shown that small-head (less than 36 mm in diameter) cemented metal-on-plastic hip replacements are the most cost-effective in men and women older than 65 years. For adults younger than 65, small-head cemented ceramic-on-plastic hip replacements are more likely to be cost-effective.

Australian researchers have developed a tiny device that electrically stimulates the brain and could one day be used to treat conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease without invasive surgery. They have shown for the first time that electrical stimulation can be delivered into the brain from a 4 mm diameter Stentrode permanently implanted inside a blood vessel.

E. coli , the notorious bug associated with severe food poisoning and usually caught from undercooked meat, is a common concern for anyone cooking over the festive period. While thoroughly cooking meat and washing vegetables and hands after food preparation can prevent E. coli infection, treatment for the severe stomach bug can be difficult, as antibiotics are known to make the disease worse by releasing a potent toxin into the infected person's gut.

Women who experience domestic violence and abuse (DVA) are more than twice as likely to seek emergency contraception as other women, according to a study by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded researchers at the University of Bristol and Queen Mary University of London, suggesting that requests for emergency contraception could be an important sign of abuse.

Mice represent well over half of the non-human subjects of biomedical research, and the vast majority of those mice are inbred. Formed by generation after generation of mating between brothers and sisters, inbred mice are genetically identical to each other, like twins or clones. Inbreeding is well known to reduce health and vigor across species; this biological fact is the reason that incest is a universal taboo.

Computer simulations of microscopic, protein-coated beads that block bacteria from binding to host cells suggest that the microbeads could help reduce or eliminate bacterial infections in burn wounds. Dr Paul Roberts from the University of Birmingham's School of Mathematics , UK., and colleagues present these new findings, funded by the BBSRC, in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Girls exposed to chemicals commonly found in toothpaste, makeup, soap and other personal care products before birth may hit puberty earlier, according to a new longitudinal study led by researchers at UC Berkeley. The results, which were published Dec. 4 in the journal Human Reproduction , came from data collected as part of the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, which followed 338 children from before birth to adolescence to document how early environmental exposures affect childhood development.

Honeymoon long over? Hang in there. A new UC Berkeley study shows those prickly disagreements that can mark the early and middle years of marriage mellow with age as conflicts give way to humor and acceptance. Researchers analyzed videotaped conversations between 87 middle-aged and older husbands and wives who had been married for 15 to 35 years, and tracked their emotional interactions over the course of 13 years.

A study to be published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on World AIDS Day shows the extraordinary global genetic diversity of HIV and highlights just how big the challenge is to develop a vaccine to combat the global spread of HIV. One of the most comprehensive studies of HIV around the world has revealed a map of the spread of subtypes of the virus across the world, revealing which strains are dominant in which country and region, and where new strains are emerging.

A UCLA-led research team has identified genetic processes involved in the neurodegeneration that occurs in dementia — an important step on the path toward developing therapies that could slow or halt the course of the disease. The findings appear today Medicine. The researchers discovered two major groups of genes involved in mutations that result in an overproduction of a protein called tau, a hallmark of the progressive loss of neurons seen in major forms of dementia.

Health workers are being urged to closely monitor adolescents losing weight after a study of patients with anorexia nervosa found 31 per cent had all the cognitive features and physical complications of the disease without being underweight. Dietitian Melissa Whitelaw is calling for a change to anorexia nervosa's diagnostic criteria after finding that patients with "atypical anorexia" suffer serious health concerns despite being within or above the healthy weight range.

A drug originally developed for prostate cancer may have exciting potential for treating Parkinson's. The study, funded by Parkinson's UK, suggests that the drug, tasquinimod, which is not yet on the market, works by controlling genes that may cause Parkinson's. This happens when the drug interacts with a protein inside brain cells.

Up to 17 per cent of children could have symptoms consistent with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) according to new research published today (Friday 30 November) in Preventative Medicine. The UK has the fourth highest level of prenatal alcohol use in the world, but no estimates existed from a population-based study on how many people may have FASD.

Associate Professor of Psychology Amishi Jha meets with researchers, Anthony P. Zanesco and Ekaterina Denkova, and Director of UM's Mindfulness in Law Program, Scott Rogers. Together, they coauthored a recent study investigating the impact of mindfulness training in elite military service members' cognitive performance.

HIV self-testing strategies have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2016, as they empower people to find out HIV their status at their convenience. However, home-based testing kits have yet to be approved for sale in Canada.

A particularly deadly form of ovarian cancer is so deadly in part because it is quick to develop resistance to the drugs used to treat it. Now, a team is using new materials and imaging techniques to better understand the disease. Facebook Twitter Email As if a cancer diagnosis isn't bad enough, women with one of the most common forms of ovarian cancer face a hard reality.

A new study led by ANU has discovered a promising way to significantly lower doses of X-rays that has the potential to revolutionise 3D medical imaging and make screening for early signs of disease much cheaper and safer. The research team, which involved the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Monash University, built upon an unconventional imaging approach known as "ghost imaging" to take 3D X-ray images of an object's interior that is opaque to visible light.

FINDINGS Opioid use in Mexico has been low, but national and international factors are converging and a threat of increased drug and addiction rates exists. Many of these factors may have originated in the U.S., making this a potential joint U.S.-Mexico epidemic. BACKGROUND Previously, various cultural and legislative factors had combined to keep opioid use low in Mexico.

A radical culture change in the NHS and across the health data and medical technology community is needed to ensure the NHS can deliver the benefits of new health technologies, says a new report co-authored by a University of Oxford scientist. The report, published by the Academy of Medical Sciences , outlines principles that must be adopted by the NHS and medical industry so that digital information about patients can be used in smarter, more joined-up ways to revolutionise healthcare and support life-saving research.

Results could also indicate whether antibiotics have successfully treated the infection. Pneumonia, a respiratory disease that kills about 50,000 people in the United States every year, can be caused by many different microbes, including bacteria and viruses. Rapid detection of pneumonia is critical for effective treatment, especially in hospital-acquired cases which are often more severe.