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Critically ill patients who need a ventilator to breathe face a high risk of pneumonia. The lung infection, however, is exceedingly difficult to diagnose because a patient's underlying condition often skews laboratory test results and masks pneumonia's symptoms -- a reality that can delay appropriate antibiotic treatment. Now there is an early, more accurate detection method on the horizon.

A healthy ear emits soft sounds in response to the sounds that travel in. Detectable with sensitive microphones, these otoacoustic emissions help doctors test newborns' hearing. A deaf ear doesn't produce these echoes. New research shows that, contrary to the current scientific thought, the emissions don't leave the ear the same way they entered.

A drug therapy currently used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis had a significant effect in treating the most common form of multiple sclerosis in a small, short-term clinical trial. Because the drug targets the immune system's B-cells, rather than the immune system's traditionally targeted T-cells -- long considered the primary culprit -- the finding provides a new insight into the cause of the disease, the researchers say.

Although expenses related to back and neck problems have increased substantially in the last decade, outcomes such as functional disability and work limitations do not appear to be improving.

Preschoolers with poor vision have lower scores in developmental testing indicative of success in school performance, but those scores improve significantly within six weeks when the children are given prescription glasses, according to a new study. Since low visual-motor skill scores correlate with lower academic achievements, the research team speculates that improved skills due to corrected vision might lead to improved cognitive and verbal performance.

NEW YORK -- What if we could prevent cancer recurrence for years after surgery by giving simple recall injections every two or three years" This concept may no longer be a fantasy. In a clinical study published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, a team headed by the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) has shown that a vaccine against a protein found in cancer cells produces an immune response that can be boosted and strengthened with additional vaccine shots.

New investigation results, 'Does marital status impact survival and quality of life in patients with non-small cell lung cancer?

LYON, France -- EDAP TMS SA, the global leader in therapeutic ultrasound, announced today that Ablatherm(r)-HIFU was featured in presentations at three major U.S. medical conferences. Each lecture underscored Ablatherm-HIFU's unique clinical superiority in terms of efficacy, safety, and long-term data. The following urological experts showcased the benefits of Ablatherm-HIFU as a minimally invasive treatment for early-stage prostate cancer: Dr. Enrico Finazzi Agro of the University of Rome Tor Vegata at the Jackson Hole Seminars meeting on Jan. 26; Dr.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have discovered a chemical reaction they believe to be the first step in the development of breast and prostate cancer. By keeping the reaction from taking place, researchers think certain types of cancers can be prevented. "Cancer is a chemical problem before becoming a biological program," said Ercole Cavalieri, the principal UNMC researcher for the project. When the normally-harmless chemical estrogen oxidizes (loses electrons), it forms a metabolite, a compound left behind by a chemical reaction.

Older men with early-stage prostate cancer are not taking a big risk if they keep an eye on the disease instead of treating it right away, suggests the largest study to look at this issue since PSA tests became popular. Only 10 percent of the 9,000 men in the study who chose to delay or skip treatment had died of prostate cancer a decade later. The vast majority were alive without significantly worsening symptoms or had died of other causes. Even the 30 percent who eventually sought treatment were able to delay it for an average of 11 years. "It is important news," said Dr.