Archives

Limits on the number of hours that medical residents are allowed to work in a day does not negatively affect outcomes in even the most sensitive patient population: critically ill patients in intensive care units. Moreover, there has been a decrease in mortality among ICU patients in both teaching and nonteaching hospitals alike during the work-hours reform.

Scientists believe they may have identified a biological explanation for the link between cesarean-section delivery and risk of allergy and asthma in childhood.

In investigating the intricacies of the body's biological rhythms, scientists have discovered the existence of a "food-related clock" which can supersede the "light-based" master clock that serves as the body's primary timekeeper.The findings, which appear in Science, help explain how animals adapt their circadian rhythms in order to avoid starvation, and suggest that by adjusting eating schedules, humans too can better cope with changes in time zones and nighttime schedules that leave them feeling groggy and jet-lagged.

A new survey cautions physicians that drugs commonly prescribed for patients suffering from immunological disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease may carry risks of serious infections other than the known risk of tuberculosis.

Recent studies have shown a connection between people who became infected with Campylobacter jejuni, a pathogen found in poultry, and their contact with certain chicken products that contained the pathogen. It also turned out that the Campylobacter jejuni from those products was becoming resistant to ciprofloxacin, a synthetic antibiotic used by humans to fight bacterial infections. The prevalence of Campylobacter -- which is a major cause of foodborne illness -- is common on raw poultry.

Being able to target the genetic code to develop an effective treatment of a disease is the ultimate goal for many scientists. Focusing on how the DNA interacts with a potential drug is an important element of DNA therapy research. Scientists have now developed a method using optical tweezers to better understand how those interactions occur.

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may have a new treatment option, according to researchers in Japan. In a Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the investigators discovered that a daily dose of pirfenidone could slow the progression of IPF, reducing the loss of lung capacity.

A new study in Science provides compelling evidence that the nitric oxide system in cells is very broad-based and important, resembling in its essence the much-studied system of phosphorylation. The findings may offer new insights into how cells work and the basis of many diseases.

Expectant mothers can safely use prescribed antidepressants during their first trimester, according to a new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers found that antidepressants had no effect on fetal development.

Researchers have created a new, single-exposure imaging tool that could significantly improve point-of-care medical and forensic imaging by empowering front line clinicians with no specialized training to detect and assess, in real-time, the severity of bruises and erythema, regardless of patient skin pigmentation or available lighting.