Health & Medicine
New therapy offers hope for wound healing in severely burned patients
Serious burns are difficult to treat and can cause many complications. A common treatment for these injuries is a split-thickness skin graft, where a thin layer of healthy skin is taken from elsewhere on the patient’s body, meshed and transplanted onto the wound bed. Unfortunately, this type of treatment can lead to graft failure, contracture and scarring. PolarityTE, Inc., a biotechnology […]
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Setting the gold standard in care for acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis, which causes severe upper abdominal pain, is one of the leading gastrointestinal causes of hospitalisation. Dr Paul Tarnasky and his colleagues at the Methodist Digestive Institute, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, USA, are aiming to reach the highest standards in quality of care for pancreatitis patients. The team has designed a new, streamlined protocol for diagnosis of the […]
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Preventing aluminium oxide contamination of dental implant surfaces
When a dental implant is inserted, the speed at which it integrates into the surrounding bone and tissue, known as osseointegration, is key to its eventual success. Treating the surface of implants to make them rougher helps this process. However, contaminants from this surface modification process can remain on the implant. A study carried out by Dr Peter Schupbach who […]
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The untold stories of age-related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide. It goes without saying there is a need for early diagnosis of this devastating disease and to provide patients with effective treatment. Professor Christine Curcio from the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been working on exactly that. Professor Curcio and her team aim to reveal […]
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Shining a light on sarcoidosis: The path from infection to treatment
Sarcoidosis can often be difficult to diagnose and tricky to treat. The disease, which produces ball-like conglomerates of inflammatory cells called granulomas in the affected organs, looks likely to be caused by a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes. Dr Yoshinobu Eishi and his team at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, investigate the previously unknown path from P. acnes infection to […]
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Nuts about nuts: The Mediterranean solution to diabetes control
Professor David Jenkins and his team at The University of Toronto investigate the impacts of exchanging carbohydrates for mixed nuts – a source of unsaturated fats – on critical risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as low-density lipoprotein particle size and apolipoprotein B levels. They also discern that adopting a lower-carb, high-fat diet, reminiscent of the Mediterranean diet, increases glycaemic […]
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Collaboration between specialist and primary health services in psychiatry: Development and implementation of the Pomor model to Arkhangelsk County, Russia
Historically, mental health problems have been met with reactions of stigma and discrimination. Due in large part to widespread campaigns to reduce this, attitudes are changing and mental health issues are finally being given the attention and investment they deserve. That said, there are still several issues related to care that need to be addressed. Dr Tore Sørlie and colleagues […]
The role of IL-33 in preventing metabolic disease
Dr Amal Hasan is based at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, State of Kuwait. Her work looks at the mechanics behind the relationship between obesity and metabolic disease. In particular, Dr Hasan’s research has shed light on the involvement of a molecule called IL-33 in metabolic disease. IL-33 and its interactions with another molecule, ST2, may play a role in metabolic […]
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Dry needling could hold the key to relieving lower back pain
Lower back pain is a common health issue in adults. Many treatments, both conventional and alternative, are available. Dry needling is an alternative medicine technique that is gaining popularity among physical therapists and their patients. In an upcoming study, Dr Ulrike Mitchell of Brigham Young University, Provo, USA and her team will investigate the potential of dry needling to relieve […]
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Gestational diabetes: A novel detection strategy
Gestational diabetes is a complication arising in pregnancy that can lead to serious and lifelong health concerns for the mother and child. Currently all pregnant women undergo screening for gestational diabetes, a time-consuming and demanding procedure. However, diagnosis often comes late in pregnancy, leaving limited time for intervention. Dr Jonatan Dereke and his fellow researchers at Lund University, Sweden are […]
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