disease

Researchers trick the brain to lower blood pressure

Researchers have unveiled encouraging results of the first human randomized control trial of a procedure called therapeutic renal denervation to reduce and control hypertension in patients where medications aren't working. The announcement came at this week's Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

While the study involved only 106 adults and was funded by the manufacturer of the catheter and generator, the procedure--which uses a catheter-based probe to emit high-frequency energy directly into the renal artery to deactivate nerves linked to high blood pressure--does appear to be effective. That's particularly notable because these … Read more

New 'watch' measures central aortic systolic pressure

In what is being hailed by experts as a "scientific breakthrough" that could "revolutionize" the way blood pressure is measured, researchers in Singapore and the UK report in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on a novel device that can measure blood pressure near the heart.

The CASPro blood pressure monitor is named after central aortic systolic pressure (CASP), which is the pressure exerted by the aorta--the body's largest artery--that extends out from the heart. CASP is a key indicator of stroke and heart disease risk, and its measurements … Read more

Over half of late-20s crowd own cell phones only

Fifty-one percent of 25- to 29-year-olds live in households that have kicked the landline habit, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That is the first time that wireless-only households have surpassed landline households among any age group, according to the CDC's report released yesterday. The report, which surveyed 17,619 households over the six months that ended in June, also showed a 2 point rise of cell-phone-only households among late-twentysomethings compared with the previous six months.

Looking at other age groups, around 40 percent of people 18 to 24 and 30 to … Read more

New tech holds tissue still for cellular imaging

Motion can present major challenges in photography in general, not to mention with medical imaging techniques such as MRIs. But a new method using simple suction appears to stabilize living lung tissue without disrupting normal organ function long enough to image the live interactions of living cells, including immune response to injury.

With more than 20 articles about microscopy under their belts, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco publish their latest findings in this month's issue of Nature.

"The nature of disease is complex, so if scientists can observe in real-time what's happening in … Read more

Is Wi-Fi killing trees? Maybe. Maybe not

Wi-Fi may not be a tree killer after all.

Or it might be.

In any case, recent headlines about a connection between Wi-Fi signals and an increase in tree sickness were apparently not the place to look for an answer.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Dutch researchers have called into question data that prompted the widespread reports that Wi-Fi signals were to blame for a jump in poor-health indicators among urban trees in the Netherlands and perhaps elsewhere.

The people behind an investigation in the Dutch city of Alphen aan den Rijn say that numbers involved … Read more

Scientists grow working, miniature livers

Let's just say it's a good thing this breakthrough didn't come around when I was in my early twenties, or I may have been tempted to spend a little more time at my favorite neighborhood watering hole.

Scientists at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center say they've successfully used human liver cells to create miniature livers that function like their larger, more naturally derived counterparts.

Using a process called decellularization, the team rinsed real livers from an unspecified animal with detergent, stripping them of all their cells and leaving only … Read more

Brain 'pacemaker': Smarter Parkinson's care?

The idea of an electronic device implanted in the brain tends to evoke spooky scenarios a la "Total Recall." But if a team of international scientists has its way, brain implants will one day be viewed as a viable and commonplace therapy for conditions like Parkinson's disease, depression, and even age-related loss of brain elasticity.

The scientists are working on a biomimetic chip called the Rehabilitation Nano Chip (ReNaChip) that could be used to wire computer applications and sensors to the brain, building off of current procedures to make those approaches more precise.

The chip itself wouldn't be implanted in the brain; instead, it would be hooked up to tiny electrodes that provide precisely controlled stimulation to diseased areas.

An existing procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS) is already used to treat neurological symptoms, most commonly Parkinson's effects such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems.

It involves a surgically implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator that delivers electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement, blocking the abnormal nerve signals that cause Parkinson's symptoms.

However, the ReNaChip team says over-stimulation of the brain is a serious concern in current procedures, as it can cause patients to lose some therapeutic benefits over time. That's where their work comes in. … Read more

CDC: One in four U.S. homes ditch landlines

Nearly 25 percent of all U.S. households have eliminated landlines in favor of mobile phones, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in a recent study.

According to the CDC, during the last half of 2009, 24.5 percent of all U.S. households had at least one mobile phone and no landline telephones, representing a 1.8 percent increase compared to the first half of 2009. And approximately 15 percent of U.S. homes had a landline but received the vast majority of calls on their mobile lines.

The CDC collects phone usage data, and corresponding … Read more

Supramap helps track pathogens as they evolve

Collecting the genomic sequences of various strains of the influenza A virus, as well as the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, has helped in the fight against outbreaks around the globe in recent years.

Using genetics, geography, and phylogenetic trees to map how different strains of pathogens evolve and mutate helps researchers predict hot spots where diseases are most likely to reemerge.

Today, the hope is that Supramap, a Web-based application that operates on parallel programming on computing systems at the Ohio Supercomputer Center and Ohio State University, will better enable researchers to map the spread of disease … Read more

Oraya's IRay earns Europe's CE mark of approval

For three years, Oraya Therapeutics out of California has been developing and fine-tuning a stereotactic device to treat diseases of the eye.

They call it the IRay system, by which researchers deliver low-energy X-rays to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which--as the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 50--afflicts some 25 million to 30 million people worldwide, according to AMD Alliance International.

This week, the IRay has been granted the CE mark, certifying that the IRay system conforms to European Union safety, health, and environmental requirements.

"The CE mark requirements for an early stage medical … Read more