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Acanthamoeba Keratitis

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Acanthamoeba Keratitis is an eye infection affecting the cornea. Contact lens users are at high risk of getting infected, though non-contact lens users are also prone to the disease.

Psychosis Diagnosis in Children Gets a Boost

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A better way to assess and diagnose psychosis in children has now been developed by a team of researchers. By "growth charting" cognitive development alongside the presentation of psychotic symptoms, they have demonstrated that the most significant lags in cognitive development correlate with the most severe cases of psychosis. Their findings are published online this month in iJAMA Psychiatry/i. "We know that disorders such as schizophrenia come with a functional ...

Antibody Treatment Effective In Protecting Humanized Mice Against HIV

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Boosting the production of certain broadly neutralizing antibodies could be helpful in protecting mice from intravenous and vaginal infection with HIV, scientists have found. Humanized mice have immune systems genetically modified to resemble those of humans, making it possible for them to become HIV-infected. Led by David Baltimore, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology, the investigators inserted the genes encoding the NIH-discovered broadly HIV neutralizing ...

White Matter 'scaffold' of Human Brain Identified

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Neuroscientists have now identified he critical communications network that supports brain function- the white matter "scaffold" of the human brain. Their work, published Feb. 11 in the open-source journal iFrontiers in Human Neuroscience/i, has major implications for understanding brain injury and disease. By detailing the connections that have the greatest influence over all other connections, the researchers offer not only a landmark first map of core white ...

Pentavalent Vaccines Will Now be Used in 11 More States in India

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Pentavalent vaccines will now be used in 11 more states in India after the demand from them, the health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad stated. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the health minister also said that there has been rise in the reported adverse events following immunization (AEFI) cases all over the country, including eight states where Pentavalent vaccine was introduced in phased manner. "The increase in reporting is not found to be associated ...

Rajya Sabha Introduces Bill to Protect HIV Patients from Discrimination

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To protect people suffering from HIV/AIDS against discrimination, a bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill 2014 was introduced in the upper house amid din. The draft of the bill was finalised in 2006, and civil society groups and HIV/AIDS-affected people have long been demanding passage of the draft legislation. Under the proposed law, HIV/AIDS-affected people will be provided protection against ...

Parents Advised to Keep an Eye on Children Using Smartphones

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Given that many parents are out of touch with the dangers faced by children using tablets and phones, parents should now make an attempt to talk to their kids about the usage of these phones. According to a poll by BBC Learning, almost one in five children said they had seen something on their devices that had upset them, twice the number parents had thought. A separate study found that just over 20 percent of parents do not monitor what their children ...

Genital Warts to be Handled Better With Three Doses of HPV Vaccine

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A new study has found that three doses of vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) may be effective against genital warts, as opposed to 2 doses. The results are published in the scientific periodical iJAMA/i. Since 2012, girls in Sweden between the ages of 10 and 18 are offered free vaccination against HPV. The vaccine provides protection against various types of HPV, including some that cause cervical cancer and those that cause genital warts. Current recommendation ...

Ion Beam Accelerators Target Tumors, Take an Aim at Cancer

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A rapid evolution of machines that deliver cancer killing beams is being observed thanks to the advances in design and operation of particle accelerators built for physical research. Hear about the latest developments and challenges in this field from a physicist, a radiobiologist, and a clinical oncologist, and participate in a discussion about cost, access, and ethics at a symposium organized by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory ("Targeting Tumors: ...

Portable Ultrasound may Reduce Length of ER Stay in Kids With Suspected Appendicitis

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The length of emergency room stay and CT scans can be reduced by using portable ultrasound as the first-line imaging in kids with suspected appendicitis, a new study found. Bedside ultrasound, often referred to as point-of-care ultrasonography, has a specificity of about 94%, meaning that it misses few cases, , the Mt. Sinai researchers add. Results from the study are published online February 10 in the peer-reviewed journal iAcademic Emergency Medicine/i. "From ...

Smell Perception: How It Influences Our Food Intake

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A team of researchers have now successfully found out how the endocannabinoid system controls the intake of food through its effects on the perception of smells. In animals, as in humans, hunger mechanisms are known to stimulate food intake. Hunger triggers a set of mechanisms that encourage feeding, for example by increasing sensory perceptions such as the sense of smell. The researchers have now succeeded in revealing what links hunger and increased smell perception ...

Survival of Breast Cancer Predicted by Fifty-five Genes Linking to a Powerful Tumor Suppressor

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The prediction of progress of breast cancer and its chances of survival could be possible from a panel of 55 genes, almost all of which are impacted by the loss of a particular protein, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center report in emPLOS ONE/em. The panel represents loss of a powerful tumor suppressor gene, SYK, as well as genetic alterations in 51 other genes that are directly affected by the loss of a copy of the SYK gene and ...

Proposal of Demolition of Landmark Tower in Paris by Mayor

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Proposal of demolition of Tour Montparnasse, the French capital's historic skyline, has been brought upon by the leading contender who is to become Paris mayor. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the mayoral hopeful for the centre-right UMP party, has described the 210-metre (690-foot) tower as an "urban catastrophe" and promised to begin steps to tear it down. "I have started discussions with experts and certain stakeholders about the future of the Tour Montparnasse," ...

Art is 'Forgotten Victim' in Syria, Say Campaigners

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More surveillance of Syrian archaeological sites and a crackdown on trading in looted art were demanded by activists on Tuesday, at the opening of an international campaign to save the war-torn country's heritage. The campaign, launched in Rome and entitled "The Forgotten Victim in Syria", is being supported by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin along with leading figures from the worlds of politics and art. "Virtually no one speaks about ...

Bordeaux 2013 Not a Huge Disaster, but Variable in Quality

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Vintage of Bordeaux 2013 might vary in terms of quality but is not as huge a disaster as it has been portrayed, said the president of a body representing top producers on Wednesday. Heavy rains during the critical spring flowering season and, for some producers, during the harvest made life tough for winemakers but Olivier Bernard said quality would vary from property to property. "It is no worse and no better than 2011 and 2012," said Bernard, the president ...

Cellphones Do Not Cause Cancer, Reveals Study

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Cellphones do not increase the risks of childhood cancer or leukemia, finds new study. Fears have long existed that radiofrequency fields from cellphones and towers can cause brain tumours, headaches and cancer, but the British study confirms the international consensus that cellphone use is safe, Stuff.co.nz reported. Christchurch electromagnetic frequency expert Martin Gledhill, who has been tracking global research into the risks of cellphone ...

Increased Number of Dengue Deaths in Malaysia

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Deaths from dengue fever soared to nearly three times in Malaysia this year, compared to the same period in 2013, and a stepped-up campaign has been launched to control mosquitoes that spread the virus. As of this week, 22 people had died from dengue in 2014, compared to eight deaths over the same stretch last year, Health Minister S. Subramaniam told AFP on Tuesday. While still early in the year, at the current pace the numbers would surpass 2010, the ...

Home Remedies For Corns

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Natural Home Remedies offers you herbal method to treat corns effectively. Follow these simple home remedies and tips to get rid of corns and calluses on your feet.

Polio Seen in Afghan Capital Again After 13 Years

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An emergency polio vaccination has been launched in Kabul, Afghanistan, after a girl contracted the disease, this being the city's first case since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. The three-year-old from a nomadic family living on the northeastern edge of the city was diagnosed after being admitted to hospital in neighbouring Pakistan, a spokesman for the Afghan public health ministry said Tuesday. The spokesman, Kaneshka Baktash Turkistani told AFP ...

Men Do Have Bigger Brains Than Women

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First analysis into sex differences in brain structure after reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research has been carried out by Cambridge University researchers. The team, led by doctoral candidate Amber Ruigrok and Professors John Suckling and Simon Baron-Cohen in the Department of Psychiatry, performed a quantitative review of the brain imaging literature testing overall sex differences in total and regional brain volumes. They searched ...

Aerobic Exercise Preserves Nerve Cells in Eyes, Delays Retinal Degeneration After Damage

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Moderate aerobic exercise helps to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina after damage, and may be able to slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases. The findings are from an animal study appearing February 12 in emThe Journal of Neuroscience/em. Age-related macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly, is caused by the death of light-sensing nerve cells in the retina called photoreceptors. ...

Better Diagnosis of Common Heart Condition Possible With New Imaging Technique

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A common congenital heart abnormality, bicuspid aortic valve can be diagnosed better with a new imaging technique which measures blood flow in the heart and vessels and the technique may lead to better prediction of complications. A Northwestern Medicine team reported the finding in the journal iCirculation/i. In the study, the authors demonstrated for the first time a previously unknown relationship between heart valve abnormalities, blood flow changes in ...

Annual Screening Does Not Cut Breast Cancer Deaths: Study

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A new study published in BMJ finds annual screening in women aged 40-59 does not reduce mortality from breast cancer beyond that of physical examination or usual care. Furthermore, the study shows that 22% of screen detected breast cancers were over-diagnosed, representing one over-diagnosed breast cancer for every 424 women who received screening in the trial. Over-diagnosis refers to the detection of harmless cancers that will not cause symptoms or death during ...

Can Women in Spain Freely Opt for Abortion After Proposed Ban?

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A controversial plan to ban women in Spain from freely opting for abortions has outraged many and is now facing a hurdle on Tuesday when lawmakers were getting ready to vote on a motion to scrap the reform. The plan has not only outraged pro-choice groups but has sparked division even within the conservative ruling party. The opposition Socialists submitted a proposal in parliament on Tuesday evening to "immediately withdraw" the bill. The ...

Study Says Fewer Than 1 in 5 English Adults Now Smoke

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In England, fewer than one in five adults now smoke, the smallest fraction in three generations, reports study published in British Medical Journal (BMJ). In a letter, health researchers Jamie Brown and Robert West of University College London reported on a seven-year-old programme to monitor smoking prevalence in England. It samples 1,800 people aged over 16 who are randomly chosen each month. In 2013, 19.3 percent of those questioned ...

Largest Study Ever Confirms Kidney Failure Risk for Organ Donors 'Extremely Low'

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The largest study ever conducted of kidney disease risk in living kidney donors confirms that the risk of a kidney donor developing kidney failure in the remaining organ is much lower than in the population at large, even when compared with people who have two kidneys. Results from the new Johns Hopkins research will reassure people wishing to donate a kidney. The results, published in the Feb. 12 issue of the iJournal of the American Medical Association/i, ...

Removing Both Breasts Wiser for Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer from BRCA Gene Mutation

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Women diagnosed with breast cancer caused by a notorious gene have a much better survival chance if they have both breasts removed instead of one, observed a study Wednesday. Out of 100 women with a BRCA gene mutation who have a double mastectomy for early breast cancer, 87 will be alive after 20 years, it said. This compares to 66 of every 100 who opt for a single amputation, according to the research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). ...

Popular Painkiller Naproxen Poses Same Heart Risk as Rival Painkillers

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The popular painkiller naproxen, manufactured by German drug giant Bayer and sold under the brand name Aleve, has the same cardiovascular risks as rival medicines, US regulators said Tuesday. Scientists from Oxford University had earlier concluded that painkiller naproxen posed a lesser heart risk than other painkillers. But a panel of experts assembled by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided by a vote of 16 to nine against softening the ...