For patients being treated for uncomplicated acute appendicitis, quality of life (QOL) is similar at seven years after appendectomy or antibiotic therapy, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in JAMA Surgery. Suvi Sippola, M.D., from Turku University Hospital in Finland, and colleagues assessed postintervention QOL and patient satisfaction…
Mum, 31, diagnosed with cervical cancer after avoiding smear tests for 10 years
Kim Montgomery had her first smear test 10 years ago but she says that the experience wasn’t very pleasant and she avoided them for a decade. Sadly, last month, Kim was diagnosed with grade two cervical cancer at just 31. The young mum-of-four wants to warn others about ignoring reminder…
What Are LISS Workouts & What Do They Do for Our Bodies?
You might have heard the term “LISS” and thought it was yet another new fitness trend that you needed to try. I know I did. While fitness influencers like Kayla Itsines have recently popularized the term, the fact is LISS, or Low Intensity Steady State, exercises have been around since,…
Ultrasound May ID Children at Risk for Cystic Fibrosis Liver Disease
THURSDAY, Feb. 20, 2020 — A heterogeneous pattern on ultrasound examination of the liver may help identify children with cystic fibrosis (CF) at increased risk for developing advanced CF liver disease, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in The Journal of Pediatrics. Marilyn J. Siegel, M.D., from the…
Advancing an oral drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension
In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), high blood pressure in the lungs’ arteries causes the heart to work extra hard to pump blood to the lungs and around the rest of the body. The condition is rare but deadly, and current treatments are expensive and have side effects and inconvenient modes…
Fewer steroids, no plasma exchange: A change in treatment for vasculitis
A decade-spanning trial found that for patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, two common methods of treatment actually do not have an impact on their long-term survival. The study, called PEXIVAS, was co-led by Peter A. Merkel, MD, MPH, chief of Rheumatology in the Perelman School of Medicine at…
Eight-molecule snake toxin packs biting force for aiding neurological conditions
A Griffith University pharmacologist has played a key role in the world-first discovery of an eight-molecule snake venom toxin with the potential to become a diagnostic tool or new drug for neurological and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and neuropathic pain. The novel neurotoxin, named fulditoxin, was discovered from…
Recent advances in addressing tuberculosis give hope for future
In September 2018, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, issued its Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Research, which outlined research priorities to reduce and ultimately end the burden of tuberculosis (TB). TB is a bacterial disease that has claimed the lives of more than…
Designing an emergency stop switch for immunotherapies
Immunotherapy, unlike chemotherapy and radiotherapy, arms the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. In recent years, it has proven to be remarkably successful at treating leukemia, lymphoma and other liquid cancers, or cancers present in body fluids. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of treatment in…
Prep Time! Steve Kazee Reads Book for New Dads Ahead of Jenna Dewan's Birth
Jenna Dewan is in the final stretch of her pregnancy — and her boyfriend, Steve Kazee, is getting ready to welcome their first child together. The Tony winner, 44, read The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year by Armin A. Brott on the actress’ Instagram Story on…
Hope for an HIV vaccine as scientists tweak immune system to fight it
Hope for an HIV vaccine as scientists ‘re-engineer’ the human immune system to fight the virus The human body rarely produces antibodies to fight HIV on its own On the rare occasion it does, it usually also recognizes them as as danger and shuts them down Scientists at Duke University and Boston…