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Diagnosis and management of H. pylori infection MedscapeCME Clinical Briefs Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A clinical review in the New England Journal of Medicine provides information on how to detect, diagnose, treat, and manage Helicobacter pylori infection. "Infection with H. pylori is a cofactor in the development of three important upper gastrointestinal diseases: duodenal or gastric ulcers (reported to develop in 1 to 10 percent of infected patients), gastric cancer (in 0.1 to 3 percent), and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid-tissue (MALT) lymphoma (in <0.01 percent)," writes Kenneth E. L. McColl, MD, from the Division of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Gardiner Institute, Glasgow, United Kingdom. "The risk of these disease outcomes in infected patients varies widely among populations. The great majority of patients with H. pylori infection will not have any clinically significant complications." More ![]() CDC is updating influenza guidance document Infection Control Today Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control is updating its document, "Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings, Including Protection of Healthcare Personnel," with new information that has become available. The CDC acknowledges that when the interim infection control guidance for 2009 H1N1 was posted, "substantial uncertainties existed regarding the severity of disease and health impact of the novel H1N1 influenza strain, a high proportion of the population was susceptible to the new virus, and the vaccine was not available." More Markers of microbial translocation and immune function in chronic HIV infection Medscape Today Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A decline in CD4 count is central to the immune deficiency associated with HIV infection, but the cause of CD4 cell depletion is not completely understood. HIV replicates within CD4 cells and can destroy them, but this does not entirely explain the CD4 cell depletion. Furthermore, chronic immune activation seems to correlate with disease progression and CD4 cell loss. More Small changes in 2 genes may trigger breast cancer HealthDay News via Bloomberg Businessweek Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Slight changes in the expression of two common genes trigger cellular changes that can lead to breast cancer, a new study finds. The researchers adjusted the expression of the genes — estrogen receptor alpha and p53 — in mice but said the tweaks they made in the rodents likely mimic natural variations of the two genes in women. More ![]() Microalbuminuria may predict renal, cardiovascular disease in hypertensive patients Medscape Medical News Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Microalbuminuria may predict renal and cardiovascular disease in patients with hypertension but without diabetes, according to the results of a study reported online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "Our findings emphasize the usefulness of a more widespread evaluation of microalbuminuria in an effort to guide the management of hypertension," said senior author Roberto Pontremoli, MD, PhD, from the University of Genoa in Genoa, Italy, in a news release. More Aiming to cure deafness, scientists first to create functional inner-ear cells Science Daily Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Deep inside the ear, specialized cells called hair cells detect vibrations in the air and translate them into sound. Ten years ago, Stefan Heller, PhD, professor of otolaryngology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, came up with the idea that if you could create these cells in the laboratory from stem cells, it would go a long way toward helping scientists understand the molecular basis of hearing in order to develop better treatments for deafness. More
Rapid cost increases for blood products cause clinical pathology labs to seek solutions DARKDaily.com - Laboratory News Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() If there is a guaranteed budget buster for clinical pathology laboratories in the United States, it is the steady and rapid growth in the cost of blood products. Some hospital laboratories report that the basic cost of blood products has doubled in recent years. For this reason, transfusion medicine and blood banking functions are now a high-profile target for cost-cutting and aggressive management by pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. More WHO study has no clear answer on phones and cancer Reuters Share ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A study by the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the largest ever to look at possible links between mobile phones and brain cancer, threw up inconclusive results but researchers said suggestions of a possible link demanded deeper examination. "The results really don't allow us to conclude that there is any risk associated with mobile phone use, but … it is also premature to say that there is no risk associated with it," the IARC's director Christopher Wild told Reuters. More |
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