Could an infusion of bacteria from the guts of athletes help inactive people to exercise more easily? A new study of marathoners, mice and their respective intestines toys with that possibility. It finds that strenuous endurance exercise by human athletes increases the numbers of certain bugs in their microbiomes and that giving those bacteria to…
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MUZAFFARPUR, India — Every year, a mysterious disease stalks the area around the eastern Indian city of Muzaffarpur, killing children seemingly at random — there, and nowhere else. It mostly afflicts poor children younger than 10. They go to sleep apparently healthy, and wake up with a high fever and brain swelling that leads to…
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Can certain medications increase your risk of dementia? A new study suggests that people who take a class of common medicines called anticholinergic drugs for several years may be more likely to develop dementia as they age. This is not a new hypothesis about these drugs, which are used to treat a wide range of…
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The existing approach to brain stimulation for rehabilitation after a stroke does not take into account the diversity of lesions and the individual characteristics of patients’ brains. This was the conclusion made by researchers of the Higher School of Economics (HSE University) and the Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Sciences in their article, ‘Predicting the…
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IMAGE: Sinks and faucets tested at the University of Michigan Health System revealed slime and biofilm. view more Hand hygiene is a critical component of infection prevention in hospitals, but the unintended consequences include water splashing out of a sink to spread contaminants from dirty faucets according to new research presented last week in Philadelphia at…
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Hospital-wide introduction of new female external catheter technology halved the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) according to new research presented last week in Philadelphia at the 46th Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). After identifying a slow climb in the number of CAUTIs from 2016 to…
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An interdisciplinary approach to antimicrobial stewardship involving comprehensive blood culture identification (BCID) testing decreased broad spectrum antibiotic use, according to new research presented last week in Philadelphia at the 46th Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). The microbiology lab at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in Pennsylvania, in collaboration…
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IMAGE: Conceptual art for Janet S. Carpenter’s ‘Hot Flashes? Cool!’ educational exhibit. view more Credit: Janet S. Carpenter An educational art exhibit created by an Indiana University School of Nursing expert at IUPUI has been shown to positively affect people’s knowledge about menopausal hot flashes and increase empathy for women affected by them, according to three…
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IMAGE: Charles A. Phillips, M.D., is a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. view more Credit: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Researchers who analyzed data in the electronic health records (EHR) of children seen by hematology/oncology specialists at three large medical centers have developed an algorithm to accurately identify appropriate pediatric oncology patients for future clinical…
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Increased glucose, transformed into energy, could give people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, improved mobility and a longer life, according to new findings by a University of Arizona-led research team. Physicians have long known that people with ALS experience changes in their metabolism that often lead to rapid weight loss in a process called…
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