Backpack Health, a health-tech company based in Boston, has partnered with two organizations specializing in rare diseases, Care Beyond Diagnosis and FYMCA Medical, to bring their mobile and cloud-based health management application to patients with rare diseases living in low-income countries. Rare diseases can be significantly challenging for affected patients, with mountains of paperwork required to keep track of...
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Computer-brain link helps ‘locked in’ people chat, surf web
These are activities taken for granted by most, but denied to paralyzed people who’ve lost the use of their arms and hands. Now, thanks to a brain implant, a small group of paralyzed patients can directly operate an off-the-shelf tablet device just by thinking about it. BrainGate trial participant plays Beethoven on digital piano. Credit:...
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Good explanation of Proteins
In October 2010, an Italian religious historian named Alberto Melloni stood over a small cherrywood box in the reading room of the Laurentian Library, in Florence. The box was old and slightly scuffed, and inked in places with words in Latin. It had been stored for several centuries inside one of the library’s distinctive sloping...
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FDA approves drug to treat rare immune disease
Gamifant is the first drug to be approved specifically for HLH. The drug’s efficacy was demonstrated in a clinical trial of 27 pediatric patients with suspected or confirmed primary HLH. Patients had refractory, recurrent, or progressive disease while being treated with conventional HLH therapy or were intolerant of conventional HLH therapy. Patients were a mean...
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FDA approves drug for treatment of travelers’ diarrhea
Travelers’ diarrhea affects an estimated 10 to 40 percent of travelers worldwide each year, according to an FDA press release. The highest-risk destinations are most of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America. (HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced it has approved Aemcolo (rifamycin), an antibacterial drug indicated...
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Digital Pain Reduction Kit Against Chronic Pain
A new digital pain reduction kit was designed in a partnership between Samsung Health, the German pharma giant, Bayer, healthcare start-up appliedVR, the Travelers insurance company and the Cedars Sinai Medical Center, announced Dr. Brennan Spiegel. The set will be tested in a randomized trial to reduce opioids and speed up the return to work...
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Autism behaviors show unique brain network fingerprints in infants
The findings help pinpoint brain regions involved in particular aspects of ASD and provide clues as to how the characteristic behaviors–known as restricted and repetitive behaviors–develop in the brain from an early age. “This study is the first to investigate which patterns of brain functional connectivity underlie the emergence of these behaviors in infancy,” said...
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Testosterone gel is safe for women with a low sex drive, experts say
Testosterone has long been prescribed to post-menopausal women for sex drive However, there were concerns about whether it increased risk of breast cancer But a new review, to be published next month, has found there is no evidence More women could be treated with testosterone gel for a low sex drive after menopause, according to...
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Fecal transplant effective against immunotherapy-induced colitis
For the first time, transplanting gut bacteria from healthy donors was used to successfully treat patients suffering from severe colitis caused by treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which includes two patients, suggests fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is worth investigating in clinical trials as...
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Phone app effectively identifies potentially fatal heart attacks with near accuracy of medical ECG
Can your smart phone determine if you’re having the most serious – and deadly – form of heart attack? A new research study says it can – and may be a valuable tool to save lives. IMAGE: CAN YOUR SMART PHONE DETERMINE IF YOU’RE HAVING THE MOST SERIOUS — AND DEADLY — FORM OF HEART...