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...
Year: <span>2018</span>
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
Diabetes drug prevents heart failure
Boston, MA — In the largest trial to date to assess cardiovascular outcomes for an important class of diabetes medications, researchers have found that dapagliflozin markedly reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure in a broad population of patients with diabetes. This benefit was seen across the study population, including in patients who did...
Post
Ready for a close-up: The science behind face massage rollers
Facial massaging using a roller can increase skin blood flow for more than ten minutes after the massage. It can also improve vasodilation — the widening of blood vessels, — in the long-term, according to a study by researchers in Japan. IMAGE: IMAGING USING LASER-SPECKLE FLOWGRAPHY REVEALED RED COLORS, INDICATING HIGHER SKIN BLOOD FLOW, IN...