Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) as many sufferers prefer it called, is still one of the more mysterious ailments physicians grapple with. The disease has no known cure, is difficult to diagnose, and still to this day is debated by some as being more a psychological condition than a physical one. Researchers...
Category: <span>Diagnostic</span>
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Waterlogged brain region helps scientists gauge damage caused by Parkinson’s disease
Scientists at the University of Florida have discovered a new method of observing the brain changes caused by Parkinson’s disease, which destroys neurons important for movement. The development suggests that fluid changes in a specific brain area could provide a way to track that damage. The study, published in the journal Brain, was supported by the...
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Autism severity detected with brain activity test
FINDINGS UCLA researchers have discovered that children with autism have a tell-tale difference on brain tests compared with other children. Specifically, the researchers found that the lower a child’s peak alpha frequency — a number reflecting the frequency of certain brain waves — the lower their non-verbal IQ was. This is the first study to...
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Eye test could help diagnose autism
A new study out in European Journal of Neuroscience could herald a new tool that helps physicians identify a sub-group of people with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The test, which consists of measuring rapid eye movements, may indicate deficits in an area of the brain that plays an important role in emotional and social development. “These findings...
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Visceral/subcutaneous fat ratio predicts CVD in T2DM
Tatsuya Fukuda, from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and colleagues enrolled 682 patients with type 2 diabetes and used dual bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) to assess VFA and SFA. The authors divided the patients into groups according to quartiles of V/S ratio. The researchers found that 21 of the patients reached the study end point of first occurrence...
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New dementia blood test can identify those at risk of losing their memory with 89% accuracy – years before symptoms
Decades before it strikes, sticky plaques can be seen in the brains of sufferers Currently, the only way to detect amyloid beta is through costly procedures But a study suggests blood tests, a much cheaper method, are just as accurate Experts have described the Washington University findings as ‘exciting A quick and affordable blood test...
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New Exhaled Breath Sensor to Spot Diseases, Monitor Health
At KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, researchers have developed a new breath sensor that uses protein-encapsulated nanocatalysts to spot certain biomarkers of diseases. While the breath can hold a lot of information about what’s going on inside the body, the variety of gasses present and the large amount of...
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Blood test identifies key Alzheimer’s marker
A new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that measures of amyloid beta in the blood have the potential to help identify people with altered levels of amyloid in their brains or cerebrospinal fluid. Currently, the only way to detect amyloid beta in the brain is via...
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Detecting human coronary inflammation by imaging perivascular fat
Picturing plaques and imaging inflammation To determine risk of future coronary artery disease, calcium content in vascular plaques is typically evaluated by coronary calcium scoring, which uses computerized tomography (CT) imaging. To detect inflammation and subclinical coronary artery disease (soft, noncalcified plaques), Antonopoulos et al. developed an alternative metric called the perivascular CT fat attenuation index (FAI)....
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A simple breath test could be the next step in diagnosing breast cancer
The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is recruiting people for a clinical trial that will research the effectiveness of a breath test for breast cancer diagnostics. The BreathLink device captures a two-minute sample of a patient’s breath and provides prompt results on whether there are indications of breast cancer. If proven effective, the test would...