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One in ten cardiac arrest patients phoned emergency services the day before

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Difficulty breathing is the most common symptom before cardiac arrest, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021.

“Breathing problems more frequently preceded cardiac arrest than chest pain,” said study author Mr. Filip Gnesin, a research scholar at North Zealand Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark. “Since difficulty breathing is also a sign of other health conditions, we hope our findings will stimulate further research to help emergency medical dispatchers distinguish between symptoms of a pre-arrest condition versus other medical issues.”

There is limited knowledge on whether there are warning signs for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Information on warning signs and early symptoms would enable medical professionals to assess whether a patient is at risk of developing a cardiac arrest and potentially prevent it. [Read more…] about One in ten cardiac arrest patients phoned emergency services the day before

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  • Machine learning ‘accurately predicts cardiac arrest risk’
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    Machine learning ‘accurately predicts cardiac arrest risk’A branch of artificial intelligence (AI), called machine learning, can accurately predict the risk of an out of hospital cardiac arrest – when the heart suddenly stops beating – using a combination of timing and weather data, finds research published online in the journal Heart. Machine learning is the study…
    Tags: cardiac, arrest, emergency, medical, health

‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platform

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Levita Magnetics, a company with a mission to improve access to better surgery for more patients, says “the first ever” robotic-assisted surgical procedures have been performed using the company’s newest system in development, the Levita Robotic Platform.

The first case was a reduced-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) completed by Dr Ignacio Robles, a minimally invasive surgeon at Clínica INDISA in Santiago, as part of a current clinical study of the system in Chile.

The new robotic platform is intended to deliver the clinical benefits of the company’s first commercial product, the Levita Magnetic Surgical System, including less pain, faster recovery and fewer scars for patients. The platform is intended to improve visualization, maintain surgeon control of instruments, and increase hospital efficiency with fewer assistive personnel required to conduct the procedures. [Read more…] about ‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platform

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  • Program to improve outcomes for surgery for older patients shows promise
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    Program to improve outcomes for surgery for older patients shows promisePeople age 65 years and older account for 40 percent of inpatient operations and one-third of outpatient procedures, and these older patients are more vulnerable to longer hospital stays and other complications after surgery than younger patients. A beta test of a program for older adults who undergo major surgery…
    Tags: surgery, patients, surgical, improve, news, health
  • Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual reality
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    Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual realityCardiac surgeons may be able to better plan operations and improve their surgical field view with the help of a robot. Controlled through a virtual reality parallel system as a digital twin, the robot can accurately image a patient through ultrasound without the hand cramping or radiation exposure that hinder…
    Tags: system, surgical, platform, surgery, clinical, procedures, improve, robotic, news

Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy

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Biomarkers that have proven to be predictors of immunotherapy responses in melanoma patients have also been shown to be clinically relevant in breast cancer patients. Clinical cancer research..

This study found that this biomarker, a molecule called major histocompatibility complex class II protein (MHC-II), Immunotherapy Two types of benefits chest Cancer-Early triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and high-risk estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (HR +) when expressed in breast cancer cells.

Immunotherapy may be prescribed immediately with chemotherapy for these breast cancers prior to surgery, but most patients do not need additional immunotherapy to achieve a therapeutic response. Without optimal biomarkers, clinicians have no reliable way to identify which patients need immunotherapy and which do not.

Clinical trials of MHC-II expression can protect breast cancer patients who do not require immunotherapy from possible treatment complications and additional costs. Immunotherapy is expensive and highly toxic. [Read more…] about Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy

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  • Oncotarget: Heterogeneity of CEACAM5 in breast cancer
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    Oncotarget: Heterogeneity of CEACAM5 in breast cancerOncotarget recently published "Heterogeneity of CEACAM5 in breast cancer" which reported that Here, we examined a repository of 110 cryopreserved primary breast carcinomas by immunohistochemistry to assess the distribution of CEACAM5 in tumor subtypes. Assessing sample sets of paired primary breast cancers and corresponding lymph node lesions from a total of…
    Tags: breast, cancer, news, health
  • Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects
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    Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effectsIn the human gut, good bacteria make great neighbors. A new Northwestern University study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments – mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome. By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term…
    Tags: cancer, patients, health, chemotherapy, news
  • Ultrasound technique offers more precise, quantified assessments of lung health
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    Ultrasound technique offers more precise, quantified assessments of lung healthResearchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina have developed a technique that uses ultrasound to provide non-invasive assessments of pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary edema. The technique has been shown to both quantify lung scarring and detect lung fluid in rats. A study on pulmonary edema…
    Tags: patients, health, news
  • How the surfaces of silicone breast implants affect the immune system
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    How the surfaces of silicone breast implants affect the immune systemEvery year, about 400,000 people receive silicone breast implants in the United States. According to data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a majority of those implants needs to be replaced within 10 years due to the buildup of scar tissue and other complications. A team led by MIT…
    Tags: breast, health, news
  • The future of medicine is nearer thanks to researchers’ invention
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    The future of medicine is nearer thanks to researchers’ inventionResearchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently unveiled their discovery of a new process for making RNA. The resulting RNA is purer, more copious and likely to be more cost-effective than any previous process could manage. This new technique removes the largest stumbling block on the path to next-generation…
    Tags: news, health

Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects

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In the human gut, good bacteria make great neighbors.

A new Northwestern University study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments – mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome.

By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term side effects of treatment. [Read more…] about Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects

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  • Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy
    38
    Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapyBiomarkers that have proven to be predictors of immunotherapy responses in melanoma patients have also been shown to be clinically relevant in breast cancer patients. Clinical cancer research.. This study found that this biomarker, a molecule called major histocompatibility complex class II protein (MHC-II), Immunotherapy Two types of benefits chest…
    Tags: cancer, patients, chemotherapy, news, health
  • The incredible bacterial ‘homing missiles’ that scientists want to harness
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    The incredible bacterial ‘homing missiles’ that scientists want to harnessImagine there are arrows that are lethal when fired on your enemies yet harmless if they fall on your friends. It's easy to see how these would be an amazing advantage in warfare, if they were real. However, something just like these arrows does indeed exist, and they are used…
    Tags: bacteria, strains, news, biology

Slow yoga prevents fainting

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Guided yoga is more effective than conventional treatment for preventing fainting in repeat sufferers, according to research published today in EP Europace, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Guided yoga therapy was also more beneficial in terms of quality of life than the standard treatment.

“Repeated fainting gives rise to mental stress, anxiety, depression, and a constant dread of the next episode,” said study author Professor Jayaprakash Shenthar of the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bangalore, India. “Quality of life is negatively affected due to the unpredictability. Besides, some countries do not allow patients to drive.”

Fainting or “vasovagal syncope” is a brief loss of consciousness caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. It can be triggered by prolonged standing, fear, pain, seeing blood, and hot, humid environments. It is estimated that approximately half of the general population will have one syncopal event during their lifetime. [Read more…] about Slow yoga prevents fainting

Simple surgery prevents strokes in heart patients

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A simple surgery saves patients with heart arrhythmia from often-lethal strokes, says a large international study led by McMaster University. 

Researchers found that removing the left atrial appendage – an unused, finger-like tissue that can trap blood in the heart chamber and increase the risk of clots – cuts the risk of strokes by more than one-third in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Even better, the reduced clotting risk comes on top of any other benefits conferred by blood-thinner medications patients with this condition are usually prescribed. [Read more…] about Simple surgery prevents strokes in heart patients

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  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
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    One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillationA study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no…
    Tags: atrial, fibrillation, risk, heart, study, health

Study helps unravel why pregnant women develop heart failure similar to older patients

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Researchers at Penn Medicine have identified more genetic mutations that strongly predispose younger, otherwise healthy women to peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a rare condition characterized by weakness of the heart muscle that begins sometime during the final month of pregnancy through five months after delivery.

PPCM can cause severe heart failure and often leads to lifelong heart failure and even death. The study is published today in Circulation.

PPCM affects women in one out of every 2,000 deliveries worldwide, with about a third of those women developing heart failure for life, and about five percent of them dying within a few years. [Read more…] about Study helps unravel why pregnant women develop heart failure similar to older patients

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  • First US-based artificial heart implant for French firm
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    First US-based artificial heart implant for French firmFrench company Carmat has unveiled the first human artificial heart implant in the United States recently as part of a clinical study. According to the company’s website, a complete artificial heart called Aeson is already available in Europe. This “first US-based clinical trial will be crucial for development in the…
    Tags: heart, study, patients, failure, news

How tangled proteins kill brain cells, promote Alzheimer’s and CTE

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Look deep inside the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s disease, most forms of dementia or the concussion-related syndrome known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and you’ll find a common suspected culprit: stringy, hairball-like tangles of a protein called tau.

Such conditions, collectively known as “tauopathies” strike scores of people across the globe, with Alzheimer’s alone affecting six million people in the United States.

But more than a century after German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer discovered tau tangles, scientists still have much to learn about them. [Read more…] about How tangled proteins kill brain cells, promote Alzheimer’s and CTE

Brain patterns indicative of consciousness, in unconscious individuals

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Amid longstanding difficulties distinguishing consciousness in humans in unconscious states, scientists report fMRI-based evidence of distinct patterns of brain activity they say can differentiate between consciousness or unconsciousness.

Detecting these patterns in real-time could allow for externally induced manipulations that noninvasively restore consciousness. The detection process also has the potential to greatly facilitate medical decision-making for patients in whom consciousness is impaired, the authors say.

Unconsciousness is characterized by an inability to report subjective experience. [Read more…] about Brain patterns indicative of consciousness, in unconscious individuals

Depressed and out of work? Therapy may help you find a job

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If depression is making it more difficult for some unemployed people to land a job, one type of therapy may help, research suggests.

In a new study, 41% of unemployed or underemployed people undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) found a new job or went from part- to full-time work by the end of the 16-week treatment for depression.

Those who had a job but found it difficult to focus on and accomplish work tasks because of depression said the treatment helped to significantly reduce these problems. [Read more…] about Depressed and out of work? Therapy may help you find a job

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  • Depression in new fathers connected to relationship insecurities
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    Depression in new fathers connected to relationship insecuritiesBecoming a parent often brings great joy, but not always. Parenthood also entails challenges, stress and, for some people, it can trigger depression. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that male postnatal depression is more common in men who are insecure in their relationship with their partner.…
    Tags: depression, study, symptoms, negative, people, life