Bioavailable contaminants come from the Exxon Valdez oil catastrophe

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Access to motorbikes without taking a prior exam increases the number of accidents

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Pedestrians and motorcyclists continue to be those most vulnerable in traffic accidents. A team of researchers has demonstrated an increase in the number of injuries among users of lightweight motorcycles after a law was passed in 2004 allowing the riding of motorbikes with a class B licence (for cars). In contrast, the study, focusing on Barcelona and published in the latest issue of the WHO Magazine, confirms that the risk of having an accident has remained unchanged.

Results from the European CRT survey

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Barcelona, Spain, 1 September: The European cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) Survey is a joint initiative taken by the Heart Failure Association (HFA) and European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology. Its primary objective is to describe current European practice and routines associated with the implantation of a CRT device with or without an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) capability in patients with heart failure.

PROTECT study

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Barcelona, Spain, 1 September: Despite the promising findings of the PROTECT Pilot study, the larger PROTECT trial found no difference with rolofylline versus placebo with respect of the primary and main secondary end-points of the study. Although more rolofylline patients than placebo patients experienced moderate or marked dyspnea improvement at 24 and 48 hours from randomization, this was counterbalanced by a lack of effect on persistent renal impairment. Lastly, the risk of important neurological events was increased in patients on rolofylline.

Sudden death during sport: Education to improve survival rates

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Barcelona, Spain, 1 September: More widespread availability of defibrillators and education of the general public could boost survival rates fourfold amongst athletes suffering cardiac arrest, a study has found. In less than half of cases, a bystander initiated cardiopulmonary reanimation. This is crucial as survival at hospital admission is 4 times higher when CPR is attempted and 10 times greater when an electric shock is delivered.

Telemonitoring: A bridge to personalized medicine

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Barcelona, Spain, 1 September: An increasing number of heart failure patients are treated with a number of complex devices, i.e. cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Recently completed and ongoing clinical trials such as MADIT-CRT and EchoCRT provide evidence of a growing number of CRT patients, in need of individualised treatment. Rising demand for implantable cardiac devices and the simultaneous need for increased efficiency as well as enhanced patient comfort and safety significantly increase the need for remote monitoring technology.

AMI: The scale of the problem

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Barcelona, Spain, 1 September: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains one of the leading causes of death in the Western world, with prevalence predicted to increase dramatically in developing countries, especially India and China. Around 40-50% of AMIs are the result of a persistent, complete thrombotic occlusion of a coronary artery. In such cases fast reopening of the infarct vessel is the primary goal of treatment.

National guideline released for the treatment of hoarseness

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Alexandria, Va. - The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue the first--and only--national clinical practice guideline to help healthcare practitioners identify and manage patients with hoarseness, also known as dysphonia. The guideline emphasizes evidence-based management of hoarseness by clinicians, and educates patients on the prevalence of this common vocal health issue.

Silk-based optical waveguides: the biodegradable advantage

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In an article in Advanced Materials, researchers at Tufts University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a new method for fabricating silk-based optical waveguides that are biocompatible, biodegradable and can be readily functionalized with active molecules. The Tufts-UIUC team successfully demonstrated light guiding through this new class of waveguides created by direct ink writing using Bombyx mori silk fibroin inks.

High caffeine intake can lead to arrhythmias

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