Body

For the first time, quantitative—not qualitative—data analysis has demonstrated that time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) scans can improve cancer detection. Research published in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that oncologic TOF fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET scans yielded significant improvements in lesion detection of lung and liver cancers over all contrasts and body mass indexes.

To determine if a tissue biopsy reveals the presence of cancer, a histologist often screens for cells with an abnormal appearance or a specific visible trait such as a larger-than-usual nucleus. However, by the time a cancer is physically noticeable, the disease may be in its later stages and more difficult to treat.

The current edition of JAMIA, today's top-ranked journal in biomedical and health informatics, features new scientific research—in print and online—on some of healthcare's most hotly discussed HIT-related topics, written by prominent experts working in health and biomedicine:

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Weill Cornell Medical College have designed artificial "protocells" that can lure, entrap and inactivate a class of deadly human viruses—think decoys with teeth. The technique offers a new research tool that can be used to study in detail the mechanism by which viruses attack cells, and might even become the basis for a new class of antiviral drugs.

Before you can build that improved turbojet engine, before you can create that longer-lasting battery, you have to ensure all the newfangled materials in it will behave the way you want—even under conditions as harsh as the upper atmosphere at supersonic speed, or the churning chemistry of an ion cell. Now computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved software* that can take much of the guesswork out of tough materials problems like these.

A powerful scientific tool for selecting cost-effective and environmentally preferable building products is now available as a free, web-based application. Developed and maintained by the National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST), BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) Online is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible and transparent.

bees onlineThe web-based version allows easier access for users and will enable new building products to be added to the database as the information becomes available.

Lower potassium levels in the blood may help explain why African-Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as whites, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

The findings, if confirmed, suggest that part of diabetes prevention may someday prove as easy as taking a cheap potassium supplement.

Immunological research at the University of Haifa, Israel, has made a new breakthrough, revealing a critical component in the "decision-making" process of white blood cells that play a role in the healing process from bacterial inflammation. "The process that we have discovered can assist in the development of drugs that are based on the natural processes that take place in the human body, unlike most of the existing drugs that attempt to curb inflammation by artificial means," explains Dr. Amiram Ariel of the Department of Biology at the University of Haifa, who headed the study.

Manipulation of cells by a new microfluidic device may help clinicians improve a promising cancer therapy that harnesses the body's own immune cells to fight such diseases as metastatic melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and neuroblastoma.

Boston, MA - Melatonin is known to have cancer-protective properties, and shift work can induce desynchrony of the circadian system, reducing melatonin production. Shift work has been thought to have important health impacts, with evidence linking shift work to an increased risk of several cancers including breast, endometrial, prostate, and colorectal, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In a recent study, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) found that shift work may be associated with a reduced risk of skin cancer in women.

German researchers have found a significant association of IL28B genotypes to interferon-based antiviral treatment outcome, and to graft inflammation caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study determined that the presence of G-allele serves as a marker for severe HCV-induced graft inflammation, as well as a predictor for unsuccessful treatment. Study findings—the largest to report on the role IL28B variants in a transplant cohort with recurrent HCV—are published in the March issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

A promising new way to inhibit cholesterol production in the body has been discovered, one that may yield treatments as effective as existing medications but with fewer side-effects.

A multinational study has identified a key gene mutation responsible for type 2 diabetes in nearly 10 percent of patients of white European ancestry.

The study, which originated in Italy and was validated at UCSF, found that defects in the HMGA1 gene led to a major drop in the body's ability to make insulin receptors – the cell's sensor through which insulin tells the cell to absorb sugar. This drop in insulin receptors leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, according to the paper.

In times of uncertainty employers should engage more openly with their staff and drop the jargon to improve communication and allow feedback, according to a paper in this month's International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management.

(Mar. 2, 2011) – HOBOKEN, NJ – The American Heart Association estimates 35 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors characterized by obesity and the simultaneous presence of heart disease risk factors with high blood pressure, blood sugar and lipids. In patients with metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and blood glucose gradually impair kidney function, which in turn affects the organ's ability to filter waste from the body.