Culture

HOUSTON - (Nov. 9, 2015) - The continued marketing and use of experimental stem cell-based interventions inside and outside the United States is problematic and unsustainable, according to a new paper by science policy and bioethics experts at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and Wake Forest University. Disillusioned patients, tired of waiting for the cures they were promised, are seeking unproven stem cell-based treatments that are causing more harm than good, said the experts, who argue that public policy is needed to reduce this form of "stem cell tourism."

Clarksburg MD - In a major scientific breakthrough, a drug used to treat Parkinson's and related diseases may be able to delay or prevent macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness among older Americans.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Medicine, are a groundbreaking effort in the fight against age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects as many as 11 million Americans. AMD hinders central vision, and even when it does not lead to blindness it can severely reduce the ability to read, drive, and recognize faces.

Future Science Group (FSG) today announced the publication of a new article in Future Science OA, reporting data demonstrating the possibility of measuring 10 biomarkers relevant to autism spectrum disorder in adult saliva.

For years doctors have been advising patients with lupus not to get pregnant. It was assumed that the likelihood of pregnancy complications was too high in this population. However, ongoing work by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is helping identify those lupus patients who are - and aren't - at increased risk of problem pregnancies.

ORLANDO -- Mechanical CPR, in which a device is used by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers to deliver automated chest compressions during cardiac arrest resuscitation care, is associated with an equivalent survival rate for patients experiencing cardiac arrest outside of the hospital as manual CPR, according to new findings from a team of researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nihar R. Desai, M.D., M.P.H., of the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues examined trends in percutaneous coronary intervention use, patient selection, and procedural appropriateness following the introduction of Appropriate Use Criteria. This JAMA study is being released to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, Nov. 9, 2015 - Self-weighing can be a useful tool to help adults control their weight, but for adolescents and young adults this behavior may have negative psychological outcomes. Researchers from the University of Minnesota tracked the self-weighing behaviors of more than 1,900 young adults as part of Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) and found increases in self-weighing to be significantly related to increases in weight concern and depression and decreases in body satisfaction and self-esteem among females.