Body

Bethesda, MD (Sept. 22, 2014) — The success of a colonoscopy is closely linked to good bowel preparation, with poor bowel prep often resulting in missed precancerous lesions, according to new consensus guidelines released by the U.S. Multi-Society Task force on Colorectal Cancer. Additionally, poor bowel cleansing can result in increased costs related to early repeat procedures. Up to 20 to 25 percent of all colonoscopies are reported to have an inadequate bowel preparation.

Fatigue, weight gain, chills, hair loss, anxiety, excessive perspiration — these symptoms are a few of the signs that the thyroid gland, which regulates the body's heart rate and plays a crucial role in its metabolism, has gone haywire. Now, new research from Tel Aviv University points to an additional complication caused by thyroid imbalance: congenital deafness.

Researchers have found that environment has a much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe, often painful food allergy that renders children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

Eosinophils are normal cellular components of the blood, but when the body produces too many eosinophils they can cause a variety of eosinophilic disorders. These are disorders involving chronic inflammation and resulting tissue damage, often in the gastrointestinal system.

Influenza infection can enhance the ability of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae to cause ear and throat infections, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity.

In the study, the investigators infected mice with either influenza alone, pneumococci alone, or both at once, and then monitored the populations of bacteria and virus over time. They also monitored the mice for development of middle ear infection.

A novel study by the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) found that an increase in a gene known as Leo1 affects other genes that are directly implicated in acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML), increasing the incidence of cancer.

Beverly, MA, September 22, 2014 – The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) has released new evidence-based guidelines for the prevention and treatment of perioperative and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) and flutter for thoracic surgical procedures. The guidelines are published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

TORONTO, Sept, 22, 2014--Women who are about to be released from prison need to be more involved in their discharge planning if they are to successfully reintegrate into their communities and avoid returning to prison, according to a new study.

Almost half of all female prisoners are back behind bars within one year of their release and most have multiple prison terms, mainly for drug-related offenses.

A person's face is the first thing that others see, and much remains unknown about how it forms — or malforms — during early development. Recently, Chong Pyo Choe, a senior postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of USC stem cell researcher Gage Crump, has begun to unwind these mysteries.

In a September study published in the journal Development, Choe and Crump describe how a mutation in a gene called TBX1 causes the facial and other deformities associated with DiGeorge syndrome.

Scientists have found a way to find the proverbial needle in the cancer antigen haystack, according to a report published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Due to global warming, larger and larger areas of sea ice melt in the summer and when sea ice freezes over in the winter it is thinner and more reduced. As the Arctic summers are getting warmer we may see an acceleration of global warming, because reduced sea ice in the Arctic will remove less CO2 from the atmosphere, Danish scientists report.

Results of a survey of more than 30,000 nurses across Europe show that nurses who work longer shifts and more overtime are more likely to rate the standard of care delivered on their ward as poor, give a negative rating of their hospitals safety and omit necessary patient care.

La Jolla -- Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered an on-and-off "switch" in cells that may hold the key to healthy aging. This switch points to a way to encourage healthy cells to keep dividing and generating, for example, new lung or liver tissue, even in old age.

September 22, 2014 - Neurosurgeons have treated head and spinal sports injuries since the specialty was formed in the early 20th century, with formal efforts to mitigate these injuries dating back to 1931. Current Concepts in Sports Concussion is a comprehensive, 16-article supplement of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

To their surprise, it turned out to be an old acquaintance: a certain module of the familiar protein Pex22p, which has hitherto always been considered an anchor protein. The researchers report their findings in PLoS One.

Essential: importing enzymes into peroxisome

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —Mothers of children with autism are significantly less likely to report taking iron supplements before and during their pregnancies than the mothers of children who are developing normally, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

Low iron intake was associated with a five-fold greater risk of autism in the child if the mother was 35 or older at the time of the child's birth or if she suffered from metabolic conditions such as obesity hypertension or diabetes.