Medical News Observer

Keep updated with latest medical research news

Alcohol intake and Melanoma risk

Researchers at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island found that alcohol intake was associated with higher rates of invasive melanoma among white men and women. White wine carried the most significant association, and the increased risk was greater for parts of the body that receive less sun exposure. The findings…
Trastuzumab biosimilar (MYL-14010) shown effective in breast cancer clinical trial

Among women with metastatic breast cancer, treatment with a drug that is biosimilar to the breast cancer drug trastuzumab resulted in an equivalent overall response rate at 24 weeks compared with trastuzumab, according to a study published online by JAMA. Trstuzumab Biosimilars Biological agents, including monoclonal antibodies, have increased the treatment options and greatly improved…
Treating traumatic nerve injury with 4-aminopyridine

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center believe they have identified a new means of enhancing the body’s ability to repair its own cells, which they hope will lead to better diagnosis and treatment of traumatic nerve injuries, like those sustained in car accidents, sports injuries, or in combat. The research team showed that…
Cost of sleep deprivation

A lack of sleep among the U.S. working population is costing the economy up to $411 billion a year, which is 2.28 percent of the country’s GDP, a new report finds. According to researchers at the not-for-profit research organisation RAND Europe, part of the RAND Corporation, sleep deprivation leads to a higher mortality risk and…
Zika virus infection can cause Glaucoma in infants

A team of researchers in Brazil and at the Yale School of Public Health has published the first report demonstrating that the Zika virus can cause glaucoma in infants who were exposed to the virus during gestation. Cross-section of Zika virus, with capsid layer (pink), membrane layer (purple), and RNA genome (yellow)Credit: Wikipedia, David Goodwill…
Parental sleep behavior affects children’s sleep

A new study indicates that children’s sleep duration may be influenced by parental sleep duration and confidence, which suggests that efforts to address insufficient sleep among children may require family-based interventions. Results of a parental survey show that higher parent confidence in the ability to help children get enough sleep was significantly associated with an…
New bright-red fluorescent protein mScarlet to help with cellular staining

After years of trying, biologists have succeeded in creating an extremely bright red fluorescent protein in the lab. This is good news for researchers, including cancer and stem cell researchers, who use fluorescent proteins to track essential cellular processes. The researchers at the University of Amsterdam, the Institut de Biologie structurale and the European Synchrotron…
New technology using gold wires on flexible plastic for wearable electronic devices

Researchers from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has come up with a way to build safe, nontoxic gold wires onto flexible, thin plastic film. Their demonstration potentially clears the path for a host of wearable electronic devices that monitor our health. NIST research has found that the flexible plastic membrane on which wearables would…
Understanding how Zika virus interacts with human antibody C10 paves way for new therapeutic target

As Zika virus spreads throughout the world, the call for rapid development of therapeutics to treat Zika virus rings loud and clear. Taking a step further in identifying a possible therapeutic candidate, a team of researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), in collaboration with scientists from the University of North Carolina, have discovered the mechanism…
Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment with Individual cognitive processing therapy found effective

Individual sessions of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) – a trauma-focused treatment that teaches patients more balanced thinking about traumatic events – were better at reducing the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in active-duty military members, although group sessions also were effective, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)…