Children's health
13 Oct 2006
Novel pathway regulates timing of brain-cell development
Brain formation involves the carefully timed production of different types of nerve cells by neural stem cells: neurons are produced first, then astrocytes. Making too much of one kind of cell and too little of another at a given time could lead to brain malformations. In the October 6 issue…
Children's Health
11 Oct 2006
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is an acute infection with Toxoplasma gondii. It can have serious health risks for pregnant women or people with suppressed immune function.
Blood
07 Oct 2006
The Virtual Medical Centre Review Program- A New Model for Continuing Medical Information
The RACGP QA&CPD office (WA) recently endorsed a unique approach to the provision of continuing medical education proposed by the Virtual Medical Centre (VMC) for general practitioners. The VMC, an online provider of information for health professionals comprises 18 separate sites focussing on different diseases. Each site is headed…
Blood
06 Oct 2006
VMC Brings Breaking News from the RACGP Conference in Brisbane
This year’s Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 49th Annual Scientific Convention is being held in Brisbane from 5th – 8th October. Virtual Medical Centre is both exhibiting and lecturing at the convention. Keep posted for breaking news straight from the conference daily! The theme for this year’s convention…
Cancer
24 Sep 2006
Improved treatment raises medulloblastoma survival rate
A team of investigators led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has announced that improvements in the treatment of the childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma have significantly increased the rate of survival of children with this disease. The treatment increased the overall five-year survival for 86 children with average-risk medulloblastoma…
Cancer
24 Sep 2006
Clues to hearing loss from chemotherapy
Children with cancer who suffer hearing loss due to the toxic effects of chemotherapy might one day be able to get their hearing back through pharmacological and gene therapy, thanks to work done with mouse models at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Mice with a variety of genetic mutations that…
Cancer
11 Sep 2006
Study Links Lead Exposure to Brain Cancer in Adults
People who are routinely exposed to lead on the job are 50 percent more likely to die from brain cancer than people who are not exposed, according to a University of Rochester Medical Centre study. More than 18,000 brain and spinal cord tumours will be diagnosed in the United…
Children's health
28 Aug 2006
MRI scans in premature infants can predict future developmental delays
A Washington University paediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital has found that performing MRI scans on pre-term infants’ brains assists dramatically in predicting the babies’ future developmental outcomes. Terrie E. Inder, M.D., associate professor of paediatrics, of radiology and of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Blood
28 Aug 2006
Researchers Find Link Between Autism and Abnormal Blood-Vessel Function and Oxidative Stress
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that children with autism showed signs of abnormal blood-vessel function and damaging levels of oxidative stress compared to healthy children. The children with autism possessed levels of biochemicals that indicate the presence of constricted blood vessels via the endothelium (the…
