Author: healthadmin

A new study finds a sudden and unusual increase in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century, marking a clear departure from long-term historical patterns. Peatlands are huge underground carbon reservoirs, storing more carbon than all the world’s forests combined. When these areas burn, large amounts of stored carbon are released into the atmosphere. Wildfires have increased across the tropics in recent decades, but scientists have limited insight into how tropical peatland fires behave over time. Ancient charcoal records reveal fire history To better understand past fire activity, researchers examined charcoal preserved in peat deposits in Central and South…

Siemens Healthineers today announced the availability of the fully automated Atelica IM Phosphorylated Tau 217 (pTau217) and Atelica IM Brain-Derived Tau (BDTau) assays, expanding its offering for brain health research. 1. Approximately 10 million people are newly diagnosed with dementia each year worldwide2. Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, accounting for 60-70% of cases, over time more people will develop Alzheimer’s disease as these people are negatively affected and become dependent on others for their care.2. The Siemens Healthineers blood test provides researchers with a chemiluminescent immunoassay that provides quantitative measurements of brain-derived phosphorylated tau-217 (p-tau217) and brain-derived tau…

Tara Banau covers hospitals, health care providers, and insurance companies. You can access Tara with the signal tarabannow.70.Two federal oversight reports released Thursday call on Medicare to do more to crack down on nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic drugs and inappropriate schizophrenia diagnoses for residents with dementia. One problem brief issued by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General paints a stark picture of how nursing homes use antipsychotic drugs, using them as chemical restraints to make staff’s jobs easier without taking the necessary steps to protect patients. Another describes how nursing homes improperly diagnose residents…

An estimated 4.9 million children will die before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new estimates released today. Most of these deaths are preventable through proven, low-cost interventions and access to quality health care. The number of deaths of children under five worldwide has more than halved since 2000, according to the report Levels and Trends in Child Mortality. However, since 2015, the pace of decline in child mortality rates has slowed by more than 60%. This year’s report provides the clearest and most detailed picture yet of how many children, adolescents and young people…

A blood pressure program adopted at six University of California academic medical centers effectively lowered high blood pressure and prevented serious illness and death in thousands of patients, according to a new study led by the University of California, San Francisco. Hypertension affects nearly half of Americans and is a leading cause of death, especially among underserved populations. It can also cause heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and pregnancy complications. This new tool is one of the few developed to control high blood pressure across the health care system, improving blood pressure control from 68.5% to nearly 74%…

GLP-1 drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity are associated with a reduction in the need for hospitalization and sickness absence for psychiatric reasons, a new study shows. This large-scale register-based study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and Griffith University in Australia. Diabetes and obesity are associated with an increased risk of mental health symptoms, and similarly, people with mental disorders are at increased risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Researchers have long been interested in the connections between these symptoms and how drug treatments affect both metabolic…

A new review suggests that the menopausal transition represents a critical period for Alzheimer’s disease prevention in women, potentially shifting focus to early detection, gender-specific risk factors, and more personalized care. Expert review: Women’s midlife: The front lines of Alzheimer’s disease prevention. Image credit: izzuanroslan / Shutterstock In a recent review published in clinical research journalLisa Mosconi, Ph.D., author of Neuroscientist and women’s brain health expert, investigated how midlife hormonal changes and neuroendocrine aging influence Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk in women and identified opportunities for gender-specific early prevention strategies. Why are women at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease? Almost two-thirds…

The Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology Group (GNano) at the São Carlos Physics Institute of the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP) in Brazil has discovered a way to convert the bioceramic material hydroxyapatite into nanoparticles with enhanced intrinsic luminescence. This paves the way for the use of biocompatible and low-cost nanomaterials in biomedical imaging techniques. “We have demonstrated that incorporating carbonate groups into the hydroxyapatite structure increases the concentration of crystal defects, which is responsible for increasing the material’s intrinsic luminescence. After functionalization with citrate, which improves colloidal stability in aqueous media, these calcium phosphate nanoparticles can be used as a luminescent…

When part of the small intestine becomes diseased or dies, surgeons often have to remove the damaged tissue. This surgery, known as radical small bowel resection, can save lives. However, this has a major drawback. Many patients subsequently develop serious liver problems, including liver failure that requires long-term damage and transplantation. Currently, no drugs exist to prevent or treat this complication, which affects up to 15% of patients after surgery. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis developed a new compound and tested it in mice. Their findings suggest that the drug may protect the liver while…

The first large-scale analysis of multiple types of cancer in cats has revealed genetic changes that could guide new treatments for both animals and humans. Researchers examined tumors taken from about 500 pet cats from five countries. The study involved scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Canada’s Ontario Veterinary College, the University of Bern, and other collaborators. By studying these samples, the research team identified the key genetic changes that cause cancer in cats and found that many of these changes are very similar to those seen in human cancers. Environmental risks and genetic overlap Cats often share the same…