An experimental electric bandage might help doctors stop bacterial infections without using any drugs, a new study suggests. Imperceptible low-level electric current applied through a skin patch caused a nearly 10 times reduction in amounts of Staphylococcus epidermidis, a common bacterium found on human skin, researchers reported Oct. 24 in the journal Device. “This opens… read on > read on >
Every minute spent waiting for a first shock from a defibrillator cuts the odds of surviving cardiac arrest by 6%, a new Dutch study finds. “Our research shows that every minute of delay in giving the first shock has a major impact,” said study first author says Remy Stieglis, a researcher at Amsterdam University Medical… read on > read on >
Halloween is meant to be a spooky season, but it can be downright terrifying to someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. “Halloween is full of scary sights and frightful sounds that create additional challenges for someone living with dementia, which is why being a proactive caregiver is so important,” said Jennifer Reeder, director of… read on > read on >
Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the at-home use of the flu vaccine spray FluMist, how do you know that it’s the right choice for you and your family? One expert offers advice on the spray’s efficacy and how to figure out if FluMist is your best bet against flu germs.… read on > read on >
Wildfires that spread so fast they outrun the efforts of fire crews trying to contain them: These types of conflagrations are becoming far more common across the Western United States, a new study warns. A fire’s velocity could be even more important than its size when it comes to the threat to people and property,… read on > read on >
Texts deliver rapid-fire messages, but a new study indicates human brains can keep up with the barrage. The brain can detect the basic linguistic structure of a brief sentence in roughly 150 milliseconds — about the speed of a blink of an eye, researchers report. “Our experiments reveal that the brain’s language comprehension system may… read on > read on >
Anaphylaxis involves a sudden, potentially life-threatening reaction to an allergen, including even very small amounts of food allergens such as egg or peanut. Now, two studies find that people with allergies, as well as those charged with their care, are often unsure what to do when anaphylaxis strikes, and how soon. Too often, patients were… read on > read on >
Medication and behavioral therapy are both effective in combatting fatigue caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), either separately or together, a new study finds. MS patients felt significantly less fatigue after they were prescribed modafinil (Provigil), a drug that promotes wakefulness and is used to treat sleepiness, researchers reported recently in The Lancet Neurology journal. Patients… read on > read on >
Cutting certain foods from a child’s diet isn’t likely to improve their eczema symptoms, a new study finds. Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, results from an overactive immune response and has been linked to an increased risk of food allergies, researchers said. Because of this, some parents try to manage their kids’ itchy, rashy… read on > read on >
Brain scans can provide early warning of who will develop chronic pain following a whiplash injury, a new study finds. Higher levels of “cross talk” between two specific brain regions within one to three days of the injury increases the risk that pain will last long-term, researchers found. The more the hippocampus (the brain’s memory… read on > read on >
