RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

Electronic health records are still rare in US hospitals as a national survey reveals that under 2 per cent have installed comprehensive electronic health records in all departments, with many giving the high cost of capital investment and maintenance as the primary barriers to adoption.

The FDA-approved drugs Celebrex® and Lipitor® used respectively for arthritis pain and lowering one’s cholesterol are being tested by investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) to see if they hold any promise in slowing or stopping the growth of prostate cancer when combined. CINJ is a center of excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Epidemiologists and computer scientists at the University of Iowa have collaborated to create a new low-cost, green technology for automatically tracking the use of hand hygiene dispensers before healthcare workers enter and after they exit patient rooms.

The discovery of the molecule, an antibody known as CR6261, is good news for researchers who hope to design a flu vaccine that would give humans lifelong protection against a majority of influenza viruses.

The antibody also has the potential to treat those who are unvaccinated and become infected with the flu.

In the latest clinical trial for a technique to detect pancreatic cancer, researchers found they could differentiate cells that are cancerous from those that are benign, pre-cancerous, or even early stage indicators called mucinous cystic lesions.

Scientists have developed a way to manipulate bacteria so they will grow mutant sugar molecules on their cell surfaces that could be used against them as the key component in potent vaccines.

A study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati shows that high-fat diets, even if consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease. These findings will be published in the Feb. 20 edition of the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research.

Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells - tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers - are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene that when mutated causes obesity by dampening the body’s ability to burn energy while leaving appetite unaffected.