3/19/14 Health News Test Predict 5-Year Risk of Death - Malaria 'Spreading to New Altitudes - The Fat Drug - Google Glass for Real-time ER Care

Test May Some Day Predict 5-Year Risk of Death

Will you be alive five years from now? New research suggests it might be possible to predict if you’ll die from a medical condition in the next half-decade. How, you ask? With a simple blood test.According to a recent study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, if your blood registers high levels of four “biomarkers,” biological molecules found in your blood, body fluids, or tissues, you are at a substantially higher risk of dying in the next five years. Researchers from Finland and Estonia followed more than 17,000 people between the ages of 18 and 103 to determine causes of death, tracking them in what is called a prospective cohort study. The researchers first looked at more than 100 components of blood taken from the Estonian group. They found that high levels of four different molecules (naturally present in everyone's blood) - albumin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, citrate and very low-density lipoprotein particles — predicted imminent death. .Continue Reading

Malaria Spreading to New Altitudes

Warmer temperatures are causing malaria to spread to higher altitudes, a study suggests. Researchers have found that people living in the highlands of Africa and South America are at an increased risk of catching the mosquito-borne disease during hotter years. They believe that temperature rises in the future could result in millions of additional cases in some areas. The research is published in the journal Science. Prof Mercedes Pascual, from the University of Michigan in the US, who carried out the research, said: "The impact in terms of increasing the risk of exposure to disease is very large."Continue Reading

The Fat Drug

IF you walk into a farm-supply store today, you’re likely to find a bag of antibiotic powder that claims to boost the growth of poultry and livestock. That’s because decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals’ bodies, helping them pack on pounds. Manufacturers brag about the miraculous effects of feeding antibiotics to chicks and nursing calves. But what if that meat is us? Recently, a group of medical investigators have begun to wonder whether antibiotics might cause the same growth promotion in humans. New evidence shows that America’s obesity epidemic may be connected to our high consumption of these drugs. Continue Reading

Hospital to Test Google Glass for Real-time ER Care

Rhode Island Hospital in Providence appears poised to become the first hospital in the nation to test Google Glass for real-time emergency room care, according to a report by the Providence Journal. In a six-month pilot beginning this month, the hospital will use the tool to stream live images of patient medical conditions to remote consulting specialists. In particular, the pilot will focus on ER patients with skin conditions who agree to participate in the study. Continue Reading