National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blogs This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

GRCg6: Curation of the chicken reference genome assembly transfers to the GRC
The GRC announces the release of the latest chicken reference genome assembly,GRCg6.The chicken reference assembly defines a standard upon which other avian whole genome studies are based. Providing the best representation of the chicken genome is essential for facilitating continued progress in understanding and improving human health as this species serves as a model organism similar to mouse, zebrafish and other vertebrates.The chicken reference genome project began as an international research collaboration coordinated by the McDonnell Genome Institute with past funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and ...
Source: GenomeRef - February 23, 2018 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: blogs

High Rates of Gadolinium Leakage in Stroke Patients
A new study from the National Institutes of Health has found that acute stroke patients who undergo MRI are highly susceptible to gadolinium leakage into the eyes. In astudy published inNeurology, the group of researchers led by Emi Hitomi, a post-baccalaureate intramural research training award fellow, evaluated 167 patients who received MRI exams upon being admitted to the hospital. Two hours and/or 24 hours after the MRI, patients underwent a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging exam. Gadolinium leakage into ocular structures (GLOS) were identified in 76 percent of patients. At the two-hour exam, GLOS occ...
Source: radRounds - February 23, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs

Make World Hearing Day Count
Far from just another calendar observance, March 3 marks an opportunity to raise awareness of hearing care—and the services provided by audiologists. Next week will bring World Hearing Day, an especially relevant day for the profession of audiology. Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) designates March 3 as an international day of outreach on the subject of hearing care. This year’s theme is “Hear the Future.” We hope to make it easy for you to champion the cause using a new Digital Toolkit ASHA created for members. This year’s theme spotlights an anticipated rise in the number of people with heari...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - February 21, 2018 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Elise Davis-McFarland Tags: Advocacy Audiology Hearing Assistive Technology hearing loss hearing protection Professional Development speech-language pathology Source Type: blogs

The Congressional Budget Deal's Effect on Health Care
In early February, Congress passed a massive bipartisan budget deal to fund the government through March 23, 2018, suspend the debt ceiling until 2019, raise budget caps by nearly $300 billion over two years, and fund various parts of the government. Naturally, passage of the budget agreement means that quite a few health care priorities made their way into the law. For example, several health care “extenders” were reauthorized, community health centers (CHCs) were funded, cuts to safety net hospitals were delayed, as were cuts to the CHRONIC Care Act and the Part B Improvement Act, while revisions to the Medicare Acc...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 20, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs

Why Can ’t Patients Understand Radiology Articles?
The internet has made medical literature more accessible to patients; however, do people understand what their reading? Anew study published inDiagnostic Radiology says that most radiology-related articles are written far above the average adult’s literacy level. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center assessed 375 radiology-focused articles published by 20 different university hospital systems, including Massachusetts General, Mayo Clinic, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. Overall, most articles were written at an 11th-grade reading level and 36.6 percent were written above a 12th grade le...
Source: radRounds - February 17, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs

Can Nicotinamide Riboside Help Prevent Alzheimer's?
The supplement nicotinamide riboside (NR) – a form of vitamin B3 – prevented neurological damage and improved cognitive and physical function in a new mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.byAlzheimer's Reading RoomThe results of the study, conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) part of the National Institutes of Health,suggest a potential new target for treating Alzheimer ’s disease.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaCompound prevents neurological damage, shows cognitive benefits in mouse model of Alzheimer ’s diseaseSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading - This is a ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 14, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's research Alzheimers Dementia Alzheimers Prevention alzheimers treatment prevent alzheimers science vitamins Source Type: blogs

Ideology vs. Science
Joshua Sharfstein in JAMA discusses the opioid abuse epidemic and what to do about it. This is an opinion piece that doesn ' t have references, but I can assure you that he is right on the facts. People with opioid addiction seldom succeed in maintaining long term recovery without what we call Medication Assisted Treatment. That means either methadone or buprenorphine, both of which are themselves opioids. As Sharfstein tell us, " Many still believe that those who take methadone or buprenorphine are ' trading one addiction for another, ' ' in bondage, ' or ' taking a cop-out. ' " People who are using these medications may ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - February 14, 2018 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs

3 Scientific Ways Drinking Water Makes You More Productive
This article will show you 3 scientifically backed reasons why drinking enough water each day will help you focus better and get more done. Why Is Water So Important? To put it simply, your body would stop working properly without a good amount of hydration. This makes sense when you consider that water makes up around 60% of your body weight. The human body has many important functions to perform and needs water to do most of them. For example, your blood carries oxygen to all the cells in your body but wouldn’t be able to do this without water. Going on a journey of self-improvement and increased productivity is a lot...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - February 14, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: MrWaterGeek Tags: Community Posts health and fitness productivity tips self improvement health benefits of water pickthebrain Source Type: blogs

Interview With a Scientist: Joel Kralj, Electromicist
Every one of our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and movements arise from changes in the flow of electricity in the brain. Disruptions to the normal flow of electricity within and between cells is a hallmark of many diseases, especially neurological and cardiac diseases. The source of electricity within nerve cells (i.e., neurons) is the separation of charge, referred to as voltage, across neuronal membranes. In the past, scientists weren’t able to identify all the molecules that control neuronal voltage. They simply lacked the tools. Now, University of Colorado biologist Joel Kralj has developed a way to overcome this h...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 13, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Chris Palmer Tags: Being a Scientist Cell Biology Genetics Bacteria Biofilm Source Type: blogs

Your Healthiest Self: Wellness Toolkits
The National Institutes of Health recently published five wellness toolkits. The topics of these toolkits include: Your Surroundings, Your Feelings, Your Body, Your Relationships and Your Disease Defense. Within each toolkit, view a checklist of actions one can take to improve their health within each topic area. The checklists can be quickly reviewed and accessed as a PDF for easy printing. (Source: BHIC)
Source: BHIC - February 12, 2018 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Erin Seger Tags: Environmental Health Websites Source Type: blogs

UVA, Carestream Health, and Epic Are Adding Charts, Graphs, and Voice Recognition to Radiology Reports
The University of Virginia Health System (UVA) is partnering with Epic and Carestream Health to develop a multimedia radiology reporting application that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and voice recognition systems. The reports feature a versatile set of components including electronic health records (EHRs) software, comprehensive and interactive images, charts, graphs, and hyperlinks that makes toggling between report text and PACS images fast and easy. One study at the National Institutes of Health found that by having radiology reports with hyperlinks and visual data, oncologists were able to assess tumor treatme...
Source: radRounds - February 10, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs

2018 AHA/ASA stroke guidelines & Radiology
The following are key points to remember from the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) 2018 Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke:These 2018 guidelines are an update to the 2013 guidelines, which were published prior to the six positive “early window” mechanical thrombectomy trials that emerged in 2015 and 2016 showed a clear benefit of“extended window” mechanical thrombectomy for certain patients with large vessel occlusion who could be treated out to 16-24 hours IV tPA should be administered to all eligible acute stroke patients within 3 hour...
Source: Sumer's Radiology Site - February 4, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Sumer Sethi Source Type: blogs

Paradoxes of Classification (and terrible Class definitions)
The formal systems that assign data objects to classes, and that relate classes to other classes, are known as ontologies. When the data within a Big Data resource is classified within an ontology, data analysts can determine whether observations on a single object will apply to other objects in the same class. Similarly, data analysts can begin to ask whether observations that hold true for a class of objects will relate to other classes of objects. Basically, ontologies help scientists fulfill one of their most important tasks; determining how things relate to other things.A classification is a very simple form of ontolo...
Source: Specified Life - February 3, 2018 Category: Information Technology Tags: big data classification ontologies paradoxes precision medicine taxonomy Source Type: blogs

How to Cope with a Scary Medical or Mental Health Diagnosis
Most of us are sanguine about the fact that some things are out of our control. We know, for example, that we can’t avoid death or taxes or do much about how tall we’ll grow. For much of everything else, we figure out a way to deal with what happens in life — until we can’t, for one reason or another. A prime example is the emotional upheaval caused by receiving an unexpected and scary medical or mental health diagnosis. Having gone through this myself recently, here are some ways to help you cope. Get all the facts. After the initial shock, take a few deep breaths and resolve to learn as much as you can about ...
Source: World of Psychology - January 29, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Suzanne Kane Tags: Anxiety and Panic Grief and Loss Health-related Inspiration & Hope Motivation and Inspiration Cancer Chronic Illness Coping Skills health scare Medical Care Mental Illness Resilience Source Type: blogs

Swallowing Impairment Needn't Mark the End of Great Eating
Dysphagia is a swallowing impairment that can occur after someone has a stroke or any type of brain injury. Dysphagia is also a concern with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), oral cancer, and many other injuries and diseases. However, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dysphagia is also a growing concern in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The NIH says that dysphagia “frequently leads to aspiration pneumonia, a common cause of death in this population, particularly in the later stage of AD.” Read full article on HealthCentral about how to prepare food for swallowing disorders: Purchase Mindi...
Source: Minding Our Elders - January 29, 2018 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs