Unnecessary Endoscopies Could Be Avoided with Fecal Blood Test

The majority of primary care patients referred for bowel endoscopy do not have significant colorectal disease (SCD), and are unnecessarily exposed to a small but realistic risk of severe endoscopy-associated complications.

Serious colorectal diseases, including colorectal cancer, are difficult to diagnose as the signs and symptoms are not always clear.

Read more: Unnecessary Endoscopies Could Be Avoided with Fecal Blood Test

The Quantum Blue rapid test allow for the immediate measurement of fecal calprotectin
(Photo courtesy of Bühlmann Laboratories).

Source: LabMedica

Sensation of Touch Restored After More Than a Decade of Paralysis

Surgeons have restored the sensation of touch to a paralyzed man using a robotic arm connected to electrodes in his brain.

Twelve years ago a promising science student, Nathan Copeland, was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He went from being an active 18-year old to being quadriplegic. He was unable to feel anything from the chest down and could not move his lower arms and legs, so needed assistance with all his daily activities.

Read more: Sensation of Touch Restored After More Than a Decade of Paralysis

Source: NewsMedical

What Does Breast Cancer Feel Like? Lumps and Pain Explained

In breast cancer, abnormal genes cause breast cells to grow uncontrollably and not die off as they normally would.

If these cells grow slowly and don't invade other tissues, they cause benign tumors. These are lumps that are not usually considered dangerous to health.

When abnormal cells grow at a more rapid rate and begin to invade surrounding tissues, they form cancerous tumors. These lumps pose a serious risk and can spread, creating new tumors throughout the body.

Read more: What Does Breast Cancer Feel Like? Lumps and Pain Explained

When breast cancer first appears, it can cause a wide range of different symptoms. Always seek
medical attention if in doubt about possible breast symptoms. Breast cancer can also affect men.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

From 230,000 patients to extinct in 15 years: pathology and new drugs key to defeating hepatitis C

An estimated 230,000 Australians have chronic hepatitis C, and a quarter of cases are undiagnosed.

Hepatitis C inflames the liver and unlike the A and B viruses there is no vaccine available. Pathology is important for diagnosing the virus.

Many people with hepatitis C may not experience symptoms, but left untreated the disease can cause cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), which in a small number of cases can lead to liver cancer.

Read more: From 230,000 patients to extinct in 15 years: pathology and new drugs key to defeating hepatitis C

Source: knowpathology

Sauna: What are the Health Benefits?

Saunas have been used for hundreds of years and still continue to be popular today. Many people enjoy sitting in a sauna to unwind and relax.

Spending time in a sauna can feel good, and there may be additional health benefits to be had beyond relaxation.

Read more: Sauna: What are the Health Benefits?

Many people enjoy relaxing and unwinding in a sauna. Steam rooms involve high humidity and
moist heat as opposed to the dry heat of traditional Finnish saunas. It is vital to drink plenty of
water after using a sauna.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

A Lab Manager's Guide to Getting Ahead

Being motivated and showing resourcefulness are what separate a star from the pack

Hard Work, Resourcefulness, and Great Mentors Required

When Lydia Coleman was 25 years old and worked as a staff member in a laboratory, before a surveyor’s visit she asked her then-boss whether managers had done anything in advance to prepare for the survey and had thought about what kinds of questions might arise. Coleman’s boss immediately realized that her employee’s questions showed initiative and enthusiasm for making the workplace run more smoothly, and she expressed her opinion of what a good idea that was. Six years later, Coleman had showed so much enterprise and learned enough to apply for and land a laboratory supervisor’s position, and for the past 35 years she has been either a manager or a director in the health care laboratory industry.

Read more: A Lab Manager's Guide to Getting Ahead

Source: LabManager

Transfusion-Related Thrombocytopenia In a Chronic Renal Failure Patient

Hemostasis is a process to stop bleeding that requires coordinated activities of vascular, platelet, and plasma factors. Under normal conditions, blood vessel injury will trigger endothelial cells to secrete factors that promote adhesion and activation of platelets. First, platelets bind to von Willebrand’s factor (vWF) secreted by endothelial cells through vWF receptors. Attached platelets then undergo degranulation and release factors such as serotonin, which causes vascular constriction. Activated platelets also release other mediators to attract additional platelets for aggregation at the injured sites.

Read more: Transfusion-Related Thrombocytopenia In a Chronic Renal Failure Patient

Source: MedicalLaboratoryObserver

Swarms of Magnetic Bacteria Could be Used to Deliver Drugs to Tumors

One of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy is being able to sufficiently deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors without exposing healthy tissues to their toxic effects.

Researchers funded in part by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have recently shown that magnetic bacteria are a promising vehicle for more efficiently delivering tumor-fighting drugs. They reported their results in the August 2016 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Read more: Swarms of Magnetic Bacteria Could be Used to Deliver Drugs to Tumors

Illustration showing magnetic bacteria delivering drugs to a tumor.

Source: LabManager

What Do We Really Need To Know About Platelets And The Laboratory?

What is a platelet? The anatomic definition of a platelet is well established: According to MedicineNet.com, it is “an irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting. During normal blood clotting, the platelets clump together (aggregate). Although platelets are often classed as blood cells, they are actually fragments of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.” This definition, however, does not do justice to our rapidly expanding understanding of the platelet’s roles, functions, and laboratory applications.

What the numbers say

Laboratories with the ability to detect platelet function defects still tend to focus on identifying the two percent of the population that have heritable platelet function defects and von Willebrand Disease.

Read more: What Do We Really Need To Know About Platelets And The Laboratory?

Source: MedicalLaboratoryObserver

Curiosity About Cigarettes, Cigars Falling among Students

Fewer middle and high school students in the United States have ever used or are curious about using cigarettes or cigars, according to new research published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

However, the study - conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - identified no change in the percentage of American students who have ever used or are curious about smokeless tobacco.

Read more: Curiosity About Cigarettes, Cigars Falling among Students

Researchers find fewer students are curious about using cigarettes and cigars.

Source: medicalnewstoday