Dr. Stephen R. Quake of Stanford University and a team of other researchers found that taking the blood samples from a pregnant woman may be an affective way to test for Down’s Syndrome. While only a small group of 18 woman participated in this study, if the method is approved and successful, this would be an alternative to the current, more risky procedures that test for Down’s Syndrome in an unborn baby. Amniocentesis, one of the most popular prenatal testing methods for Down’s Syndrome, has far more risks associated with it.
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Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis. In addition, researchers found that nerve pathways carrying pain signals transfer inflammation from arthritic joints to the spine and back again, causing disease at both ends. Read the rest of this entry »