The most commonly performed operation in the world is cesarean section, and rates of cesarean childbirth delivery vary widely from country to country, from as little as 2 percent to more than 50 percent of live births. The World Health Organization recommends countries not exceed 10 to 15 percent (10 to 15 C-section deliveries per 100 live births) for optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes.
However, new research examining the relationship between C-section rates and maternal and neonatal mortality in 194 countries concludes that as the country-level C-section rate increases up to 19 percent, maternal and neonatal mortality rates decline. C-section delivery rates above 19 percent showed no further improvement in maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
Researchers from Ariadne Labs, a joint centre of Brigham and Women

Physicists from the University of Sydney have devised a way to use diamonds to identify cancerous tumours before they become life threatening.
Their reveal how a nano-scale, synthetic version of the precious gem can light up early-stage cancers in non-toxic, non-invasive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans.
Targeting cancers with tailored chemicals is not new but scientists struggle to detect where these chemicals go since, short of a biopsy, there are few ways to see if a treatment has been taken-up by a cancer.
Led by Professor David Reilly from the School of Physics, researchers from the University investigated how nanoscale diamonds could help identify cancers in their earliest stages.
‘We knew nano diamonds were of interest for delivering drugs during chemotherapy because they are largely non-toxic and non-reactive,’ says Professor Reilly.
‘We thought we could build on these non-toxic properties realizing that diamonds have magnetic characteristics enabling them to act as beacons in MRIs. We effectively turned a pharmaceutical problem into a physics problem.’
Professor Reilly’s team turned its attention to hyperpolarizing nano-diamonds, a process of aligning atoms inside a diamond so they create a signal detectable by an MRI scanner.
‘By attaching hyperpolarized diamonds to molecules targeting cancers the technique can allow tracking of the molecules’ movement in the body,’ says Ewa Rej, the paper’s lead author.
‘This is a great example of how quantum physics research tackles real-world problems, in this case opening the way for us to image and target cancers long before they become life-threatening,’ says Professor Reilly.
The next stage of the team’s work involves working with medical researchers to test the new technology on animals. Also on the horizon is research using scorpion venom to target brain tumours with MRI scanning.

University of Sydneyhttp://tinyurl.com/h8qj2ah

A clinical trial by University of Colorado Cancer Center investigators and collaborators at Beaumont Health in Michigan and the University of Texas Medical Branch is evaluating a new method for pinpointing and sparing healthy lung tissue during lung cancer radiotherapy. The group is applying advanced image analysis techniques to 4D CT scans already performed as a standard step in targeting lung cancer radiotherapy, to map areas of lung function without additional testing.

Protective mastectomies that preserve the nipple and surrounding skin prevent breast cancer as effectively as more invasive surgeries for women with a genetic mutation called BRCA that raises their risk of developing breast cancer, a multi-institution study led by Mayo Clinic found. The research should reassure patients and surgeons that nipple-sparing mastectomies, which leave women with more natural-looking breasts than other mastectomies, are a safe way to reduce breast cancer risk in BRCA carriers, the authors say..

An interactive web system with the help of your mobile phone can be an effective tool for better blood pressure control. Test persons lowered their blood pressure, were better able to understand how their lifestyle affects their blood pressure and actively participated in follow-up discussions.

Well controlled blood pressure reduces the risk for cardio-vascular complications. In addition to taking daily medication, persons with high blood pressure need to understand the sometime complicated connection between the blood pressure values and daily life. Blood pressure medication combined with changes in lifestyle gives good results, but despite awareness of this, few people are able to reach a well controlled blood pressure.

In her thesis, researcher Ulrika Bengtsson developed and evaluated an interactive system for persons living with high blood pressure that, with the help of their own mobile phone, can be used to self-manage the high blood pressure on a daily basis.