Leaks from the lab

By YDNImporter
Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Yale-New Haven Hospital named among safest hospitals

In its seventh annual study of large hospitals nationwide, Health Grades, an independent health care ratings company, named Yale-New Haven Hospital to its list of the 270 safest hospitals in America. The hospitals that were identified had a 28 percent lower mortality rate and an 8 percent lower complication rate, collectively, than the national average.

Scientists explain how ‘uncommon’ amino acids cause disease

Yale researchers have demonstrated how a rare amino acid, pyrrolysine (Pyl), has made its way into proteins. Pyl, which results from the alteration of one of the 20 standard amino acids that make up the genetic ‘language’ of proteins, is one of two uncommon amino acids that can be incorporated into proteins during normal protein synthesis. This faulty incorporation is linked to several human diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. The study was published in Nature.

Scientists identify proteins linked to premature birth

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, led by assistant professor Catalin Buhimschi, have identified a group of umbilical cord proteins associated with a bacterial infection called early onset neonatal sepsis. EONS is linked to premature birth, illness and even death. The group used protein analysis techniques to construct a map of the biomarkers in fetuses with sepsis, using the information to predict the pathways and mechanisms through which EONS develops.

Clinical trial to combat obesity

Thanks to a grant of nearly $1 million, the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, collaborating with the Fair Haven Community Health Center, will embark on a four-year clinical outcome trial that will demonstrate interventions targeting poor women with type II diabetes can improve their health outcomes, including their weight, diet and physical activity levels. The program will offer women programs on nutrition education, behavior modification and structured physical exercise.

Hypertension among pregnant women increases risk of complications

Women with histories of hypertension, diabetes and blood clots are more likely to experience complications, such as preeclampsia, in their first pregnancies than their peers, according to a study by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, which is led by Michael Paidas. The study also found that women who have had two pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia are more likely to develop hypertension.

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