Kids with Pompe disease fail because of a missing enzyme, GAA, that leads to dangerous sugar build-up, which affects muscles and movement.

In choosing where they get treatment, prostate cancer patients tend to opt for a major cancer center if they have severe disease, but stick closer to home for less complicated cases, even when offered a model of care that taps numerous experts. The findings by Duke Cancer Institute researchers, published in the January issue of the Journal of Urology, are the first large analysis of the so-called multidisciplinary care strategy that gives prostate cancer patients access to a surgeon, a medical oncologists and a radiation oncologist – all in a single visit. The care team then decides as a group what’s best for the patient, easing the bias for any one specialty.

Cancer doctors want to offer a sympathetic ear, but sometimes miss the cues from patients. To help physicians better address their patients’ fears and worries, a Duke University researcher has developed a new interactive training tool. The computer tutorial includes feedback on the doctors’ own audio recorded visits with patients, and provides an alternative to more expensive courses

Victor J. Dzau, MD , chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and chief executive officer of Duke University Health System, has been named the 2011 winner of the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research

Only one in 10 patients who experience a major heart attack are transferred to another hospital to get necessary treatment within the recommended 30 minutes. Failure to transfer these patients to a hospital that could clear their heart blockage in a timely fashion increased their death rate compared to patients who were moved within a half hour, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute . The study is the first to show a significantly higher mortality risk associated with the time patients spend in a hospital before they are transferred to another hospital able to perform a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blocked coronary arteries.

A peanut solution given under the tongue can desensitize a child’s deadly peanut allergies, but further testing will be needed to determine if it may permanently eliminate their reactions to the foods, according to researchers from Duke University Medical Center. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, Duke researchers built up tolerance to the allergen in 11 children with a year of small but escalating daily doses of peanut

About 250 million years about 95 per cent of life was wiped out in the sea and 70 per cent on land. Researchers at the University of Calgary believe they have discovered evidence to support massive volcanic eruptions burnt significant volumes of coal, producing ash clouds that had broad impact on global oceans.