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First Edition: October 3, 2012

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare's new readmission penalties for hospitals just got a bit tougher. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has discovered errors in its initial calculations in August. As a result, 1,422 hospitals with comparatively high readmission rates will lose slightly more money than they were expecting, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of the revised penalties. Fifty-five hospitals will lose less than were previously told."

3 Oct 2012

Improvements to diagnosis and screening of sleep apnea are critical to stroke prevention

Improvements to the diagnosis and screening of sleep apnea are critical to stroke prevention, according to new stroke care guidelines released today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

3 Oct 2012

Rising rates of obesity lead to increases in bariatric surgery

With rising rates of morbid obesity, the number of bariatric surgery procedures is likely to increase as well, reports a paper in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

3 Oct 2012

Patients with RA more likely to develop venous thromboembolism

A study that included more than 45,000 residents of Sweden with rheumatoid arthritis finds that individuals with this disease had an associated higher risk of venous thromboembolism (a blood clot that forms within a vein), and that this elevated risk was stable for 10 years after the time of diagnosis, according to a study in the October 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Oct 2012

Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly announce data from LY2605541 Phase II study on type 2 diabetes

Eli Lilly and Company and Boehringer Ingelheim today announced patient-reported health outcomes data from a Phase II study of their investigational novel basal insulin analogue, LY2605541, in patients with type 2 diabetes.

3 Oct 2012

New insights on mechanisms involved in regeneration of insulin-producing cells

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that a blood vessel-building gene boosts the ability of human bone marrow stem cells to sustain pancreatic recovery in a laboratory mouse model of insulin-dependent diabetes.

3 Oct 2012

Multiple sclerosis symptoms worse in those with low vitamin D levels

Low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased number of brain lesions and signs of a more active disease state in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study finds, suggesting a potential link between intake of the vitamin and the risk of longer-term disability from the autoimmune disorder.

3 Oct 2012

New testing method for gestational diabetes

The increasingly common condition of gestational diabetes can have serious consequences for both the mother and child if left untreated. Prompt diagnosis and therapy can protect against these consequences. A new testing method developed at the MedUni Vienna now makes diagnosis easier and also cheaper.

3 Oct 2012

Ranibizumab injections keep those with AMD driving longer

The advanced neovascular, or “wet,” form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), left untreated, is the most common cause of vision loss among the elderly and a leading reason for their loss of driving privileges. But results of a new study, published in the online version of the journal Ophthalmology, suggest that monthly injections of ranibizumab improve eye chart test results required for a driver’s license, build driver confidence and keep those with AMD driving longer.

3 Oct 2012

Low vitamin D levels may increase death in African American and Caucasian older adults

Low levels of vitamin D and high levels of parathyroid hormone are associated with increased mortality in African American and Caucasian older adults, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

3 Oct 2012

Research emphasizes importance of smoking cessation for people with stroke or TIA

A study of stroke patients from Southern Ontario found those who smoke have more difficulty with problem-solving and decision-making than non-smokers.

3 Oct 2012

Study investigates time-dependent efficacy of hUCB MNCs after experimental brain ischemia

A research team from Germany has found that optimal benefit and functional improvement for ischemic stroke results when human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB MNCs) are transplanted into rat stroke models within 72 hours of the stroke.

3 Oct 2012

GW researcher to help HIV patients better understand treatments for cardiovascular issues

In 1980, men and women who were diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) had little to no hope of living long, full lives. Thanks to advances in science and medicine, this is no longer the case. HIV patients now live a near-normal lifespan. However, as patients live longer, new medical issues arise.

3 Oct 2012

Eating apples might help keep the cardiologist away

Eating an apple a day might in fact help keep the cardiologist away, new research suggests.

3 Oct 2012

UCSF to create first implantable device for patients with kidney failure

A $750,000 gift from the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation is spurring a UCSF-led effort to create the first implantable artificial kidney for patients with kidney failure.

3 Oct 2012

New colonoscopy surveillance guidelines from U.S. Multisociety Task Force

Patients at average risk of colorectal cancer who have a clean colonoscopy do not need to repeat the test for 10 years. This and many other practical recommendations for cancer prevention were issued in "Guidelines for Colonoscopy Surveillance After Screening and Polypectomy," a consensus update issued by the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer.

3 Oct 2012

New clinical study to determine whether DNA in blood could show early signs of breast cancer

A SIMPLE blood test could one day be a more accurate way to test for the early signs of breast cancer than using mammograms to spot a lump say researchers today, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets underway.

3 Oct 2012

Obesity from high-energy diets may impair brain, fuel overeating

"Betcha can't eat just one!" For obese people trying to lose weight, the Lays potato chip advertising slogan hits a bit too close to home as it describes the daily battle to resist high calorie foods.

3 Oct 2012

Statins linked to reduced glaucoma risk

Cholesterol-lowering medications in the statin class could significantly reduce the risk for developing open-angle glaucoma, show data for more than 500,000 older-age US individuals with hyperlipidemia.

2 Oct 2012

Galectin-1 drives growth of Kaposi sarcoma tumors

A sugar-loving protein drives the growth of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) tumors, according to a study published on October 1st in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Interfering with these sugary interactions inhibited growth of Kaposi sarcomas in mice, hinting at the potential for new treatment strategies in humans.

2 Oct 2012