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Study points to unsafe opioid self-management practices among cancer patients

Despite a national opioid crisis, prescribed opioid analgesics remain a viable option for pain management for patients with cancer. In effect, patients with cancer represent one of the few groups excluded from most state legislation and policy initiatives on prescribing opioids as well as from opioid stewardship programs of many health systems.

19 Dec 2019

Leukemia patients treated with common cancer drug have heightened risk of heart failure

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia who are treated with anthracyclines are at a heightened risk of heart failure- most often within one year of exposure to the chemotherapy treatment, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn Medicine.

17 Dec 2019

New combination therapy can lead to durable responses in patients with multiple myeloma

An experimental, off-the-shelf immunotherapy that combines a targeted antibody and chemotherapy can lead to potentially durable responses in multiple myeloma patients whose disease has relapsed or is resistant to other standard therapies.

17 Dec 2019

Many hospitals fail to provide information and guidance on patient portals

Most hospitals in the United States, but not all, have secure online websites called patient portals that give patients access to their personal health information.

16 Dec 2019

Penn researchers track defective sperm epigenome linked to male infertility

One out of eight couples has trouble conceiving, with nearly a quarter of those cases caused by unexplained male infertility. For the past decade, research has linked that infertility to defective sperm that fail to "evict" proteins called histones from DNA during development.

16 Dec 2019

Universal health coverage a strategic priority

Universal Health Coverage Day is celebrated every year to remind ourselves of the need to ensure that anyone, anywhere can make use of the health services they need at any time required, at an affordable rate. Health coverage includes not only emergency and treatment services but also promotive health, preventive health, rehabilitation and palliative care.

15 Dec 2019

Under-5's receiving an average 25 antibiotic prescriptions each year

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to mankind says the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the greatest contributors to this menace is indiscriminate use of antibiotics.

15 Dec 2019

Integrated approach needs to be used to address opioid use among psychiatric patients

Opioid use among psychiatric hospital patients needs to be addressed through an integrated approach to managing mental illness, pain and substance use, a study by researchers at the University of Waterloo has found.

14 Dec 2019

Problem drinkers have higher likelihood of using benzodiazepines

Problem drinkers are more likely than teetotalers and moderate drinkers to take benzodiazepines, a class of sedatives that are among the most commonly prescribed drugs -- and the most abused.

14 Dec 2019

San Francisco hopes to improve care for people with mental illness living on streets

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has promised to tackle her city's homelessness crisis, a vexing situation involving drug abuse and mental illness that is compounded by the city's high housing costs.

13 Dec 2019

Women with osteoporosis feel let down by the healthcare system, survey reveals

Results from a new UCB survey have revealed the impact osteoporosis has on women, with nearly two thirds (65%) agreeing that their condition is being neglected and that their healthcare authority should be doing more to prioritize it (83%).

13 Dec 2019

Clinical Research Pathways, WellStar Health System partner to increase diversity in oncology research

Clinical Research Pathways is partnering with WellStar Health System to increase diversity in oncology research to help ensure that new cancer medicines are effective for patients of all races and ethnicities.

12 Dec 2019

Study: Nearly 1-in-10 patients admitted to hospital found to be C. diff carriers

Nearly 1-in-10 patients admitted to a New York hospital with no symptoms of diarrhea were found to be carriers of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), suggesting infections originate outside the hospital setting more often than thought, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

11 Dec 2019

Genetic variant mainly found in individuals of African ancestry increases odds of heart failure

A genetic variant in the gene transthyretin (TTR)- which is found in about 3 percent of individuals of African ancestry- is a more significant cause of heart failure than previously believed, according to a multi-institution study led by researchers at Penn Medicine.

10 Dec 2019

Study: Claim lines for Lyme disease have increased 117% from 2007 to 2018

From 2007 to 2018, claim lines with diagnoses of Lyme disease increased nationally 117 percent, according to a new white paper from FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information.

10 Dec 2019

Common antibiotic appears to boost the effect of radiation on tumor cells

The antibiotic vancomycin alters the gut microbiome in a way that can help prime the immune system to more effectively attack tumor cells after radiation therapy.

9 Dec 2019

Study identifies genetic variation linked to heart failure risk in people of African, Latino ancestry

A genetic variation believed to increase risk for heart failure in people of African or Latino ancestry has been identified in a new study by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

9 Dec 2019

$Experimental immunotherapy can put patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma into remission$

Experimental immunotherapy can put patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma into remission

A new, experimental immunotherapy can put patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that is resistant to or has come back after multiple other therapies, including CAR T therapy, into remission.

8 Dec 2019

Less access to specialists associated with higher death, hospitalization rates among rural patients

Residents of rural areas are more likely to be hospitalized and to die than those who live in cities primarily because they lack access to specialists, recent research found.

3 Dec 2019

Experts propose pathways to build trustworthy healthcare evidence free of commercial influences

It's time to stop the endemic financial entanglement with industry that is distorting the production and use of healthcare evidence, causing harm to individuals and waste for health systems, argue an influential group of international experts in The BMJ today.