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Most clinical trials of vitamin supplements have flawed methodology

Most large, clinical trials of vitamin supplements, including some that have concluded they are of no value or even harmful, have a flawed methodology that renders them largely useless in determining the real value of these micronutrients, a new analysis suggests.

31 Dec 2013

UPV/EHU-University study shows that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA

A preliminary study led by a UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researcher in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Nayarit, in Mexico, indicates that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA.

30 Dec 2013

Electromed gets FDA clearance to market next generation SmartVest Airway Clearance System

Electromed, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that its next generation SmartVest Airway Clearance System, the model SQL has been cleared to market.

30 Dec 2013

Poverty, not smoking, linked to COPD mortality

An international study shows that national mortality rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease do not correlate well with the prevalence of smoking in low-income countries but do show a strong inverse correlation with wealth.

30 Dec 2013

Researchers study health consequences of RTE proliferation that occurs in aging tissues

The genomes of organisms from humans to corn are replete with "parasitic" strands of DNA that, when not suppressed, copy themselves and spread throughout the genome, potentially affecting health. Earlier this year Brown University researchers found that these "retrotransposable elements" were increasingly able to break free of the genome's control in cultures of human cells.

27 Dec 2013

Researchers develop a class of compounds that may help eradicate Chagas disease

A team of researchers from Canada has developed a class of compounds which may help eradicate a neglected tropical disease that is currently hard to kill in its chronic form. The research was published ahead of print in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

27 Dec 2013

Ikaria shareholders to sell Commercial Business to Madison Dearborn Partners

Ikaria, Inc., a critical care company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies designed to address the significant needs of critically ill patients, announced today that its investor group and employee shareholders have reached a definitive agreement to sell the Commercial Business to Madison Dearborn Partners in a transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion.

26 Dec 2013

Combination of medication and psychological therapy effective for treating chronic migraines in children

Psychological therapy plus medication appears to be the most effective treatment strategy for chronic migraine in children, but it may take time for the medical system to widely adopt this approach, says an editorial in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association by Mark Connelly, PhD, a pain psychologist and co-director of the Comprehensive Headache Clinic at Children's Mercy Hospital.

26 Dec 2013

Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces headache frequency, migraine-related disability in children

Among children and adolescents with chronic migraine, the use of cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in greater reductions in headache frequency and migraine-related disability compared with headache education, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Dec 2013

Holiday reads: Squabbling families, the psychology of Santa, holiday stress and chocolate chip cookies

[T]his time of year the Internet is ripe with lists on how to avoid or mitigate family conflicts. At big gatherings, familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it sure can breed festering emotional wounds. Leonard Felder, a Los Angeles psychologist, has found that about three-quarters of us have at least one family member who annoys us. But why is it that the same minor jabs and annoying tics that are harmless coming from friends prompt epic screaming matches when uttered by relatives? ... Here are four theories as to why our families drive us nuts, and it would be nice of you to pay attention for once in your life (Olga Khazan, 12/23).

24 Dec 2013

Paired exchange and incompatible kidney transplant program launched by UAB

Ann Marie Reynolds, a 32-year-old who has been in and out of hospitals fighting chronic kidney disease since she was a teenager, had a less than 1 percent chance of receiving a kidney without the University of Alabama at Birmingham's groundbreaking organ donation system that helped her and two other hard-to-match patients get kidneys in a three-way, incompatible kidney exchange earlier this year.

24 Dec 2013

Transplanting self-donated Schwann cells aids hind limb functional recovery

A study carried out at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for "The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis" has found that transplanting self-donated Schwann cells (SCs, the principal ensheathing cells of the nervous system) that are elongated so as to bridge scar tissue in the injured spinal cord, aids hind limb functional recovery in rats modeled with spinal cord injury.

24 Dec 2013

Changes to LZTR1 gene predispose people to develop schwannomas

Changes to a gene called LZTR1 predispose people to develop a rare disorder where multiple tumors called schwannomas form near nerve pathways, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Genetics and led by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

24 Dec 2013

States, feds struggle to enroll consumers in health coverage

Officials attempting to enroll people for coverage through the health law's exchanges are facing education challenges, website headaches and a deadline of today to get people signed up for Jan. 1 coverage. News outlets provide snapshots in Colorado, California, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Minnesota, Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

24 Dec 2013

Most frequent reasons for readmission often related to patients' underlying chronic medical conditions

Researchers cite identification and monitoring of known underlying chronic medical conditions as opportunities to reduce readmission rates and improve patient safety.

24 Dec 2013

New CANHEART health index measures behaviours, health factors for optimal heart health

Fewer than 1 in 10 adult Canadians is in ideal cardiovascular health, according to the new CANHEART health index developed to measure heart health published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

24 Dec 2013

Research findings reveal how immune system responds to respiratory viral infections

An antibody that blocks a component of a key signaling pathway in the respiratory airways could help the immune system rid the body of the influenza virus, a new study suggests. The findings, from a team at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, not only offer a new approach to treating the flu, but also add new information about how the immune system responds to respiratory viral infections.

24 Dec 2013

Research review examines effectiveness of treatments for chronic skin wounds

A systematic review of 66 research papers focused on the treatment of skin ulcers suggests that most are so technically flawed that their results are unreliable. And even of those that pass muster, there is only weak evidence that some treatments work better than standard compression therapy or special stockings.

24 Dec 2013

Reflux disease diagnosis: an interview with Professor Peter Dettmar, Managing Director of RD Biomed Limited

Generally speaking, reflux has been a major chronic issue for probably the last 40 or 50 years. When you look at the global population, depending on which country we're talking about, around 20% to 40% of individuals have reflux disease within their populations.

23 Dec 2013

Alternative Quality Contract model improves quality of care for sickest pediatric patients

Within two years of implementation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Alternative Quality Contract (AQC) had a small but significant positive effect on the quality of pediatric care, according to a new study from Boston Children's Hospital. The results were published online Dec. 23 in Pediatrics.

23 Dec 2013

Chronic News and Research

Most clinical trials of vitamin supplements have flawed methodology

UPV/EHU-University study shows that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA

Electromed gets FDA clearance to market next generation SmartVest Airway Clearance System

Poverty, not smoking, linked to COPD mortality

Researchers study health consequences of RTE proliferation that occurs in aging tissues

Researchers develop a class of compounds that may help eradicate Chagas disease

Ikaria shareholders to sell Commercial Business to Madison Dearborn Partners

Combination of medication and psychological therapy effective for treating chronic migraines in children

Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces headache frequency, migraine-related disability in children

Holiday reads: Squabbling families, the psychology of Santa, holiday stress and chocolate chip cookies

Paired exchange and incompatible kidney transplant program launched by UAB

Transplanting self-donated Schwann cells aids hind limb functional recovery

Changes to LZTR1 gene predispose people to develop schwannomas

States, feds struggle to enroll consumers in health coverage

Most frequent reasons for readmission often related to patients' underlying chronic medical conditions

New CANHEART health index measures behaviours, health factors for optimal heart health

Research findings reveal how immune system responds to respiratory viral infections

Research review examines effectiveness of treatments for chronic skin wounds

Reflux disease diagnosis: an interview with Professor Peter Dettmar, Managing Director of RD Biomed Limited

Alternative Quality Contract model improves quality of care for sickest pediatric patients

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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