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FDA approves Abbott’s XIENCE Xpedition Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System

Abbott today announced that the XIENCE Xpedition Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and is launching immediately in the United States, providing physicians with a next-generation technology with the largest size matrix in the U.S. market.

3 Jan 2013

Itch-specific nerve cells in skin discovered by John Hopkins scientists

Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered strong evidence that mice have a specific set of nerve cells that signal itch but not pain, a finding that may settle a decades-long debate about these sensations, and, if confirmed in humans, help in developing treatments for chronic itch, including itch caused by life-saving medications.

3 Jan 2013

Aerobic better than resistance training when it comes to weight and fat loss

A new study led by North Carolina researchers has found that when it comes to weight- and fat loss, aerobic training is better than resistance training. The study is believed to the largest randomized trial to directly compare changes in body composition induced by comparable amounts of time spent doing aerobic and resistant training, or both in combination, among previously inactive overweight or obese non-diabetic adults.

3 Jan 2013

Psychiatric patients at risk of hospitalization due to protected records

Medical centers that elect to keep psychiatric files private and separate from the rest of a person's medical record may be doing their patients a disservice, a Johns Hopkins study concludes.

3 Jan 2013

FDA grants accelerated approval to drug to treat MDR-TB

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Johnson & Johnson's drug to treat a form of resistant tuberculosis that is uncommon in the U.S. but growing globally," the Wall Street Journal reports.

3 Jan 2013

Molecular signals make some women prone to miscarriage

Scientists have identified molecular signals that control whether embryos are accepted by the womb, and that appear to function abnormally in women who have suffered repeated miscarriages.

3 Jan 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists uncover itch-specific nerve cells in skin

3 Jan 2013

Opinion pieces, editorial address murders of polio workers in Pakistan

Several newspapers published opinion pieces regarding the recent murders of polio vaccination workers in Pakistan.

3 Jan 2013

Heart attack patients may benefit from mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing

People who suffer from breathing disorders such as sleep apnea are usually at higher risk for cardiovascular disease. But an intriguing new study from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology scientists suggests that some heart attack patients with these conditions may actually benefit from mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing.

3 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Republicans reject their own market-based ideas; Analyzing entitlement spending; Access to after-hours care reduces ER visits

It's harder and harder for politicians on the right to think straight about health care. Conservatives once genuinely interested in finding market-based ways for the government to expand health insurance coverage have, since the rise of Obamacare, made choices that are dysfunctional, even from their own perspective. Start with the decision of the vast majority of Republican governors to refuse to set up the state insurance exchanges required under the law.

2 Jan 2013

Poor awareness, misunderstanding hinder palliative care for heart failure

A lack of awareness among heart failure patients prevents them accessing palliative care services during the late stages of their disease, indicate US study findings.

2 Jan 2013

Prompt smoking cessation important for patients to receive CABG

Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the surgery and may lead to later graft failure, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

2 Jan 2013

Study highlights value of defibrillators in typical medical settings

Patients who received an implantable heart defibrillator in everyday practice had survival benefits on par with those who received the same devices in carefully controlled clinical trials, according to a new study that highlights the value of defibrillators in typical medical settings.

1 Jan 2013

Improvement needed in at-home cardiac care for elderly

Elderly patients with coronary heart disease who refuse an offer of center-based cardiac rehabilitation and receive an at-home plan instead fare no better after 12 months than their counterparts who receive usual care, report researchers.

31 Dec 2012

Oral Eliquis receives FDA approval for treatment of clots in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the anti-clotting drug Eliquis (apixaban), an oral tablet used to reduce the risk of stroke and dangerous blood clots (systemic embolism) in patients with atrial fibrillation that is not caused by a heart valve problem.

29 Dec 2012

Developer of Boron Neuron Capture Therapy bestowed National Medal of Science honor

President Barack Obama named University of Missouri researcher M. Frederick Hawthorne as recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the country to scientists. Hawthorne is the director of the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri, as well as Curators' Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Radiology.

29 Dec 2012

Behavioral changes and discipline needed to lose weight

Losing weight and saving money are perenially the top New Year's resolutions made by many Americans. But both require behavioral changes and a certain amount of discipline.

29 Dec 2012

Heart transplant patient becomes unexpected ambassador for organ donation

Kevin Riepl arrived at Cedars-Sinai in October 2010, suffering from sudden heart failure that left him fighting for his life. Surgeons swiftly installed a heart pump and later transplanted a new heart, saving his life and turning him into an unexpected ambassador for organ donation.

29 Dec 2012

MBL Physiology course has a positive 'real research' impact on students

What happens when graduate students in biology are given the freedom to play, dabble in new fields, launch into the unknowns of genuine research, not worry about getting "good" results?

29 Dec 2012