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Cancer may have negative impact on health of individuals as they age

A new study indicates that cancer may have negative impacts on both the physical and mental health of individuals as they age. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study suggests that cancer increases the risk for certain health issues above and beyond normal aging. This is likely due, in part, to decreased physical activity and stress associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment.

9 May 2016

Medicare policy puts low-income Americans at increased risk for colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second highest cause of cancer death in the United States, expected to claim the lives of an estimated 49,190 people in 2016. The Affordable Care Act aimed to increase access to CRC screening by not holding patients responsible for all costs of the procedure, yet current Medicare insurance beneficiaries lacking supplemental insurance may not be able to afford colon cancer screening and treatment.

9 May 2016

Physicians come together for single-payer national health insurance reform

In a dramatic show of physician support for deeper health reform - and for making a decisive break with the private insurance model of financing medical care - 2,231 physicians called today [Thursday, May 5] for the creation of a publicly financed, single-payer national health program that would cover all Americans for all medically necessary care.

6 May 2016

Guide to advance directives: an interview with Dr Lisa Price

An advance directive is a very specific legal document that details the medical treatments you want, and, importantly, don’t want, if you’re unable to communicate with a physician. This may happen as a result of a critical illness that could make you confused or unable to speak.

6 May 2016

Older adults experience greater survival rates after lung cancer surgery

Patients aged 65 years and older are living longer after lung cancer surgery, and with older people representing a rapidly growing proportion of patients diagnosed with lung cancer, this improved survival is especially significant, according to an article posted online today by The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

5 May 2016

High prevalence of depression alongside COPD can impact overall health, treatment effectiveness

Although there have been discussions about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition impacting 24 million Americans, and depression, there has been little research showing the impact depression has on patients with COPD. Two studies published in the April issue of the journal CHEST found one in four patients with COPD suffer from depressive symptoms, and if not treated, those symptoms can have a negative effect on their overall health and treatment effectiveness.

4 May 2016

Self-reported care delays linked to long waiting times in VA health coverage system

Military veterans are more likely to report delays in seeking necessary healthcare, compared to the US general population, reports a study in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

3 May 2016

Influence of psychiatric comorbidities on all-cause readmissions following elective spine surgery

Winner of the Robert Florin Resident Award, Owoicho Adogwa, MD, presented his research, Association Between Baseline Affective Disorders and 30-day Readmission Rates in Patients Undergoing Elective Spine Surgery, during the 2016 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

3 May 2016

New oral cancer drugs getting more expensive over time, study shows

New cancer drugs taken in pill form have become dramatically more expensive in their first year on the market compared with drugs launched 15 years ago, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study has found. The findings call into question the sustainability of a system that sets high prices at market entry in addition to rapidly increasing those prices over time.

30 Apr 2016

Increasing number of sickest liver transplant candidates delisted from wait list, study finds

The sickest liver transplant candidates should be first in line when a donor liver becomes available, but transplant centers are increasingly removing these individuals from the waiting list, considering them "too sick to transplant," an analysis of nationwide transplant data finds. The study appears online as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication.

29 Apr 2016

Nurse scientist asks health-care systems to set patients up for mortality cliff

Longer lifespans, due to advances in medicine and public health, mean people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions.

28 Apr 2016

New study explores factors that affect Medicare patient’s adherence to psoriasis biologic therapies

About half of Medicare patients who start taking biologic therapies for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis stop within a year, according to a new study led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

26 Apr 2016

Higher levels of neighborhood greenness linked to lower chronic disease risk

A new study of a quarter-million Miami-Dade County Medicare beneficiaries showed that higher levels of neighborhood greenness, including trees, grass and other vegetation, were linked to a significant reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses, particularly in low-to-middle income neighborhoods.

22 Apr 2016

Georgetown researchers report first case of Alzheimer's disease diagnosed in HIV-positive individual

Georgetown University researchers are reporting the first case of Alzheimer's disease diagnosed in an HIV-positive individual. The finding in a 71-year-old man triggers a realization about HIV survivors now reaching the age when Alzheimer's risk begins to escalate.

18 Apr 2016

False-positive mammogram results may have varied effects on subsequent screening behavior of women

Depending on when they received their last mammogram, women who receive a false-positive result are more or less likely to get screened at recommended intervals, according to preliminary findings from a University of North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Center study.

18 Apr 2016

Study shows Americans live longer, but in poor health

Americans are living longer but in poorer health, according to a new study. The USC-led study examined life expectancy trends and disability rates in a 40-year period, from 1970 to 2010. The analysis of U.S. vital statistics found that the average total lifespan increased for men and women in those 40 years, but so did the proportion of time spent living with a disability.

18 Apr 2016

Older men receiving testosterone therapy less likely to return to hospital

A new large-scale population-based study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston showed for the first time that older men using testosterone therapy were less likely to have complications that require them to go back to the hospital within a month of being discharged than men not using this therapy. The study is currently available in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

16 Apr 2016

New study links high-volume lung transplant centers with lower costs, readmissions

High-volume lung transplant centers have lower transplantation costs and their patients are less likely to be readmitted within 30 days of leaving the hospital following surgery, according to a new study of more than 3,000 Medicare patients who received lung transplants.

16 Apr 2016

National plan outlines milestones, strategies for Alzheimer's patient care and caregiver support

The National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) was signed into law in 2011. Over the past five years milestones have been identified to meet the plan's biomedical research goal. However, similar milestones have not been created for the goals on patient care and caregiver support.

13 Apr 2016

Study reveals low rates of targeted drug use among older black women with early-stage breast cancer

The advent of targeted drugs for a specific type of breast cancer - HER2 positive - has dramatically improved survival rates for women with the disease. But a study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center reveals low rates of use of a targeted drug among older women with early-stage breast cancer of this type, and even lower rates for older black women.

13 Apr 2016

Medicare News and Research

Cancer may have negative impact on health of individuals as they age

Medicare policy puts low-income Americans at increased risk for colorectal cancer

Physicians come together for single-payer national health insurance reform

Guide to advance directives: an interview with Dr Lisa Price

Older adults experience greater survival rates after lung cancer surgery

High prevalence of depression alongside COPD can impact overall health, treatment effectiveness

Self-reported care delays linked to long waiting times in VA health coverage system

Influence of psychiatric comorbidities on all-cause readmissions following elective spine surgery

New oral cancer drugs getting more expensive over time, study shows

Increasing number of sickest liver transplant candidates delisted from wait list, study finds

Nurse scientist asks health-care systems to set patients up for mortality cliff

New study explores factors that affect Medicare patient’s adherence to psoriasis biologic therapies

Higher levels of neighborhood greenness linked to lower chronic disease risk

Georgetown researchers report first case of Alzheimer's disease diagnosed in HIV-positive individual

False-positive mammogram results may have varied effects on subsequent screening behavior of women

Study shows Americans live longer, but in poor health

Older men receiving testosterone therapy less likely to return to hospital

New study links high-volume lung transplant centers with lower costs, readmissions

National plan outlines milestones, strategies for Alzheimer's patient care and caregiver support

Study reveals low rates of targeted drug use among older black women with early-stage breast cancer

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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