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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

More work ahead in TB drug development, treatment delivery

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the tuberculosis (TB) drug Sirturo, also known as bedaquiline, "appears to be just the first step in an exciting renaissance for TB drug development," Mark Harrington, executive director of Treatment Action Group (TAG), writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

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

Perceived reduction in penis size linked to regrets of prostate cancer treatment choice

A small percentage of men in a prostate cancer study complained that their penis seemed shorter following treatment, with some saying that it interfered with intimate relationships and caused them to regret the type of treatment they chose.

3 Jan 2013

Hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies face changing marketplace

A report by federal health care inspectors in November said the U.S. nursing home industry overbills Medicare $1.5 billion a year for treatments patients don't need or never receive.

3 Jan 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists uncover itch-specific nerve cells in skin

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

UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine establishes Biomarker Discovery Center

Following recent discoveries by its researchers that could significantly change the diagnosis and treatment of a number of diseases, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Osteopathic Medicine has established the Biomarker Discovery Center on its Stratford campus.

3 Jan 2013

New computer-based approach can predict adverse reactions of drugs

Side effects are a major reason that drugs are taken off the market and a major reason why patients stop taking their medications, but scientists are now reporting the development of a new way to predict those adverse reactions ahead of time.

3 Jan 2013

Banning thimerosal from vaccines could hinder achievements in global childhood immunization

"Thanks to a herculean effort by health advocates, 78 percent of children in low-income countries receive the basic set of childhood vaccines, covering diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza," a Bloomberg View editorial states.

3 Jan 2013

Salix receives FDA approval for crofelemer to treat HIV-associated diarrhea

On New Year's Eve of 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of crofelemer (Fulyzaq, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Raleigh, North Carolina) — marking the second time a botanical, and the first time an orally administered botanical, has received drug approval from the Administration.

3 Jan 2013

Roundup: Medicaid waiver challenges in Texas; Detailing Sandy's impact on NYC's mental care

By 2012's end, health care providers across Texas will have submitted proposals to state leaders to transform the way they care for the poor and uninsured. They have been spurred by a Medicaid waiver Texas officials sought and received in 2011 from the federal government, one that ties financing to cooperation, cost efficiency and better patient outcomes.

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

Few hepatitis C patients receive complete treatment

Less than 10% of patients with hepatitis C receive the treatment they need to achieve a sustained virologic response, results from a systematic review show.

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

Females students drink more intensively in shorter periods of time

Researchers from the HealthyFit group at the University of Vigo have studied university students' lifestyles; their analysis, which includes alcohol and illegal drug consumption habits, sport and food, concludes that most students indulge in unhealthy behaviour. One of the main results of the study is the high consumption of alcohol.

29 Dec 2012

Common cholesterol-lowering drug may help protect against cerebral malaria

Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria.

29 Dec 2012

Hepatitis C virus takes over invaded cell by hijacking protein making machinery

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have figured out intimate details of how the hepatitis C virus takes over an invaded cell, a breakthrough that could point to way for new treatments for the virus.

29 Dec 2012

Infertility treatment may raise childhood asthma risk

Children born after infertility treatment are at increased risk for asthma, results of a large cohort study indicate.

28 Dec 2012

New light on how epigenetic signals may function together to determine fate of stem cell

Long-standing research efforts have been focused on understanding how stem cells, cells capable of transforming into any type of cell in the body, are capable of being programmed down a defined path to contribute to the development of a specific organ like a heart, lung, or kidney. Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has shed new light on how epigenetic signals may function together to determine the ultimate fate of a stem cell.

28 Dec 2012

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe.

28 Dec 2012