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Immune-promoting drugs may control recurrent disease

Nearly half of the 700,000 cancer patients who undergo surgical removal of a primary tumor each year suffer a recurrence of their disease at some point, and many of those patients will eventually die from their disease.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers develop unique approach to calpain inhibition

Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. As such, finding and exploiting calpain inhibitors is an important area of research.

28 Dec 2012

Implementation of appropriateness criteria required for elective procedures

Many of the most common inpatient surgeries in the United States are performed electively. These surgeries are expected to significantly increase with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.

27 Dec 2012

Alzheimer's disease or FTLD can be effectively tracked using MRI

When trying to determine the root cause of a person's dementia, using an MRI can effectively and non-invasively screen patients for Alzheimer's disease or Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

27 Dec 2012

Winter is not a good excuse to give up fitness routines

The weather outside might be frightful, but sitting by that fire might make your fitness routine frightful. Though your body may be layered under sweatshirts and coats, staying active and healthy is important no matter what the temperature is outside.

27 Dec 2012

Study on prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis among U.S. soldiers

Among deployed U.S. service members who died of combat or unintentional injuries between 2001-2011 and underwent autopsies, the prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis was 8.5 percent, with factors associated with a higher prevalence of the disease including older age, lower educational level and prior diagnoses of dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Dec 2012

Children diagnosed with food allergies experience bullying

Nearly a third of children diagnosed with food allergies who participated in a recent study are bullied, according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Almost eight percent of children in the U.S. are allergic to foods such as peanuts, tree-nuts, milk, eggs, and shellfish.

25 Dec 2012

Study suggests genetic component in pain response among children

At least two common gene variants are linked to "clinically meaningful" differences in pain scores in children after major surgery, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

25 Dec 2012

Children with chronic conditions use more resources at hospitals

Children with chronic conditions increasingly used more resources in a group of children's hospitals compared with patients without a chronic condition, according to a report that analyzed data from 28 U.S. children's hospitals between 2004 and 2009, and is being published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Parkinson’s: an interview with Steve Ford, CEO of Parkinson’s UK

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that is caused when brain cells, that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, start to die.

24 Dec 2012

Bipolar subtypes have differing personality traits

Results from a Korean study show how personality trait patterns differ between patients with bipolar I and II disorder.

22 Dec 2012

Study demonstrates safety of using tPA for stroke in community hospital settings

From the moment a stroke occurs, patients must race against the clock to get treatment that can prevent lasting damage. Now, a new study shows the promise – and the challenges – of getting them state-of-the-art treatment safely at their local hospital, saving precious minutes.

21 Dec 2012

Gene therapy shows promise for severe coronary artery disease

Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels.

21 Dec 2012

Republicans press Obama administration for information on contractors

GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee say they want more information from the Department of Health and Human Services, even as House and Senate GOP lawmakers pressed for details about the contractors who will set up insurance markets in states that don't do it themselves.

21 Dec 2012

Mobile technologies helping mothers receive health information

"Twenty years ago this month, the first text message was sent through the airwaves," Sharon D'Agostino, vice president for worldwide corporate contributions and community relations at Johnson & Johnson, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, adding, "Since then, text messages have been used to communicate all sorts of information.

21 Dec 2012

Ambulance diversion not an effective way to control emergency department crowding

Massachusetts' 2009 ban on ambulance diversion not only did not increase emergency department length of stay or ambulance turnaround time but may actually have led to improvements in both areas, according to a study published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("The Effect of an Ambulance Diversion Ban on Emergency Department Length of Stay and Ambulance Turnaround Time").

21 Dec 2012

Feds OK health insurance exchange plans for three more states; Other 'Obamacare' implementation news

The Obama administration gave conditional approvals to Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island, saying they will be ready to open new insurance markets in 2014, as required under the health care law. Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper indicates he's likely to push for Medicaid expansion.

21 Dec 2012

Cubist seeks FDA sNDA approval for ENTEREG to accelerate GI recovery

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) today announced that it has submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting approval for the use of ENTEREG® (alvimopan) to accelerate GI recovery following any surgery that includes a bowel resection with primary anastomosis; expanded from the current indication in patients requiring surgery for colorectal disease.

21 Dec 2012

Molecule imitating a virus may trigger inappropriate immune response

Why would our immune system turn against our own cells? This is the question that the combined Inserm/CNRS/ Pierre and Marie Curie University/Association Institut de Myologie have strived to answer in their "Therapies for diseases of striated muscle", concentrating in particular on the auto-immune disease known as myasthenia gravis.

21 Dec 2012

Research Roundup: Health law's under-26 coverage 'significantly increased' access to care; Thousands of surgical 'never events' occur each year

The health law allows young adults to remain under their parents' health insurance plans until age 26, raising questions about the law's overall impact on access to care. Researchers used data from two nationally representative surveys to compare young adults who've gained access to dependent coverage to a control group of individuals (ages 26-34) unaffected by the new policy.

21 Dec 2012