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Anti-TNF-α therapy reduces CVD risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibit a sub-clinical vasculitis that may underlie their increased risk for cardiovascular disease, shows research.

5 Nov 2012

Pradaxa use does not appear to increase serious bleeding

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the results of a Mini-Sentinel assessment that indicates bleeding rates associated with new use of Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) capsules do not appear to be higher than bleeding rates associated with new use of warfarin, which is consistent with observations from the pivotal RE-LY trial.

4 Nov 2012

House Republicans appear to have thwarted Democratic attack on Medicare

Attacking Paul Ryan's Medicare plan -; once seen as the most potent weapon in House Democrats' campaign arsenal -; is turning out to be a dud. Democratic leaders have hit Medicare harder than any other issue for more than a year, even calling Ryan's plan a "majority-maker."

4 Nov 2012

Doctor self-referrals for advanced imaging cost Medicare $100M in 2010

According to a Government Accountability Office report, doctors who referred patients for tests involving advanced imaging machines that they or a family member owned cost Medicare more than $100 million in 2010.

2 Nov 2012

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjó-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia.

2 Nov 2012

FoXTROT results: preoperative chemo could become new standard

Preoperative chemotherapy is a feasible option for resectable advanced colon cancer, show results of the FoXTROT trial.

1 Nov 2012

Ischemic stroke: an interview with Dr Gregory Ford

A stroke is a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients. Approximately two millions brain cells die each minute during a stroke. This can lead to brain damage, physical and mental disability and death.

1 Nov 2012

Varian highlights numerous lung cancer treatment systems at ASTRO meeting

Varian Medical Systems highlighted the company's technologies for the non-invasive treatment of lung cancer at the 54th annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Boston this week.

1 Nov 2012

Biomarker discovery offers hope for lung cancer blood test

Blood levels of a variant form of the nuclear matrix protein Ciz1 are significantly higher in individuals with early- and late-stage lung cancer than in lung cancer-free individuals, researchers report.

31 Oct 2012

Ultra-high performance SPECT systems announced by MILabs

MILabs, B.V. the Netherlands‐based innovator and manufacturer of pre‐clinical SPECT/PET/CT imaging devices announces the release of the Plus! Systems: the U‐SPECT+ and U‐SPECT+ /CT.

29 Oct 2012

NHS should implement a non-invasive alternative to autopsies

The NHS should implement a non-invasive alternative to autopsies, according to a Department of Health-commissioned report by leading UK experts within the field of post-mortem cross-sectional imaging.

29 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare provider cuts 'won't work'; A 'pamphlet isn't a plan'

Once the presidential election is over, Congress will try to address the Medicare cost shortfall one way or another. They will almost certainly consider a method that is guaranteed to fail: Medicare rate cuts for doctors and hospitals. It's been tried before, most notably as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Not once since the BBA required annual physician rate cuts have those cuts been implemented, leading every year to the predictable and depressing final-hours "doc fix" vote.

26 Oct 2012

UWCCC enrolls first patient in Phase 1-2 PET imaging trial of LIGHT for solid tumors

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, today announced that the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, a leading oncology research institution, has enrolled the first patient in a Phase 1-2 positron emission tomography (PET) imaging trial of I-124-CLR1404, a cancer-targeted PET imaging agent, in patients with nine solid tumor types, including triple negative breast, soft tissue sarcoma, colorectal, gastric, esophageal, prostate, ovarian, pancreatic and head & neck cancer.

26 Oct 2012

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

In a sign of the improving national economy, Medicaid spending growth this year slowed to 2 percent as enrollment in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor also slowed for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday. In 2011, Medicaid spending soared by nearly 10 percent, which helped put the entitlement program in the crosshairs of politicians looking to lower the federal deficit and ease pressure on state budgets.

26 Oct 2012

Focused ultrasound technology safe, effective in treating patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson's

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation today announced a new clinical trial investigating the use of focused ultrasound technology in treating patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease.

25 Oct 2012

Scientists develop new breast cancer screening method with less radiation

Scientists have developed a way to produce three-dimensional X-ray images of the breast at a radiation dose that is lower than the 2D radiography methods used in clinics today. The new method enables the production of 3D diagnostic computed tomography (CT) images with a spatial resolution 2-3 times higher than present hospital scanners, but with a radiation dose that is about 25 times lower.

25 Oct 2012

Combination of phase contrast tomography and EST can produce high-quality 3D breast images

Like cleaning the lenses of a foggy pair of glasses, scientists are now able to use a technique developed by UCLA researchers and their European colleagues to produce three-dimensional images of breast tissue that are two to three times sharper than those made using current CT scanners at hospitals. The technique also uses a lower dose of X-ray radiation than a mammogram.

23 Oct 2012

X-ray technology improves early detection of pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is considered the fourth most common cause of death in the United States. Usually the precursor to this life-threatening lung disease is a chronic bronchitis. Partially destroyed alveoli and an over-inflation of the lungs, known as emphysema, are serious side effects. However, the subtle differences in the tissue are barely discernable in standard X-ray images.

23 Oct 2012

AAP announces national winners of 2012 Children's Art Contest

Winners of the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics Children's Art Contest were announced Saturday, Oct. 20 at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

22 Oct 2012

Study shows few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in hospital emergency department

Few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in the hospital emergency department, even when they complain of lower abdominal pain, or before they are exposed to radiation for tests or examinations, according to an abstract presented Friday, Oct. 19, at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

20 Oct 2012