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Study investigates prolonged pathological outcomes of traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of South Florida and colleagues at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital studying the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury using rat models, have found that, overtime, TBI results in progressive brain deterioration characterized by elevated inflammation and suppressed cell regeneration.

7 Jan 2013

Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

7 Jan 2013

JAMA column outlines need for frozen, larger specimens in DNA-sequencing era

Genetic sequencing technology is altering the way cancer is diagnosed and treated, but traditional specimen handling methods threaten to slow that progress.

7 Jan 2013

Health care and the shakeout from the fiscal cliff

News outlets parse the particulars of how the fiscal deal will impact the health care system, and how the health industry is bracing for the next rounds in the budget battles.

7 Jan 2013

Researchers find link between brain infections and climate in sub-Saharan Africa

The amount of rainfall affects the number of infant infections leading to hydrocephalus in Uganda, according to a team of researchers who are the first to demonstrate that these brain infections are linked to climate.

7 Jan 2013

Researchers discover new pathway to reduce paradoxical pain

For individuals with agonizing pain, it is a cruel blow when the gold-standard medication actually causes more pain. Adults and children whose pain gets worse when treated with morphine may be closer to a solution, based on research published in the January 6 on-line edition of Nature Neuroscience.

7 Jan 2013

Research roundup: Gearing children's hospitals for future patients; Inappropriate care decreases, but not 'enough'; What patients think about testing

Researchers in this study examined the use of children's hospitals by relatively healthy children and those "with chronic conditions of varying medical complexity" from 2004 to 2009.

6 Jan 2013

Diabetes as a risk factor for depression

Diabetes is associated with a significantly increased risk for depressive symptoms, show findings from a large meta-analysis.

4 Jan 2013

Obesity impact on lumbar disc herniation management confirmed

Obese patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniation are significantly more likely to opt for surgery than their healthy weight counterparts but derive less benefit, SPORT findings suggest.

4 Jan 2013

Training can improve inpatient record documentation

The accuracy and completeness of inpatient medical records can be significantly improved with clinical interventions designed to develop quality record keeping, research shows.

4 Jan 2013

Raising transfusion threshold improves acute upper GI bleeding outcomes

Outcomes among patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding can be improved by employing a restrictive transfusion strategy that raises the threshold for the transfusion of red cells, the results of a Spanish study indicate.

4 Jan 2013

Psychologic treatment has long-term benefits for bipolar patients

Psychoeducation and cognitive behavioral therapy combined with pharmacologic treatment provides significant long-term benefits for patients with refractory bipolar disorder, researchers report.

4 Jan 2013

Local conjunctival metastases ‘may be under-recognized’

Local conjunctival metastases may represent under-recognized lesions arising from the dissemination of primary conjunctival melanoma via local vessels, suggest findings published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

4 Jan 2013

Paper provides comprehensive assessment of motor performance after cervical spinal cord injury

More than half of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in humans are cervical lesions, resulting in chronic loss of limb function. A better understanding of the link between the neurologic damage caused by SCI, spontaneous motor function recovery, and long-term motor deficits would lead to better therapeutic approaches, as discussed in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The

4 Jan 2013

Concord Medical acquires 19.98% of indirect ownership of MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, announced today that it has closed the acquisition of 19.98% of indirect ownership of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Proton Therapy Center (MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center).

4 Jan 2013

A closer look at latest 'doc fix'

As part of the fiscal deal, a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payment rates was postponed -- but its 10-year price tag is being borne by other health care players, especially hospitals.

4 Jan 2013

1 in 4 survey participants secretly create concoctions

A study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) suggests food concocting - the making of strange food mixtures like mashed potatoes and Oreo cookies, frozen vegetables mixed with mayonnaise, and chips with lemon, pork rinds, Italian dressing and salt - is common among binge eaters. The findings, available online and to be published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, reveal that 1 in 4 survey participants secretly create concoctions.

4 Jan 2013

Despite uncertainty, 2012 was good year for hospital stocks

Hospital stocks ended 2012 posting big gains despite a year that was filled with uncertainty regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. When the closing bell rang Dec. 31, HCA, Nashville, the largest investor-owned chain, was trading 37% higher than it was on the last trading day of 2011.

4 Jan 2013

Study questions need for routine repeated CT scans in patients with mild head trauma

When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a report in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

4 Jan 2013

States consider licensing dental therapists to fill cavities -- and care gap

A shortage of dentists spurred Minnesota to license dental therapists, and several other states may follow suit, USA Today reports. Meanwhile, a health plan in rural South Dakota and Minnesota is hiring Native American healers as consultants.

4 Jan 2013