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Acetaminophen over-use can lead to serious liver damage

Common pain and fever Acetaminophen (best known by the brand name Tylenol) taken over a long time can cause liver failure and death, according to a new study.

24 Nov 2011

Study finds use of retail clinics rising

Researchers from the RAND Corporation found a dramatic increase in adults seeking care at clinics in drugs stores and other outlets.

24 Nov 2011

Transplantation of tissue-engineered windpipe can benefit patients with tracheal cancer

Tracheal tumors can be surgically removed, but most are too large for the surgery to be successful by the time they are discovered. Therefore, new therapeutic options are needed. Even in patients with operable tumors, the proportion of complete tumor resection is less than 60%. This outcome would be greatly improved if a trachea substitute with similar anatomical, physiological and biomechanical properties of the patient's original trachea were available.

24 Nov 2011

Congress facing deadline on Medicare payments to doctors

Preventing the cut in Medicare payments to doctors is estimated to cost more than $20 billion next year. It is considered a near certainty that Congress will address it because of the clout that Medicare and doctors have with lawmakers. Within minutes of Monday's announcement that the supercommittee had failed, the American Medical Association was warning that the 27 percent cut would "force many physicians to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they can care for in their practices."

24 Nov 2011

No variation in mortality by timing of operation

The timing of surgical procedures—afternoon versus morning or Friday versus Monday—doesn't affect the risk of death after surgery, concludes a study in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Nov 2011

First systematic and in-depth analysis of cardiac arrest in hospital

Only a few decades ago, sudden cardiac arrest was a death sentence. Today, a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is saved roughly once every six hours in Sweden, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reviewing all cases of sudden cardiac arrest over a 30-year period.

24 Nov 2011

Study looks at effects of antipsychotic drugs on two brain receptors linked to schizophrenia

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, have identified the pattern of cell signaling induced by antipsychotic drugs in a complex composed of two brain receptors linked to schizophrenia.

24 Nov 2011

Combination of radiation treatment and LY2109761 can prevent glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is regarded as the most malignant form of brain tumor. In many cases, neurosurgeons are not able to remove such tumors completely because of the risk of destroying too much brain tissue in the process. Moreover, it is often impossible to identify all the fine extensions by which the tumor spreads into surrounding healthy tissue. To at least slow down the growth of tumor cells that have remained in the head, almost all glioblastoma patients are treated by radiotherapy after surgery.

24 Nov 2011

RCHT deploys Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of IT data storage systems

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) has selected Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of their disparate IT data storage systems in order to gain insight into performance and capacity information to proactively manage storage resources.

24 Nov 2011

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

When seeking a physician, you should look for one with experience. Right? Maybe not. Research on physicians' decision-making processes has revealed that those who pay attention to failures as well as successes become more adept at selecting the correct treatment.

24 Nov 2011

RaySearch reports net sales of SEK 80.3 M for JANUARY 1 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

RaySearch Laboratories: JANUARY 1 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. Net sales for the period totaled SEK 80.3 M.

24 Nov 2011

Health industry raising alarms about cuts to Medicare after super committee failure

Automatic Medicare cuts triggered by the congressional super committee's failure would hit hospitals harder than any other health industry, according to an analysis from Avalere Health. The report puts hard numbers to across-the-board cuts that stakeholders have mostly viewed in broad, general terms. But Avalere chief executive Dan Mendelson cautioned that the figures also assume the automatic cuts will actually happen - an assumption he's not ready to make.

24 Nov 2011

New Techna Institute at UHN signs first agreement with INO

The new Techna Institute at University Health Network (UHN) has signed its first agreement with INO of Quebec City and Hamilton.

24 Nov 2011

Urban legend warns about dangers of snow shoveling

Urban legend warns shoveling snow causes heart attacks, and the legend seems all too accurate, especially for male wintery excavators with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. However, until recently this warning was based on anecdotal reports.

24 Nov 2011

Uncommon genetic deletions associated with short stature

New research sifts through the entire genome of thousands of human subjects to look for genetic variation associated with height. The results of the study, published by Cell Press in the December issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggest that uncommon genetic deletions are associated with short stature.

24 Nov 2011

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

Some California hospitals would take a significant and long-lasting hit from Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts recently approved by CMS, according to the California Hospital Association, which this week filed a petition in federal court to put a temporary halt to those reductions. CHA's lawsuit and injunction request are separate from the court action taken earlier this week by the California Medical Association and other provider organizations.

24 Nov 2011

Two-drug combination may alleviate radiation sickness in people

A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred, according to a study led by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.

24 Nov 2011

Stress chemicals shut down and brain processes emotional experiences during REM sleep

They say time heals all wounds, and new research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.

24 Nov 2011

BUSM professor receives 2011 ACN Communication Media Award

Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, director of the General Clinical Research Unit and professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) was selected by the American College of Nutrition (ACN) Awards Committee as the 2011 recipient of the ACN Communication Media Award.

23 Nov 2011

CIC microGUNE and Biodonostia test a new technique for evaluating intestinal diseases in patients

The CIC microGUNE research centre and the Biodonostia Institute have recently started testing a new technique for assessing the severity of inflammatory intestinal diseases, such as Crohn's Disease, in patients at the Donostia Hospital.

23 Nov 2011