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CPCs not powerful enough to be used as a single tool in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction

Using chest pain characteristics (CPCs) specific to women in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack) in the emergency department does not seem to be supported by the findings of a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

27 Nov 2013

E-cigarettes pose a new route to nicotine addiction for kids

E-cigarettes have been widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Now, in the first study of its kind, UC San Francisco researchers are reporting that, at the point in time they studied, youth using e-cigarettes were more likely to be trying to quit, but also were less likely to have stopped smoking and were smoking more, not less.

27 Nov 2013

Health benefits of eating almonds

As Americans sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, they often wish their family and friends good health and a long life. Good news! With nuts like almonds on the table, these sentiments are more than just a traditional toast.

27 Nov 2013

RSNA and Regenstrief Institute partner to standardize radiology procedure names

Under a contract awarded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the developers of two advanced medical terminologies have begun work to harmonize and unify terms for radiology procedures. Creating standardized radiology procedure names will improve the quality, consistency and interoperability of radiology test results in electronic medical record systems and health information exchange.

27 Nov 2013

HIV test for new inmates may not yield new diagnoses, says study

More than 90 percent of HIV-infected inmates entering prison in North Carolina had previously tested positive for the virus, according to a study published in the November 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Nov 2013

Advances in cardiovascular sciences to be discussed at University of Leicester

Advances in Cardiovascular Sciences are to be showcased in two public lectures at the University of Leicester.

27 Nov 2013

More nuts, more health benefits

In a large new study, observational researchers at Harvard University looked at how eating nuts may help reduce the risk of mortality, finding that those who ate nuts daily, such as pistachios, saw health benefits nearly double.

27 Nov 2013

More than three-quarters of parents are willing to have their children participate in research

To improve healthcare for children, medical research that involves kids is a must. Yet, only five percent of parents say their children have ever participated in any type of medical research, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

27 Nov 2013

Genetics and cardiovascular drugs: an interview with Nancy Lurker, CEO of PDI and Paul Kinnon, CEO of Transgenomic, Inc.

People inherit different versions of any particular gene, and some genes affect how patients process and metabolize medicines. This especially holds true for people with cardiovascular (CV) disease. They may be fast, slow or non-metabolizers and might also react badly (with serious adverse events) to certain drug therapies or not at all.

27 Nov 2013

Smaller micropolitan areas of the U.S. have very few rheumatologists

A novel study published in the American College of Rheumatology journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism, shows that smaller micropolitan areas of the U.S.-those with less than 50,000 people-have very few or no practicing adult rheumatologist. In some of these areas, individuals have to travel more than 200 miles to reach the closest rheumatologist.

27 Nov 2013

OPOs’ efforts to enforce FPA is inconsistent and incomplete, shows study

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the 2006 Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) or enacted similar legislation giving individuals the "First Person Authorization" (FPA) to consent to organ donation after death via a signed donor card or driver's license, or by enrollment in a donor registry.

27 Nov 2013

Health insurance coverage does not increase risky behavior

People with health insurance are more likely to use preventive services such as flu shots and health screenings to reduce their risk of serious illness, but they are no more likely than people without health insurance to engage in risky health behaviors such as smoking or gaining weight, researchers at UC Davis and University of Rochester have found.

27 Nov 2013

EPCs: A promising therapy for type 1 diabetes

Pancreatic islet transplantation is a promising therapy for treating type 1 diabetes, but the majority of transplanted cells die soon after they are transplanted.

27 Nov 2013

UMass Medical School licenses "anti-gal" technology to Agalimmune

The University of Massachusetts Medical School has licensed "anti-gal" technology developed by Professor of Surgery and Medicine Uri Galili, PhD, to newly formed biopharmaceutical company Agalimmune Ltd. for the purpose of developing innovative immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. Agalimmune is supported by an investment group comprising Loxbridge Research LLP and Animatrix Capital LLP and is based in London and California.

27 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Local political fallout from Obama insurance pledge; 'debunking' sob story; is single payer still a possibility?

Democratic state leaders have been some of ObamaCare's strongest advocates. To show his gratitude, President Obama is sticking them with political responsibility for the millions of insurance policies that are being cancelled because they don't comply with the law's minimum-benefits mandates. ... Renewing lapsed policies could weaken the state exchanges as healthy young people will want to keep their discontinued, lower-cost plans ... there are other political considerations. Namely, the criticism they'll face from both the right and left if they don't back the president's directive to allow policy renewals (Allysia Finley, 11/25).

27 Nov 2013

H1N1 virus killed more people globally than originally believed, confirms study

A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study, which appears online in PLOS Medicine, suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.

27 Nov 2013

Restoring helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients with RCDI, find scientists

Scientists at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and physicians at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD, have found that restoring the normal, helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients suffering from recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. Transplanting fecal matter of healthy donors into patients with recurrent C. difficile infection appears to restore normal bacterial composition and resolve infection.

27 Nov 2013

Alcohol use disorders contribute more significantly to disease burden

Disorders related to the abuse of alcohol contribute significantly to the burden of disease in the U.S., finds a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Researchers estimated that in 2005, about 53,000 men and 12,000 women died from issues related to alcohol use disorders.

27 Nov 2013

Customized palliative care can reduce health care costs, improve care for high-risk geriatric patients

For high-risk geriatric patients, improved palliative care that is matched to their changing needs at home can reduce emergency room visits, reduce health care costs, and improve overall care. Current gaps in policy and practice that block implementation of these beneficial customized care models are presented in the article "Research Priorities in Geriatric Palliative Care: Policy Initiatives," published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

27 Nov 2013

Breakthrough discovery could lead to development of future therapeutics for prostate cancer

Drs. Andrew Goldstein, Owen Witte, and Tanya Stoyanova and their colleagues from UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have found that prostate cancer can develop in one type of stem cell, then evolve to be maintained by a stem cell that looks very different, making prostate cancer stem cells a "moving target" for treatments. The breakthrough discovery connects directly to the development of future therapeutics that target cancer and was published online ahead of print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Nov 2013