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Medical journals facing raft of ethical, transparency challenges

The New York Times, Connecticut Mirror and MedPage Today examine how prominent journals are handling questions about their independence or integrity.

18 Apr 2012

Early intervention of biologic therapies improves outcome for Crohn's disease

A large-scale study of medical claims data shows that introducing sophisticated biologic therapies early in the course of treatment for Crohn's disease improves response to medication and reduces the need for surgery.

18 Apr 2012

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus senses and reacts to host cell's impending death

A research team led by Children's National Medical Center has identified a trigger that causes latent Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) to rapidly replicate itself. KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and other cancers that commonly affect immunocompromised patients, including those with AIDS.

18 Apr 2012

Voluntary testing, counseling for HIV decreases unprotected sex acts among cocaine, heroin users

Voluntary testing and counseling (VT/C) for HIV or sexually transmitted infections (STI) among cocaine and heroin users who were treated in the emergency department (ED), accompanied by referral to drug treatment, was associated with reduction in unprotected sex acts and fewer sex acts while high according to researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC).

18 Apr 2012

A guide to catch and treat hypertension early in children

High blood pressure in children and adolescents is a growing health problem that is often overlooked by physicians, according to a University of Michigan Health System article published in American Family Physician that offers doctors a guide to catching and treating hypertension early.

18 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: White House makes its case on cutting Medicare but one critic isn't buying the 'shared sacrifice'

These officials say the administration has also made modest but important progress in controlling Medicare spending, the biggest debt driver. The budget raises some Medicare premiums on high-income retirees and increases some deductibles.

18 Apr 2012

Though costly, helicopter trips save lives of seriously injured trauma patients

Seriously injured trauma patients transported to hospitals by helicopter are 16 percent more likely to survive than similarly injured patients brought in by ground ambulance, new Johns Hopkins research shows.

18 Apr 2012

IMRT better than CRT for treatment of localized prostate cancer

A treatment for localized prostate cancer known as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is better than conventional conformal radiation therapy (CRT) for reducing certain side effects and preventing cancer recurrence, according to a study published in the April 18, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Apr 2012

Positive and negative outcomes of physical rehabilitation response after 2010 Haiti earthquake

A new evaluation by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine of the physical rehabilitation response after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, finds that many hands didn't always make light work.

18 Apr 2012

Tumor size helps predict survival in node-negative breast cancer patients

Research from investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), UMDNJ-School of Public Health (SPH) and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, indicates that tumor size stratified by age, race and hormone receptor status helps predict survival in node-negative breast cancer patients.

18 Apr 2012

Excessive gestational weight gain as problematic as pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity

One out of every two women of reproductive age is overweight or obese. Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, from the University of Ottawa (faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences) and from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute set out to discover if overweight or obese women are in fact more likely to give birth to above average weight babies, as reported in the Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

18 Apr 2012

Caffeine increases eye's ability to produce tears

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's School of Medicine have shown for the first time that caffeine intake can significantly increase the eye's ability to produce tears, a finding that could improve treatment of dry eye syndrome. This common eye condition affects about four million people age 50 and older in the United States.

18 Apr 2012

Allied Healthcare announces Coridon license to vector technology

Allied Healthcare Group (ASX: AHZ) has announced an update on the progress of Coridon, its investment company founded by Professor Ian Frazer and working on developing the next generation of vaccines. Included in these activities, Cordon has entered into a license agreement with Nature Technology Corporation (NTC) and has contracted VGXI Inc. in the US for production of clinical material for the Phase I study scheduled to begin later this year.

17 Apr 2012

DePuy Spine launches VIPER F2 at AANS

DePuy Spine, Inc. has announced the launch of the VIPER® F2 Transfacet Pedicular System (VIPER F2), a transfacet pedicular screw and polyaxial ring system designed to provide stabilization and fixation during degenerative lumbar spinal fusion procedures.

17 Apr 2012

Mission to curtail unnecessary medical testing

Dr. Christine K. Cassel, president and CEO of the ABIM claims to be looking at the big picture. "The campaign is not about rationing or withholding proper care. On the contrary; if waste is not reduced, there will be less money for the care that is necessary," she said. "If we don't as a community collectively address this cost issue, then there's a whole lot of people that aren't going to get the care that they need."

17 Apr 2012

Intervertebral disc repair phase 2 trial update from Mesoblast

Global regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) has announced that its Phase 2 clinical trial investigating the use of allogeneic, or off-the-shelf, Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) for non-surgical restoration of degenerated intervertebral discs and treatment of low back pain has enrolled 50% of the total study patients. This rapid rate of enrolment attests to the major unmet medical need and to the relative simplicity of Mesoblast’s non-surgical procedure. Mesoblast expects to complete full enrolment by early third quarter.

17 Apr 2012

CSL Behring commits donations to World Federation of Hemophilia GAP program

To mark World Hemophilia Day 2012, CSL Behring has again committed to making significant financial contributions and donations of clotting factor concentrate to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) program over the period of three years, beginning in 2012. The product donations will be made with medicine having a minimum shelf-life of one year.

17 Apr 2012

MU wins Jeanne M. Priester Award for mind-body interaction program

The belief that the mind plays an integral role in physical health dates back to the earliest days of medicine. The Greek physician Hippocrates, often referred to as the founder of medicine, wrote "natural forces within us are the true healers of disease." A University of Missouri team has tapped into the science and practice of this mind-body interaction to develop an innovative and award-winning program.

17 Apr 2012

Two-thirds of adults support single-dose packaging to avoid accidental poisoning

Unintentional poisonings from medicines cause more emergency room visits for young children each year than do car accidents.

17 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: The missing debate on women; The true cost of care; Fair wages for home health aides

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just reported that the nation's teen pregnancy rate is at an all-time low. Increased contraceptive use appears to have played a significant role in the decline. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that without Title X services, hundreds of thousands more teenagers would become pregnant every year. Why does GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney think eliminating the federal money for family planning - $327 million annually - is wise?

17 Apr 2012