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Only about 75% of U.S. HIV/AIDS patients remain in care consistently

Only about 75 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in the United States remain in care consistently, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published online this week in AIDS. The study of patients across the United States is the first to provide a comprehensive national estimate of HIV care retention and information about patients who are most likely to continue their treatment over time.

7 Mar 2012

Aggressive treatment of severe TBI is cost-effective: Study

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated that aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury, which includes invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) and decompressive craniectomy, produces better patient outcomes than less aggressive measures and is cost-effective in patients no matter their age--even in patients 80 years of age.

6 Mar 2012

Marriage boosts survival following coronary artery bypass surgery

Married adults who undergo heart surgery are more than three times as likely as single people who have the same surgery to survive the next three months, a new study finds.

6 Mar 2012

FDA approves Discovery Labs' SURFAXIN to prevent Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a specialty biotechnology company dedicated to advancing a new standard in respiratory critical care, today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved SURFAXIN (lucinactant) for the prevention of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) in premature infants at high risk for RDS.

6 Mar 2012

Ivantis initiates enrollment in Hydrus Microstent study for open angle glaucoma

Ivantis announced the enrollment of the first patient in the Hydrus IV study today. The Hydrus Microstent is the world's first intracanalicular scaffold for treatment of primary open angle glaucoma, a disease that afflicts over 70 million people worldwide and approximately 3 million people in the United States.

6 Mar 2012

Leading AIDS experts issue new HIV guidelines

Leading AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and other institutions around the world have issued new guidelines to promote entry into and retention in HIV care, as well as adherence to HIV treatment, drawn from the results of 325 studies conducted with tens of thousands of people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

6 Mar 2012

AMA details concerns about payment policy changes for Medicare Part C, D

Modern Healthcare details the positions taken by the American Medical Association in response to recent changes proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Also, in related news, a new panel sets to work on improving the physician payment system.

6 Mar 2012

USA Wrestling to gain access to NYU Langone's orthopaedic experts

USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, announced today that the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center is an official sponsor and medical consultant, through September 2014.

6 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Statins and diabetes; Frightening tobacco warnings; The U.S. dental crisis

We're overdosing on cholesterol-lowering statins, and the consequence could be a sharp increase in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes. This past week, the Food and Drug Administration raised questions about the side effects of these drugs and developed new labels for these medications that will now warn of the risk of diabetes and memory loss.

6 Mar 2012

New AD marker can predict mental decline

A new marker of Alzheimer's disease can predict how rapidly a patient's memory and other mental abilities will decline after the disorder is diagnosed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

6 Mar 2012

WLDI announces program for current subscribers to obtain ODG Certification

Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI), publisher of Official Disability Guidelines (ODG), the nationally recognized, multi-disciplinary standard for evidence-based medicine for medical treatment and return-to-work, is pleased to announce a program for current subscribers to obtain ODG Certification.

6 Mar 2012

Children's academic achievement test scores not affected by intrauterine drug exposure

Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health along with Boston Medical Center have found children's academic achievement test scores not affected by intrauterine exposure to cocaine, tobacco or marijuana.

6 Mar 2012

HGVs pose increased risk of death and serious injury to cyclists

A study by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London and Barts and The London NHS Trust proves that HGVs pose the greatest risk of death and serious injury to cyclists.

6 Mar 2012

Penn-led team develops universal approach to personalized cancer therapy based on T cells

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report this month in Cancer Research a universal approach to personalized cancer therapy based on T cells. It is the first time a system for making an adaptable, engineered T-cell to attack specific tumor types has been proposed, depending on which abnormal proteins, called antigens, are expressed by individual patients' tumor cells.

6 Mar 2012

Mount Sinai researchers argue different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses

In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? In a pair of commentaries, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses.

6 Mar 2012

Tips to practice good sleep hygiene

The return of daylight saving time and losing an hour of sleep causes most to cringe at the thought. According to Aparajitha Verma, M.D., medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston, "springing forward" affects the sleep patterns of more than 70 million Americans. She offers some tips about how to practice good sleep hygiene before March 11 rolls around.

6 Mar 2012

WHO reports more than 900,000 lives saved because of HIV/TB care and prevention guidelines, releases updated version

"An estimated 910,000 lives were saved globally in six years due to guidelines intended to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS are protected from tuberculosis [TB], the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, releasing an updated policy on joint prevention, diagnosis and treatment of both diseases," the U.N. News Centre reports.

6 Mar 2012

Gamma Knife vs. craniotomy to treat epilepsy

For about 25 percent of patients suffering from epilepsy, medications do not effectively control the disease and stop seizures. For some, epilepsy surgery is the best answer. In the past, epilepsy surgery meant a craniotomy, which requires a surgeon to open the patient's skull to remove the brain lesion causing epilepsy.

6 Mar 2012

Persistent postconcussion symptoms more likely in children with TBIs

Children with mild traumatic brain injuries appear more likely to have persistent postconcussion symptoms, including cognitive complaints such as inattention and forgetfulness, which can affect quality of life, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Mar 2012

Dysfunctional family environment increases genetic risk for drug abuse

The risk of abusing drugs is greater - even for adopted children - if the family environment in which they are raised is dysfunctional, according to a new study conducted by a collaborative team from Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden.

6 Mar 2012