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Americans used less health care during recent U.S. economic recession

The recent U.S. economic recession was the longest and most severe since World War II. During this period, personal spending on health care grew at the slowest rate in over 50 years, suggesting that Americans used less health care.

22 Feb 2012

First use of HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System to treat atrial fibrillation

For the first time in a new U.S. clinical trial, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have used the HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System (EAS) to correct abnormal electrical signals inside the heart of a patient affected by atrial fibrillation (AFib), one of the nation's most common heart ailments.

22 Feb 2012

Lent offers a great opportunity to get started on a track to better health

For many people Lent is a time to take a step back, evaluate what is important and think about sacrifice. People of the Catholic faith refrain from eating meat on Fridays. In addition, Catholics and people from other Christian faiths also "give up" something such as eating high-calorie desserts or kicking a bad habit such as smoking.

22 Feb 2012

Study aims to achieve early detection of heart disease

With the month of February designated as Heart Health Month, physician-researchers in the Division of Cardiology at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) - Dr. Matthew Budoff and Dr. Ronald Oudiz - continue to pave the way with their efforts to develop treatments and therapies for conditions affecting the heart, and to help improve overall heart health.

22 Feb 2012

UMMS' iHeal project uses emerging technologies to detect drug cravings and intervene

Clinical researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) are combining an innovative constellation of technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphone programming, biosensors and wireless connectivity to develop a device designed to detect physiological stressors associated with drug cravings and respond with user-tailored behavioral interventions that prevent substance use.

22 Feb 2012

Meeting demand for primary care, family physicians

New medical schools are opening with an emphasis on training young physicians in primary care. Meanwhile, the federal government awarded funds to medical students in 30 states and the District of Columbia to encourage their pursuit of family medicine.

22 Feb 2012

First ever publication with data on head impacts from youth football players

The Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES) announces the first ever publication with data on head impacts from youth football players. The paper is published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering and is available online for free download. The manuscript includes the details of over 700 head impacts measured on 7 and 8 year old youth football players.

22 Feb 2012

NYSDOH approves Enzo Biochem's ColonSentry test

Enzo Biochem, Inc. today announced that the New York State Department of Health has approved Enzo Clinical Labs' use of the ColonSentry test for providing an assessment of a patient's risk of having colorectal cancer.

22 Feb 2012

AAN announces recipients of 2012 scientific research awards

Nearly two dozen scientific research awards are being bestowed on researchers around the world this year by the American Academy of Neurology, the world's largest association of neurologists. The awards will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21-28, 2012, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

22 Feb 2012

AAN to honor Tokyo neurologist with Potamkin Prize for AD research

The American Academy of Neurology is awarding its 2012 Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's and Related Diseases to Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, PhD, with the University of Tokyo School of Medicine. Iwatsubo will receive the award during the Academy's 64th Annual Meeting, April 21-28, 2012, in New Orleans.

22 Feb 2012

State roundup: Calif. expands uninsured access, gives adult day care reprieve

Nearly two years before the federal health reform law kicks in, 10 California counties have expanded medical coverage to more than 250,000 people who were previously uninsured, according to new state data.

22 Feb 2012

Combination of key guideline-recommended heart failure therapies improve survival odds

A UCLA-led study has found that a combination of several key guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure treatment resulted in an improvement of up to 90 percent in the odds of survival over two years.

22 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare mudslinging, 'pound-foolish' doc fix and unrealistic death attitudes

For all its technological sophistication and hefty price tag, modern medicine may be doing more to complicate the end of life than to prolong or improve it. ... When families talk about letting their loved ones die "naturally," they often mean "in their sleep" - not from a treatable illness such as a stroke, cancer or an infection. ... While it's easy to empathize with these family members' wishes, what they don't appreciate is that very few elderly patients are lucky enough to die in their sleep.

22 Feb 2012

AANEM endorses AAN guideline update on intraoperative monitoring

The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) recently endorsed the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) guideline update on intraoperative monitoring.

22 Feb 2012

IRIN examines whether poverty reduction schemes can help lower TB rate in developing countries

IRIN examines "whether a new generation of social protection schemes, aimed at reducing poverty and often using cash transfers to the poorest, can be harnessed to bring down the rate of tuberculosis (TB) in developing countries."

22 Feb 2012

Researchers discover mechanism of thermostat protein

Johns Hopkins and National Taiwan University researchers have discovered more details about how an energy sensing "thermostat" protein determines whether cells will store or use their energy reserves.

22 Feb 2012

First study to gauge college students' willingness to donate to a genetic biobank

A majority of college students is receptive to donating blood or other genetic material for scientific research, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

22 Feb 2012

OGF-OGFr axis discovery provides new insights into ovarian cancer

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered that the presence and integrity of the opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr), which mediates the inhibitory action of opioid growth factor (OGF) on cell proliferation, is a key to understanding the progression and treatment of human ovarian cancer.

22 Feb 2012

Mitochondria may be promising new target for cancer treatment

Mitochondria, tiny structures within each cell that regulate metabolism and energy use, may be a promising new target for cancer therapy, according to a new study. Manipulation of two biochemical signals that regulate the numbers of mitochondria in cells could shrink human lung cancers transplanted into mice, a team of Chicago researchers report in the journal FASEB.

22 Feb 2012

Insulin production may persist for decades after onset of type 1 diabetes

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research has found that insulin production may persist for decades after the onset of type 1 diabetes. Beta cell functioning also appears to be preserved in some patients years after apparent loss of pancreatic function. The study results appear in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

22 Feb 2012