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Indicators of poor preoperative health predict risk of major medical complications

For older adults undergoing surgery for spinal stenosis, some simple indicators of poor preoperative health predict a high risk of major medical complications, reports a study in the September 1 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

4 Sep 2013

Inhaled steroids linked to improved school performance in asthma

Researchers from Greece say that the use of steroid inhalers in elementary school children with asthma may improve school performance over other forms of therapy.

3 Sep 2013

Facebook groups are effective tool for increasing HIV testing among at-risk populations

Peer-led Facebook groups are an acceptable and effective tool for increasing home-based HIV testing among at-risk populations. HIV infection is a major health concern for men who have sex with men (MSM), especially among African Americans and Latinos who have high rates of incident cases and new diagnoses.

3 Sep 2013

Patients attending specialist nurse clinics do not get inferior treatment to that offered by rheumatologists

Patients attending clinical nurse specialist clinics do not get inferior treatment to that offered by consultant rheumatologists, the results of a major new clinical trial have revealed.

29 Aug 2013

In dynamic mind-body interaction, brain recruits cells from immune system to promote anxiety

New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.

22 Aug 2013

Probiotic does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease

Despite previous data showing beneficial effects, the probiotic Saccharomuces boulardii (S. boulardii) does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

16 Aug 2013

Tubingen researchers resolve how a plant steroid hormone makes plants grow

If one wants to better understand how plants grow, one must analyse the chemistry of life in its molecular detail. Michael Hothorn from the Friedrich-Miescher-Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in T-bingen and his team are doing just that. Their latest work now reveals that a plant membrane receptor requires a helper protein to sense a growth-promoting steroid hormone and to transduce this signal across the cell membrane.

9 Aug 2013

Symptoms and treatment for facial allergic contact dermatitis

Facial rashes can take on many forms. Whether red, flat, bumpy and dry, or scaly, flaky and itchy, the appearance of a rash on the face can be very distressing.

3 Aug 2013

NIH-funded study finds that rituximab is as effective as standard therapy for severe vasculitis

Administering the drug rituximab once weekly for one month provides the same benefits as 18 months of daily immunosuppressive therapy in people with severe forms of vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels, a study has found.

1 Aug 2013

Discovery may help explain how anti-inflammatory steroid drugs work

A gene long presumed dead comes to life under the full moon of inflammation, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found.

23 Jul 2013

Keele researchers receive fund to find effectiveness of common treatments for carpal tunnel

Researchers at Keele University, UK, have been awarded funding from Arthritis Research UK to find out more about the effectiveness of common treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful, common condition affecting trapped nerves in the hand and wrists.

20 Jul 2013

FX006 demonstrates pain relief in Phase 2b osteoarthritis study, Flexion reports

Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., today reported that its lead compound FX006, a novel intra-articular, sustained release steroid, demonstrated pain relief that is of both greater magnitude and longer duration than the most commonly prescribed immediate release steroid, triamcinolone acetonide, in a Phase 2b dose-ranging trial in osteoarthritis.

27 Jun 2013

Report alerts clinicians, public about catastrophic dangers of contaminated epidural injections

Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe pathologic findings from 40 case reports of fungal infection in patients who had been given contaminated epidural, paraspinal, or intra-articular (into joints) steroid injections and correlate these findings with clinical and laboratory data.

26 Jun 2013

Scientist discovers key mutations that sparked hormonal revolution 500 million years ago

Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls. A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago.

25 Jun 2013

Spinal infection at contaminated drug injection site detected using contrast-enhanced MRI screening

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the site of injection of a contaminated lot of a steroid drug to treat symptoms such as back pain resulted in earlier identification of patients with probable or confirmed fungal spinal or paraspinal infection, allowing early initiation of medical and surgical treatment, according to a study in the June 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Jun 2013

University researchers investigate the role of corticosterone in signaling fetal distress

A University of Calgary researcher has identified how a steroid hormone may indicate infant distress during labour and delivery. The study, published by PLOS ONE this month, suggests that a full-term, healthy baby preferentially secretes a different stress hormone than its mother does. That stress hormone, corticosterone, has not been previously studied in human development.

18 Jun 2013

Hebrew University student develops drug formulations to treat illnesses through skin applications

New, more efficient drug formulations designed to treat illnesses through skin applications -- thus avoiding serious side effects associated with oral drug-taking -- have been developed by a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

12 Jun 2013

$Epidural steroid injection is associated with increased spinal fracture$

Epidural steroid injection is associated with increased spinal fracture

Most aging adults will experience back pain or a spinal disorder at some time in their life. In fact, about 25.8 million visits were made to physicians' offices due to primary back problems. Treatment focuses on pain relief and is available in both non-surgical (medication or physical therapy) and surgical forms.

7 Jun 2013

BUSM researchers uncover important clues that may expand treatment options for schizophrenia

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have uncovered important clues about a biochemical pathway in the brain that may one day expand treatment options for schizophrenia.

6 Jun 2013

Allergic rhinitis treatments: an interview with Dr Dermot Ryan, GP and allergy expert

Allergic rhinitis is most commonly recognized as hay fever in the United Kingdom and it is due to the impact of an allergen, in the case of hay fever a pollen, setting off an inflammatory response in the lungs, causing typical symptoms...

5 Jun 2013