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Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases risk of physical disabilities adulthood

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases the risk of developing problems with mobility in old age, even if the weight is eventually lost, according to new research out of the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

8 Apr 2009

Patient preferences play role in racial disparities in rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Racial disparities in the delivery of healthcare occur even among insured populations with access to care.

8 Apr 2009

Cognitive behavior therapy helps seniors with generalized anxiety disorder

Older adults with generalized anxiety disorder who received cognitive behavior therapy had greater improvement on measures of worry, depression and mental health than patients who received usual care, according to a study in the April 8 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Apr 2009

Link between widely used osteoporosis drugs and heart problems probed

New research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine evaluated the link between a common class of drugs used to prevent bone fractures in osteoporosis patients and the development of irregular heartbeat.

6 Apr 2009

Play - a prescription for autism!

According to an American autism expert, many autistic children, with the right teaching, can overcome many of the disorder's difficult characteristics.

6 Apr 2009

A new theory on autism put forward

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a sweeping new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms of the disorder might be reversible.

1 Apr 2009

New streamlined triage system for "brain attack"

Taking a page out of the playbook developed by cardiologists nearly two decades ago to promote the warning signs and swift treatment for heart attacks, a multidisciplinary team of stroke experts at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have created a new streamlined triage system at Strong Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department (ED) to provide rapid evaluation and specialized treatments to "brain attack," or stroke, patients.

1 Apr 2009

One of five hospitalized Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days

One of five Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital is readmitted within 30 days, and half of non-surgical patients are readmitted to the hospital without having seen an outpatient doctor in follow-up, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2009

Bad mix of bacterial remnants and NOD2 gene lead to arthritis

Here's another reason to hate leftovers. A research study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology sheds light on one cause of arthritis: bacteria.

1 Apr 2009

Blood test that predicts seriousness of a head injury gains momentum

A blood test that can help predict the seriousness of a head injury and detect the status of the blood-brain barrier is a step closer to reality, according to two recently published studies involving University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.

31 Mar 2009

Intercell receives FDA approval of IXIARO, novel vaccine for Japanese encephalitis

Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved IXIARO(R), a new vaccine for the prevention of Japanese Encephalitis (JE).

30 Mar 2009

New evidence supports use of catheter-based therapy to remove blood clots in stroke patients

Nearly 90 percent of the 700,000 strokes that affect U.S. patients each year are caused by a blockage of blood vessels supplying the brain, known as ischemic stroke.

29 Mar 2009

Psychiatric disorders common in adults who have had anorexia

Many adults who were diagnosed as teenagers to be suffering from anorexia nervosa cannot work due to psychiatric disorders. A follow-up 18 years after the onset of anorexia has shown that one in four are on disability benefit or have been signed off sick. The long-term follow-up by the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, does, however, show some encouraging results.

26 Mar 2009

Collaborative care intervention helps improve management of chronic pain

Patients with chronic pain who took part in a collaborative care intervention that included patient and clinician education and symptom monitoring and feedback to the primary care physician had improvements in pain-related disability and intensity, compared to usual care, according to a study in the March 25 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

24 Mar 2009

Link discovered between anesthesia exposure and learning disabilities in children

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that children who require multiple surgeries under anesthesia during their first three years of life are at higher risk of developing learning disabilities later.

24 Mar 2009

Thinning of right hemisphere in brain a marker for familial form of depression

Findings from one of the largest-ever imaging studies of depression indicate that a structural difference in the brain - a thinning of the right hemisphere - appears to be linked to a higher risk for depression, according to new research at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

23 Mar 2009