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Corneal graft survival better after ALK than PK

Patients treated with anterior lamellar keratoplasty for tectonic indications have better physiologic graft survival outcomes than their counterparts treated with penetrating keratoplasty, despite the former procedure raising the risk for anatomic failure, report researchers.

11 Jul 2012

Collaboration is key to effective cancer palliation

Collaborative decision-making and frequent meetings between palliative care teams and oncology staff are the most critical factors for improving end-of-life care, say French researchers.

11 Jul 2012

PCR assay ‘superior’ to culture for neonatal sepsis, meningitis

In neonates with probable sepsis or meningitis, a realtime polymerase chain reaction assay specific for a virulence gene in Streptococcus agalactiae is superior to standard bacterial culture identification, results of a pathology study show.

11 Jul 2012

Pain rehab may boost children’s ownership of self management

Pediatric pain rehabilitation may lead to an increased willingness to self-manage pain, which is associated with improvements in function and psychologic wellbeing, say researchers.

11 Jul 2012

Chest X-ray prevents excess antibiotic use in childhood pneumonia

Use of a chest X-ray as well as traditional clinical parameters to diagnose childhood pneumonia can prevent overdiagnosis and unnecessary use of antibiotics, say researchers.

10 Jul 2012

BP variability link to stroke risk reinforced

Analysis of data from the Women’s Health Initiative supports the contention that variability in a person’s blood pressure affects their risk for stroke.

10 Jul 2012

Obstructive sleep apnea worse in cold weather

Study findings based on observations from a sleep clinic in Brazil indicate that obstructive sleep apnea may worsen during the winter months.

10 Jul 2012

Factors linked with MDD transition to BD identified

A wide range of demographic, clinical, and environmental factors are associated with an increased risk for transition from major depressive disorder to bipolar disorder, US study results show.

10 Jul 2012

Obese achieve functional improvements after trauma rehab

Obese patients participating in a rehabilitation program for orthopedic trauma can achieve meaningful functional independence before discharge, US research shows.

10 Jul 2012

Broken heart syndrome arms against epinephrine high

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or “broken heart syndrome,” may actually protect the heart from very high levels of epinephrine, suggest results from an animal study.

10 Jul 2012

Activity levels best reflect functional capacity of back pain patients

The level of physical activity displayed by an elderly individual with chronic low back pain is a better predictor for functional capacity than psychosocial factors, results from a community-based study indicate.

10 Jul 2012

Biomarkers predict benefit of targeted therapy in metastatic renal-cell cancer

In metastatic renal-cell cancer, the level of cytokines and angiogenic factors identify those patients with an aggressive disease course who derive the greatest benefit from treatment with the molecular-targeted therapy pazopanib, a retrospective analysis of clinical trials shows.

10 Jul 2012