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Newer imaging technologies may lead to over treatment

Newer imaging technologies allow physicians to visualize more of the arteries in the lungs, including detecting small blood clots not previously seen, but seeing more may have little impact on the patient’s outcome, a new study suggests.

4 Apr 2005

Infants under one year of age can accept heart transplants from donors of different blood groups

A study showing that infants under one year of age can accept heart transplants from donors of different blood groups without the risk of organ rejection means a better chance of survival for infant patients and more efficient use of donor organs overall.

4 Apr 2005

New antipsychotic drug prevents brain loss in schizophrenia

A new brain imaging study of recently diagnosed schizophrenia patients has found, for the first time, that the loss of gray matter typically experienced by patients can be prevented by one of the new atypical antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine, but not by haloperidol, an older, conventional drug.

4 Apr 2005

Study finds direct link between use of alcohol hand gel and reduction in hospital infections

Hospitals whose healthcare workers had access to alcohol gel to disinfect hands had a decreased risk of hospital- associated infections in their patients compared to hospitals whose staff did not have a regular alcohol hand gel program, according to a new study from Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle and published in the April 1 edition of Pediatrics.

4 Apr 2005

Endovenous laser ablation is a safe and highly effective treatment for a common cause of varicose veins

Endovenous laser ablation is a safe and highly effective treatment for a common but under-recognized cause of varicose veins -- reflux in a variety of veins collectively referred to as non-great saphenous veins -- according to results of a study presented today at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

4 Apr 2005

Study shows connection of varicose veins to chronic pelvic pain

Research presented today at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 30th Annual Scientific Meeting found that 16 percent of women with varicose veins in their legs simultaneously had ovarian varicose veins -- a common but often under-diagnosed cause of chronic pelvic pain.

4 Apr 2005

Different antipsychotic medications may have different effects on brain volume in patients with first episode of psychosis

After a first psychotic episode, patients who were treated with an atypical antipsychotic medication had less change in brain volume compared with patients treated with a conventional antipsychotic medication, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2005

Cognitive therapy may be as effective as antidepressant medications in the initial treatment of moderate to severe major depression

Cognitive therapy, when provided by an experienced therapist, may be as effective as antidepressant medications in the initial treatment of moderate to severe major depression, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2005

Brain region recovery possible in former methamphetamine users

Adaptive changes in chemical activity in certain regions of the brain of former methamphetamine users who have not used the drug for a year or more suggest some recovery of neuronal structure and function, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2005

Men who are treated for prostate cancer with radiation may have almost doubled their risk of developing rectal cancer

A study in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology has found that men who are treated for prostate cancer with radiation may have almost doubled their risk of developing rectal cancer when compared to men who opted to have surgery.

4 Apr 2005

UK sex clinics swamped

A study, by sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, reveals the true scale of Britain's sexual health crisis and says that two-thirds of clinics are turning away patients because they cannot cope with demand for treatment.

4 Apr 2005

Tumour Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-alpha) blocking agents cause skin disease

Members of the second most important family of drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can cause serious dermatological conditions in a quarter of patients under treatment, reveals a study published in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy.

3 Apr 2005

Soy is well accepted in school lunches

Childhood obesity is a national health concern and affects as many as 20 percent of school children. As part of the battle against obesity, the Illinois Center for Soy Foods at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has recently completed a pilot program, called ISOY, to demonstrate the nutritional benefits of including soy in the state's school lunch programs.

3 Apr 2005

Inexpensive treatment stops multi-drug resistant TB in its tracks

A standard and inexpensive tuberculosis treatment regimen cut the overall TB rate in half and lowered the rate of drug-resistant cases even more dramatically in a remote Mexican health district with a high prevalence of the disease.

3 Apr 2005

Exercise-induced shortness of breath not always caused by asthma

Asthma is the most common cause of exercise-induced shortness of breath in children and adolescents. While a diagnosis of asthma is often correct, University of Iowa pediatric pulmonary physicians caution that other unrelated conditions also can cause shortness of breath during exercise.

3 Apr 2005

Hormonal treatment improves survival in high-risk prostate cancer patients

Administering hormonal treatment in addition to radiation therapy in patients with high-risk prostate cancer can improve survival rate, according to a new study published in the April 1, 2005, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

3 Apr 2005

Cannabis-based medicines given in a highly-controlled clinical environment unexpectedly lead to strong psychotic effects

Volunteers taking cannabis-based therapeutic drugs as part of a controlled trial, which had been approved by an ethics board as safe for the subjects, experienced psychotic effects just as strong as if they had smoked cannabis. These findings, highly unexpected in such a controlled environment, are published today in the peer-reviewed, Open Access journal BMC Psychiatry.

3 Apr 2005

New methods for training eyes to pinpoint

A new study suggests there may be a better way to sharpen the eyes of radiologists, military pilots and other professionals for whom identifying objects or patterns in a monitor or visual display – often quickly and with pinpoint accuracy – is a critical part of the job.

3 Apr 2005

Radiation for prostate cancer doubles the risk of developing rectal cancer

Men who undergo radiation for prostate cancer have nearly double the risk of developing rectal cancer when compared to men who opt to have surgery to treat prostate cancer, according to a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology.

3 Apr 2005

Stress may enhance the body's ability to fight the flu

Short bouts of intense social stress improved the ability in the mice to recover from the flu. The stress apparently did so by substantially boosting the production of specialized immune cells that fought the virus.

3 Apr 2005