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A Better Method for Diagnosing Kidney Disease

Assessing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using kidney filtration markers in blood is the standard means for determining kidney function, diagnosing kidney disease and measuring its progression. A higher filtration rate indicates healthy kidney function, while a lower rate points to various stages of kidney disease. A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the new CKD-EPI equation for calculating GFR is a better predictor of risk for kidney disease and death compared to the most widely used method. The findings suggest that switching to the CKD-EPI equation for calculating GFR could focus efforts more efficiently, and improve assessment of patient future risk and treatment of kidney disease. The study is published in the May 9 edition of JAMA.

10 May 2012

Prototype device would help obese patients breathe during medical procedures

The best doctors strive to relieve their patients' burdens. A physician in Houston asked Rice University students to help him do so in the most literal way. A team of bioengineering seniors built a prototype device to literally lift the weight from obese patients who, while undergoing surgical procedures, might otherwise have trouble breathing.

10 May 2012

ACS editorial calls for systematic approach to increase cancer screening participation

An editorial by Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calls for a more organized and comprehensive approach to increase cancer screening participation among those who are insured or are likely to become insured through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

10 May 2012

New University of Florida research center to focus on rare genetic illness

With the support of a Major League Baseball star, a new University of Florida research center on an island settled by the Vikings could lead to breakthroughs about a rare genetic disorder and potentially change the course of care for high blood pressure and other common conditions.

10 May 2012

Researchers identify cellular mechanism associated with tinnitus

Researchers in the University of Leicester's Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology have identified a cellular mechanism that could underlie the development of tinnitus following exposure to loud noises. The discovery could lead to novel tinnitus treatments, and investigations into potential drugs to prevent tinnitus are currently underway.

10 May 2012

Obesity report proposes sweeping changes in schools, communities, workplaces

The Institute of Medicine panel recommended five critical areas to focus on to lower obesity: physical activity, food and beverage, marketing, work and schools.

10 May 2012

Misdiagnosis of MS more common than previously thought

It is relatively common for doctors to diagnose someone with multiple sclerosis when the patient doesn't have the disease - a misdiagnosis that not only causes patients potential harm but costs the U.S. health care system untold millions of dollars a year, according to a study published online today in the journal Neurology.

10 May 2012

New report provides detailed criteria for rational and timely use of cardiac catheterization

A new report issued today by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) in collaboration with a dozen other professional societies provides detailed criteria to help clinicians determine when cardiac catheterization is a reasonable option for the evaluation of patients for heart disease.

10 May 2012

African Americans have more severe complications from scleroderma

African Americans have more severe complications from systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, than Caucasians. Findings published today in, Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that compared with Caucasians, African-American patients were more likely to have antibodies that increased frequency and severity of pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased survival.

10 May 2012

BBI from soybeans shows promise against cancer

Soybeans soaking in warm water could become a new "green" source for production of a cancer-fighting substance now manufactured in a complicated and time-consuming industrial process, scientists are reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

10 May 2012

Study describes new family of six genes that control mitochondrial transport in neurons

A team headed by Eduardo Soriano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has published a study in Nature Communications describing a new family of six genes whose function regulates the movement and position of mitochondria in neurons.

10 May 2012

Treatable infections responsible for nearly 2M cases of cancer globally each year, study suggests

"Bacteria, viruses and parasites cause around two million cases of cancer in the world each year, experts believe," the Press Association/Guardian reports. According to the news service, "Scientists carried out a statistical analysis of cancer incidence to calculate that around 16 percent of all cancers diagnosed in 2008 were infection-related," and "the proportion of cancers linked to infection was three times higher in developing countries than in developed ones."

10 May 2012

Hygieia’s DIGS automatically adjusts insulin dosage in patients with diabetes

Newly published results from a clinical study of the Diabetes Insulin Guidance System (DIGS-), under development by Hygieia, Inc., demonstrate DIGS' potential to improve blood glucose control for insulin-using patients with type 2 or type 1 diabetes. DIGS automatically adjusted insulin dosage based on each individual's reported blood glucose results.

10 May 2012

Newly diagnosed schizophrenia patients continue to use oral Abilify as first-line therapy

BioTrends Research Group, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for specialized biopharmaceutical issues, finds that analysis of U.S. longitudinal patient-level claims data reveals the use of Bristol-Myers Squibb's oral Abilify as a first-line therapy for newly diagnosed schizophrenia patients continues to grow.

10 May 2012

TryMunity social network for survivors of TBI

When tragedy strikes you or someone you love, where do you go for peer support, information, or peace of mind? There is no single online community or website that can provide the help you need to get through a life-changing catastrophe with help from others who have lived through a similar situation. Well, now there is a community like that; it's called TryMunity, and a local Dallas SEO firm, Advice Interactive Group, has partnered with the site to help get the word out to those in need.

10 May 2012

Sunovion announces results from LATUDA open-label study for schizophrenia

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced results from an open-label study that switched clinically stable, but symptomatic adult outpatients with schizophrenia from other antipsychotic agents to LATUDA.

10 May 2012

Study identifies five factors that promote positive body image in women

Women with high family support and limited pressure to achieve the 'thin and beautiful' ideal have a more positive body image. That's according to a new study looking at five factors that may help young women to be more positive about their bodies, in the context of a society where discontent with appearance is common among women.

10 May 2012

Study compares three new methods to study disorders of consciousness

Disorders of consciousness such as coma or a vegetative state caused by severe brain injury are poorly understood and their diagnosis has relied mainly on patient responses and measures of brain activity. However, new functional and imaging-based diagnostic tests that measure communication and signaling between different brain regions may provide valuable information about the potential for consciousness in patients unable to communicate. These innovative approaches are described and compared in a Review article in the groundbreaking neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

10 May 2012

UAB’s First Episode Schizophrenia Clinic rapidly treats patients with new diagnosis

Like the "golden hour" of trauma care that increases the odds of a person's survival, some clinicians are now applying that philosophy to the treatment of schizophrenia, one of the most puzzling mental health disorders.

10 May 2012

Hot sauce ingredient could play a role in future of weight loss

According to research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), the ingredient that gives hot sauce its heat could play a role in the future of weight loss.

10 May 2012