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Sleep disturbances trigger autoimmune diabetes in men

Psychosocial factors, including sleep disturbance, increase the risk for autoimmune diabetes in adults, research indicates.

19 Oct 2012

Clinical and demographic factors impact visual acuity in retinal vasculitis

Just over one-third of individuals with retinal vasculitis will experience vision loss despite undergoing therapy for the condition, while approximately the same proportion will experience some improvement, show study results.

19 Oct 2012

Shunting may not ward off poor hydrocephalus cognitive outcomes

Around half of patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus will develop dementia, despite responding to shunting, study findings suggest.

19 Oct 2012

Quality of care drops if doctors dictate

Physicians who predominantly dictate patients’ medical notes have worse quality of care than their peers who use structured electronic health record documentation, show study findings.

19 Oct 2012

$Starting antihypertensives linked to hip fracture in elderly$

Starting antihypertensives linked to hip fracture in elderly

The risk for hip fractures among elderly individuals increases during the first 45 days after initiating antihypertensive medication, and significantly so for those who start angiotensin II converting-enzyme inhibitors and beta-adrenergic blockers, report Canadian researchers.

19 Oct 2012

Gender gap for alcohol abuse reduced

The predominance of men among patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals because of alcohol abuse has declined compared with 25 years ago in Iceland, while the gender gap for other substance use disorders has not changed, say researchers.

19 Oct 2012

Breast-feeding associated with reduced risk of ER/PR-negative breast cancer

Breast-feeding reduces the risk for estrogen receptor-negative and progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer, according to a study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

19 Oct 2012

Harvard, SLU to develop asthma alert messaging system

A $93,000 gift from Google together with a $25,000 award from Saint Louis University's President's Research Fund will allow faculty at SLU, Harvard and St. Louis College of Pharmacy to research smart phone and web-based applications and data infrastructure to create an asthma alert messaging system.

19 Oct 2012

Babies born to HIV positive mothers more likely to acquire measles

Non-infected babies born to HIV positive mothers should be vaccinated early against measles, to avoid them acquiring the virus or passing it on to others.

19 Oct 2012

Obama, Romney vie for women's votes

Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney battled for the support of female voters Wednesday with new ads and arguments on the campaign trail related to women's health care, underscoring the importance of undecided female voters in a tight race.

19 Oct 2012

Minnelide gives new hope for patients with pancreatic cancer

A new drug created at the University of Minnesota may hold the answer to defeating pancreatic cancer, according to results published today in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine.

19 Oct 2012

As election day nears, health issues remain central

KHN hosts a discussion with former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle and conservative health care analyst Avik Roy to explore the plans advanced by President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Romney focuses on some of those themes in a new ad incorporating video from this week's town hall debate.

19 Oct 2012

Lipid droplets play an unexpected role in embryo development

Histones are proteins needed to assemble DNA molecules into chromosomes. They have long represented a classic balancing act in biology; too few histone molecules result in DNA damage, while too many histones are toxic to the cell. New research at the University of Rochester is causing a fundamental shift in the concept of histone balance and the mechanism behind it.

19 Oct 2012

Two leading health systems announce plan to merge

Trinity Health and Catholic Health East plan to consolidate operations. Together, the two systems will span 21 states and include more than 70 hospitals.

19 Oct 2012

Link between norovirus outbreaks and excess hospitalization and mortality in nursing homes

In a study that included more than 300 Medicare-certified nursing homes, rates of hospitalization and death were substantially increased during outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis vs. non-outbreak periods, according to a study appearing in the October 24/31 issue of JAMA.

19 Oct 2012

Simple strategies can make big difference in maternal mortality

Aissata Sall Yade, a communications assistant for the Senegal Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, part of IntraHealth International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about Aissatou Dia Fall, a head midwife at Senegal's Gallo Dia Health Center in Yeumbeul, and her efforts to improve access to health care for women in the community.

19 Oct 2012