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Exercise may help prevent infection for paraplegic individuals

Results from a pilot study suggest that a moderate amount of exercise may result in enhanced immunity in paraplegic athletes.

18 Sep 2012

Plastic hearts still break

Renewal of cells in the human heart occurs throughout life and is boosted by, but cannot prevent, the effects of aging and cardiomyopathy, a study shows.

18 Sep 2012

Vitamin D deficiency common in critically ill children

Children who are critically ill frequently have low serum levels of vitamin D, report researchers.

18 Sep 2012

CAPE effective for detecting patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis

The Community Assessment of Psychic Experience questionnaire is an effective instrument for identifying individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis, researchers report.

18 Sep 2012

Teen BD patients show specific gray matter deficits

Results from a US study show that adolescents with bipolar I disorder who have experienced their first episode of mania have gray matter deficits in the left subgenual cingulate cortex.

18 Sep 2012

Tranexamic acid lifesaving across the board

Tranexamic acid confers survival benefits in trauma patients irrespective of their baseline mortality risk, shows a prespecified analysis of CRASH-2.

18 Sep 2012

Frontline teamwork, safety practices slice hospital infection rate by 40%

Implementation of the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program has reduced the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections by 40% in more than 1100 US intensive care units, reports the agency that funded the program.

18 Sep 2012

Intensive rehabilitation may put off move to nursing facilities for elderly

Elderly, community-dwelling individuals who visit hospital with an acute illness are less likely to be transferred to skilled nursing facilities if they receive an intensified type of rehabilitation rather than usual rehabilitative care, report US researchers.

18 Sep 2012

Measures of kidney function may be linked to thrombosis

Estimated glomerular filtration rate and albumin-creatinine ratio are independently associated with venous thromboembolism, research suggests.

18 Sep 2012

‘Disappointing’ findings for spinal manipulative therapy

Spinal manipulative therapy for acute low-back pain appears to be no better than other existing therapies for reducing pain and improving functional status, show the findings of a Cochrane review.

18 Sep 2012

Abiraterone acetate confirmed to offer significant survival benefit to advanced prostate cancer patients

Results of a phase 3 trial published in The Lancet Oncology have confirmed that the drug abiraterone acetate (marketed as Zytiga®) offers a significant survival benefit to patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, which is spreading to other parts of their body (known as metastatic prostate cancer).

18 Sep 2012

VP candidate Ryan levels sharp critique of Obama abortion position

The GOP vice presidential candidate made these comments while speaking to a conservative audience at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood was quick to hit back.

18 Sep 2012

Pfizer announces that 14 abstracts for tofacitinib to be presented at ACR/ARHP annual meeting

Pfizer Inc. announced today that 14 abstracts for tofacitinib, an investigational oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), will be presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) / Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) 2012 Annual Meeting, which is being held November 9-14 in Washington, D.C.

18 Sep 2012

Medicaid primary care pay raise 'coming soon,' according to CMS official

Details on increasing Medicaid payments to primary care providers starting next year will soon be announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency said Thursday. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid rates for pediatricians, general internists, family physicians, and those who work under their supervision are to be set at Medicare's December 2009 levels beginning in Jan. 2013 and going through 2014.

18 Sep 2012

Cedars-Sinai symposium to discuss latest findings on stem cell treatments for diabetes, eye diseases

Leading scientists and clinicians from across the nation will discuss the latest findings on potential stem cell treatments for diabetes and eye diseases at the second Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Scientific Symposium.

18 Sep 2012

Mass. high court upholds dismissal of lawsuits challenging Medicaid reimbursements

The Massachusetts' court has upheld the dismissal of lawsuits brought by some hospitals alleging the state's 2006 health law didn't reimburse them enough for caring for Medicaid patients.

18 Sep 2012

Seriously ill patients being cared for sound environments in ICUs

Seriously ill patients in intensive care units are being cared for in environments with sound levels more than 20 dB higher than the WHO's recommendations. This is shown by a study carried out in partnership between the University of Gothenburg and the University of Bor's.

18 Sep 2012

Self-harmers are three times as likely to die prematurely

People who have a history of self-harm are more than three times as likely to die prematurely as the general population, and not just from the obvious causes, with deaths due to natural causes at least two times greater than anticipated and the risk also much higher for individuals living in socially deprived areas, according to a UK study published Online First in The Lancet.

18 Sep 2012

News from the Hill: GOP lawmakers continue to investigate aspects of the health law's implementation

House Republican lawmakers are questioning hiring practices at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as how the Internal Revenue Service will enforce provisions of the health law.

18 Sep 2012

EmbryoScope Time-lapse system identifies abnormal development events in embryos

Which embryos have the best opportunity to develop into a viable pregnancy? A new technology provides a surprising answer. A major challenge in the field of IVF is selecting the single best embryo which is likely to result in a live birth. Currently, embryologists must remove the embryo from a standard incubator to perform 2 or 3 short evaluations of the developing embryo under the microscope, at fixed time-points over 3-5 days, in order to assess embryo quality prior to transferring an embryo to the patient.

18 Sep 2012