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Schizophrenia patients, psychiatrists differ in remission definitions

Schizophrenia patients, their families, and psychiatrists differ significantly in their perception of remission, study results show.

18 Jul 2012

BD II patients show altered brain activity during emotion processing

Depressed patients with bipolar II disorder show reduced activation and altered connectivity in brain regions associated with working memory and emotional learning, US researchers report.

18 Jul 2012

Glaucoma monitoring important in corneal dystrophy

The prevalence of glaucoma and/or ocular hypertension is more frequent in individuals with severe Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy than those without the condition, suggesting the importance of glaucoma screening in such patients, suggest US researchers.

18 Jul 2012

Super-resolution microscopy highlights bacterial biofilms

A multi-fluorescent labeling strategy combined with super-resolution light microscopy has allowed researchers to observe the development of a bacterial biofilm in realtime.

18 Jul 2012

Pastoral support, not life-prolonging care, improves QoL at end of life

Quality of life at the end of life is improved when advanced cancer patients avoid being hospitalized, when their worry is reduced, they are given pastoral as well as medical care, and when they feel they are in alliance with their physician, show results of the Coping With Cancer study.

18 Jul 2012

Nerve growth factors sense OAB in children

Researchers may have found a reliable biomarker for diagnosing overactive bladder in children and monitoring their treatment outcome.

18 Jul 2012

Alzheimer’s pathology lies silent for decades

The pathologic process of Alzheimer’s disease begins more than 20 years before clinical symptoms become apparent, say researchers.

18 Jul 2012

Cancer more likely in people with serious mental illnesses

People with serious mental illness —schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and disabling depression — are 2.6 times more likely to develop cancer than the general population, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

18 Jul 2012

Obama defends health law in Ohio town hall meeting

President Obama says he doesn't mind the "Obamacare" label and is chastising Republican Mitt Romney for not championing the Massachusetts health overhaul.

18 Jul 2012

Applying more stringent ozone standards would minimize premature mortality and morbidity

Establishing a more stringent ozone standard in the U.S. would significantly reduce ozone-related premature mortality and morbidity, according to a new study published online July 18 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

18 Jul 2012

Taking action on London Summit on Family Planning outcomes

"In the build-up to the London Summit on Family Planning, there have been a lot of opinions expressed on blogs, in mainstream media coverage, in peer-reviewed journals, and even exchanges on the streets and at the water cooler," Gary Darmstadt, head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Family Health Division, writes in this post in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

18 Jul 2012

New roadmap provides expert guidance on how to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities

Major disparities exist along racial and ethnic lines in the United States for various medical conditions, but guidance is scarce about how to reduce these gaps. Now, a new "roadmap" has been unveiled to give organizations expert guidance on how to improve health equity in their own patient populations.

18 Jul 2012

Health law opponents sharpen fight focus on insurance tax credit

According to news reports, critics have pinpointed this part of the health law in their effort to undo the sweeping overhaul. Meanwhile, USA Today reports that very few middle-income taxpayers will pay more as a result of the measure's taxes, fees and penalties.

18 Jul 2012

Interferon beta not associated with less progression of disability in patients with RRMS

Among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), treatment with the widely-prescribed drug to treat MS, interferon beta, was not associated with less progression of disability, according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Jul 2012

State roundup: Mass. to allow coupons for some branded drugs

Johns Hopkins Hospital lost its coveted spot as the nation's top-ranked hospital for the first time in 22 years, edged out by Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital in the latest analysis by U.S. News & World Report to be released Tuesday. Hopkins still ranked No. 2, and marketing experts said falling one spot will hurt the hospital's ego more than its reputation.

18 Jul 2012

Simple shoe insole can improve posture in post-stroke patients

A stroke can weaken one side of the body, raising the dangerous possibility of unstable walking and debilitating falls. Physical therapy can help patients learn to shift their body weight slightly to the weaker, stroke-affected side to help regain balance, but for some patients, the weakness returns after their therapy ends.

18 Jul 2012

Emerging mHealth field shows promise, faces challenges, Devex reports

In a health care exclusive feature, Devex examines the emerging field of mHealth, "the practice of using mobile devices for medicine and public health practices."

18 Jul 2012

Cigna, PAMF launch collaborative accountable care initiative

Cigna and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a not-for-profit health care organization that is a pioneer in the multispecialty group practice of medicine, have launched a collaborative accountable care initiative to expand patient access to health care, improve care coordination, and achieve the "triple aim" of improved health outcomes (quality), lower total medical costs and increased patient satisfaction.

18 Jul 2012

Drug coverage issues, dual eligibles program draw Democrats' interest

According to these stories from Politico and Politico Pro, some House Democrats are calling on the Department Of Health and Human Services to use the Medicare prescription drug program as a model for the health law's essential health benefits drug coverage requirement.

18 Jul 2012

Research explains why exercise is beneficial for heart function in type 2 diabetes

A detailed study of heart muscle function in mice has uncovered evidence to explain why exercise is beneficial for heart function in type 2 diabetes. The research team, led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that greater amounts of fatty acids used by the heart during stressful conditions like exercise can counteract the detrimental effects of excess glucose and improve the diabetic heart's pumping ability in several ways.

18 Jul 2012