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Short-term antiarrhythmic drug treatment postcardioversion could be effective

Short-term antiarrhythmic drug treatment after cardioversion is less effective than long-term treatment, but prevents most recurrences of atrial fibrillation, a study in The Lancet shows.

21 Jun 2012

CDSS best for assessing depression symptoms in schizophrenia

Results from a systematic review of published studies suggests that the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia is the most reliable and valid instrument for assessing depression symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

21 Jun 2012

Cognitive function worse in pediatric BD I than II

Children with bipolar I disorder have significantly poorer cognitive functioning than those with bipolar II disorder, research shows.

21 Jun 2012

Connexin 43 deficiency may protect against bed rest-associated bone loss

Mice lacking connexin 43, the most abundant gap junction protein in bone, have a decreased susceptibility to the effects of mechanical unloading on bone, US researchers report.

21 Jun 2012

$Hip fracture type may determine regional anesthesia benefits$

Hip fracture type may determine regional anesthesia benefits

Use of regional anesthesia may reduce the risk for mortality and pulmonary complications among patients undergoing surgery for hip fracture, research shows.

21 Jun 2012

Proper exsanguinator and tourniquet use poorly understood

Operating theater personnel have a poor understanding of appropriate exsanguinator and tourniquet use, show research results from a hospital in Ireland.

21 Jun 2012

Even small-stage oral SCC metastases impact prognosis

The presence of even small tumor-cell deposits in the lymph nodes of patients with early oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma reflects a potential for the primary tumor to metastasize, report researchers in Head and Neck.

21 Jun 2012

Bowel disturbance common until the end

Patients treated by palliative care services experience bowel disturbances until the end of life, with severe problems increasing as death approaches, report Australian researchers.

21 Jun 2012

New issue of 'Global Fund News Flash' available

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday released Issue 4 of its newsletter, the "Global Fund News Flash." The issue features a commentary by Mireille Guigaz, a Global Fund Board member representing France, on the Global Fund's work in Madagascar, and a piece examining "a Board decision last November that 55 percent of all funding for grant renewals should go to low-income countries," among other stories.

21 Jun 2012

Winners and losers in the health care messaging war

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism says that opponents of the health law prevailed at least in part because their positions were sharper and easier to understand.

21 Jun 2012

CRN releases 'The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements'

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today released its comprehensive report, The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements.

21 Jun 2012

State roundup: Exchange details; N.Y. same-sex lawsuit

States starting to turn the corner on their Great Recession budget woes are taking the cautious approach, socking away millions of dollars in rainy day funds rather than restoring spending for education, health care and social services. At least 21 states, including Arizona, Michigan and Ohio, are putting parts of their surpluses into reserves.

21 Jun 2012

Study to test NAC and aspirin for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder

A commonly available pharmaceutical drug with anti-inflammatory properties and a nutritional supplement thought to have antioxidant effects are now being tested at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) as add-on therapies for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

21 Jun 2012

Renewed commitment to agenda for child survival needed

"Last week in Washington, D.C., a coalition of global leaders and international organizations launched the Child Survival Call to Action in an effort to drive down the risk of preventable child deaths to roughly equivalent levels in all countries by 2035," Victoria Fan, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), writes in this post in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

21 Jun 2012

Midurethral slings can prevent pre-operative urinary incontinence in women with vaginal prolapse

A multicenter study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center urogynecologist will eliminate some of the guesswork physicians face about whether to use a sling during vaginal prolapse repair to prevent urinary incontinence.

21 Jun 2012

Poll: Majority want new effort if court overturns health law

A new Associated Press-GfK poll found that Americans want Congress and the president to work on new legislation to overhaul the health care system if the high court rules that the 2010 health law is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the lead attorney for the states challenging the law said it's difficult to predict what the court will do.

21 Jun 2012

Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel reduces 'off' time in people with advanced PD

A new delivery method for levodopa/carbidopa, a common dual-drug Parkinson's disease (PD) regimen, significantly improved the duration of the drugs' effectiveness in people with advanced PD, according to research by Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

21 Jun 2012

Report: Sexual orientation still affecting access to health care

The Human Rights Campaign issued its annual evaluation of how hospitals and other health care facilities score on care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients.

21 Jun 2012

Gracilis muscle flap an effective treatment for facial paralysis in patients with NF2

A surgical technique using a muscle flap from the thigh restores facial motion—and the ability to smile—in patients with facial nerve paralysis resulting from neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), reports a study in this month's special "Operative Neurosurgery" supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Jun 2012