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Tips for people with addiction to help prevent relapse

The holiday season can be an especially trying time of year for those in recovery. The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists offers tips for those suffering with addiction to help prevent relapse.

22 Nov 2011

Diaverum signs joint venture agreement with Nazer Group

November 2011: Diaverum, one of the world´s largest independent renal care providers, has signed a joint venture agreement with Nazer Group, a Saudi Arabian Holding Company with major investments in the medical sector including Bupa Arabia.

22 Nov 2011

New MU facility to help students practice injury prevention techniques

Nursing is among construction and law enforcement as one of seven professions reporting the most on-the-job injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Sprains, strains or tears due to overexertion account for many of the injuries. Those injuries often can be attributed to improperly lifting, handling and moving patients. Now, nursing students at the University of Missouri have a new facility that will help them develop skills to keep themselves and their patients safe.

22 Nov 2011

New device safe, more effective for patients with chronic neurological conditions

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) was developed to help return lost function to patients with upper and lower extremity injuries and spinal cord injuries, among other applications. However, the devices, which work by stimulating neuronal activity in nerve-damaged patients, have a potential shortcoming in that the electrical currents needed for the treatment to work can also send errant signals to surrounding nerves, resulting in painful side effects.

22 Nov 2011

New way to exploit expression of BRAF by papillary carcinomas for therapeutic purposes

Papillary carcinoma is the most common form of thyroid cancer. Approximately one quarter of these carcinomas have mutations in the BRAF gene. The prevalence of such mutations is even greater in high-grade carcinomas, particularly those that are refractory to standard treatment, which is radioactive iodine.

22 Nov 2011

Family-initiated adverse event reporting system can improve safety of health care provision

Families of hospitalized children can provide valuable information about adverse events relating to their children's care that complements information documented by health care professionals, states a study published in CMAJ.

22 Nov 2011

Scientists identify new immune system defect in aged mice

As people age, their immune system becomes less robust. This makes them more susceptible to serious and frequently life-threatening infections with viruses that affect the respiratory tract such as influenza A virus.

22 Nov 2011

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease does not appear to affect survival

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common condition associated with obesity and heart disease long thought to undermine health and longevity. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests the condition does not affect survival.

22 Nov 2011

New system could measure mechanical properties of living cells

Researchers are making progress in developing a system that measures the mechanical properties of living cells, a technology that could be used to diagnose human disease and better understand biological processes.

22 Nov 2011

Study examines link between early-stage Alzheimer's and lower BMI

Studies have shown that people who are overweight in middle age are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease decades later than people at normal weight, yet researchers have also found that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI). A current study examines this relationship between Alzheimer's disease and BMI.

22 Nov 2011

Calif. high risk pool may overflow; seniors and long-term care costs

In California, the PCIP exceeds expected costs and small businesses are struggling. Minnesota insurers are worried about long-term care policies and a Michigan pay-to-play probe is opened.

22 Nov 2011

Study shows degeneration of corpus callosum in stroke patients with impaired hand movement

The structure of the corpus callosum, a thick band of nerve fibres that connects the two halves of the brain with each other and in this way enables the rapid exchange of information between the left and right hemispheres, plays an important role in the regaining of motor skills following a stroke. A study currently published in the journal Human Brain Mapping has shown that in stroke patients with particularly severely impaired hand movement, this communication channel between the two brain hemispheres in particular was badly damaged.

22 Nov 2011

WFP says more than 1M Zimbabweans will need food aid through March 2012

More than one million Zimbabweans will need food aid between now and March 2012 because of poor harvests and food prices out of reach for vulnerable families, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday, the Associated Press reports.

22 Nov 2011

Tips to reduce calorie intake during holiday season

This holiday season, most families will have the traditional turkey, cranberry sauce and a pumpkin pie, without which it wouldn't qualify as a holiday meal. The one thing that usually falls off the list of must-haves is sensibility, says one University of Alabama at Birmingham expert.

22 Nov 2011

Potential cuts to global health spending threaten vision of 'AIDS-free generation'

The vision of an "AIDS-free generation" presented in a speech earlier this month by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "is under threat in Congress," as "the House and the Senate are discussing significant cuts to the 2012 Obama administration request for global health funding," Jeanie Yoon, a physician with Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece.

22 Nov 2011

U-M ranks sixth among all medical schools in NIH funding

Research at the University of Michigan Medical School brought hundreds of millions of dollars into the state of Michigan in the last year - and could have a total economic impact of nearly $1.2 billion, new data show.

22 Nov 2011

Supreme Court names lawyers to participate in health law case

The high court named two lawyers to argue specific elements of the health law case - both of which are related to the individual mandate. Meanwhile, Republicans step up questions on Justice Elena Kagan's level of involvement regarding the health law in her prior position when she was the Obama administration's solicitor general. In addition, Democrats continue to push on Justice Clarence Thomas' possible conflicts of interest.

22 Nov 2011

Researchers report on inadequacy of nursing home quality scorecards

The scoring system government agencies use to rate nursing home quality does not provide an adequate evaluation because they do not take into account the degree of cognitive impairment of their patient populations and whether facilities include a specialized dementia unit according to a new study.

22 Nov 2011

Medicare will still cover Avastin for breast cancer, despite revocation of FDA approval

The FDA announced that Avastin, while still approved for other cancers, is more harmful than helpful to breast cancer patients.

22 Nov 2011

Titanium particles from artificial joints may play a direct role in painful inflammation

Many people with painful, creaky knees and hips find relief after replacing their bad joints with new artificial joints made from titanium. But some of these people develop painful inflammation that can lead to bone destruction and loosening of the new joint. A new study led by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and published by the Journal of Immunology suggests that tiny titanium particles that flake away from the artificial joints through normal wear and tear may play a direct role in that inflammation.

22 Nov 2011