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Researcher proposes statistical method to enhance secondary security screenings

A researcher at The University of Texas at Austin has found that secondary security screening at airports is mathematically flawed, and has identified a way to select people for screenings more efficiently and fairly.

2 Feb 2009

Researchers design re-engineered hospital discharge program to reduce rehospitalization

Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have designed a process to minimize discharge failures.

2 Feb 2009

Risk of malpractice lawsuits in breast imaging overestimate by radiologists

Radiologists who work in breast imaging tend to overestimate their actual risk of medical malpractice lawsuits, according to a study performed at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Seattle, WA.

2 Feb 2009

PET/CT may improve prognosis for patients with inflammatory breast cancer

In the largest study to date to evaluate fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in the initial staging of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), researchers were able to identify the precise location and extent of metastasis (spread of disease), offering the potential for a better prognosis for patients with this rare, but aggressive form of breast cancer.

2 Feb 2009

Study shows restrictive law fails to limit number of abortions

Despite abortion being severely legally restricted - and potentially unsafe - in Peru, the incidence of abortion is as high as or higher than the incidence in many countries where it is legal and safe, found researchers from Peru, the United Kingdom and the United States in an article published in CMAJ.

2 Feb 2009

People without heart disease symptoms should use caution in obtaining cardiac imaging exams

At the radiation dose levels used in cardiac imaging exams, such as cardiac CT or nuclear medicine scans, the risk of potentially harmful effects from ionizing radiation are low.

2 Feb 2009

Brain perceives optical illusions as real motion

Ever get a little motion sick from an illusion graphic designed to look like it's moving?

2 Feb 2009

Sedative dexmedetomidine may offer advantages over agents often used for sedation in ICU

Use of the sedative dexmedetomidine for critically ill patients resulted in less time on a ventilator and less delirium compared to patients administered a more commonly used drug, according to a study in the February 4 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Feb 2009

New vaccine developed for preventing human adenovirus type-3d virus

Common colds typically cause a week of sneezing, aches and pains and then fade away leaving only a sore nose and a few used sick days behind.

2 Feb 2009

New technique images tumor vessel leakiness to predict breast cancer chemotherapy outcome

Chemotherapy is an integral part of modern cancer treatment, but it's not always effective.

2 Feb 2009

Improved strategies to tackle ghostwriting in the medical literature

Better strategies to tackle ghostwriting in the medical literature are the subject of a debate by leading authors in next week's issue of the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Feb 2009

A framework for major depressive disorder

Genes, psychological adversity in childhood, and recent or ongoing psychological stress may combine to cause major depression, write Dr. Sanjay Mathew and colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York in a review published in CMAJ.

2 Feb 2009

MR spectroscopy may help avoid invasive procedures and treatments for recurrent brain lesions

A clinical decision model which uses MR spectroscopy to help physicians differentiate between recurrent tumors and changes in the brain tissue due to radiation treatments, may help patients avoid invasive procedures and treatments, according to a study performed at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, MI.

2 Feb 2009

CT and fiber-coated surgical microcoils help locate small lung nodules

A new technique combining computed tomography (CT) with fiber-coated surgical microcoils allows physicians to successfully locate and remove small lung nodules without the need for a more invasive procedure, according to a new study published in the February issue of Radiology.

2 Feb 2009