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Screening for alcohol problems in hospitals needs improvement

Many people admitted to hospitals in the U.S. have alcohol use disorders that go undetected, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

12 Apr 2004

Sorority members were urged to lie about their health

University of Missouri-Columbia sorority members were urged to lie about their health to qualify as donors in a blood drive at the University, a school that once set a world record for blood collection.

12 Apr 2004

New and Generic Drug Approvals from FDA

This newly approved or tentatively approved drug listing from the FDA is an interim page intended to provide timely information on new drug products as a more comprehensive page is developed.

12 Apr 2004

Surprises found In gene variation associated with schizophrenia

Approximately two percent of Caucasians have a gene segment variation that can cause a certain form of schizophrenia. Most people with the variation, known as a polymorphism, do not have the disease. A University of Iowa Health Care study reveals a good prognosis for people who do have this form of schizophrenia.

12 Apr 2004

VCU Medical Center goes high definition

The startlingly clear images displayed by high definition televisions have attracted the attention of sports enthusiasts, movie fanatics, and video gamers. Now some surgeons at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center are among the first in the country to use the technology to gain extraordinary views of the human anatomy.

12 Apr 2004

San Diego seawater contains neurotoxin that can poison human consumers of shellfish

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, have documented for the first time in San Diego seawater the presence of a neurotoxin that has been known to poison marine mammals, birds and human consumers of shellfish.

12 Apr 2004

Continuous insulin monitoring does not raise hospital costs

Patients with diabetes whose glucose is continually monitored after coronary bypass artery graft surgery do not incur higher medical costs despite the additional testing, Penn State Diabetes Center researchers report.

12 Apr 2004

Vision loss in over 40's is becoming a major public health problem

With the aging of the population, the number of Americans with major eye diseases is increasing, and vision loss is becoming a major public health problem. By the year 2020, the number of people who are blind or have low vision is projected to increase substantially. These findings appear in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

12 Apr 2004

Kentucky's first robotic procedure treats prostate

Earlier this year, the University of Kentucky Hospital was the first hospital in Kentucky to perform a minimally invasive, coronary artery bypass graft using surgical robotic instruments.

12 Apr 2004

Researchers pinpoint pathway to muscle regeneration

A team including MDA grantee Gordon Lynch in the Department of Physiology at the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, found that a biological signaling pathway may help explain why mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can regenerate their muscles much better than can humans with the same disease.

12 Apr 2004

Diabetic retinopathy population will quadruple by 2012

Decision Resources, Inc., one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, finds that the drug-treated diabetic retinopathy population will quadruple by 2012.

12 Apr 2004

Teens are obese due to lack of exercise

The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America's nonprofit fitness advocate, today applauds the recent findings by University of California San Diego School of Medicine and San Diego State University researchers stating that the lack of physical activity was the most significant obesity risk factor contributing to obesity in 11- to 15-year-olds.

12 Apr 2004

FDA approval of stomach acid suppressant

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the reformulation of the stomach acid suppressant, PROTONIX(R) I.V. (pantoprazole sodium) for Injection.

12 Apr 2004

CDC provides new guide to protect against Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva.

12 Apr 2004

Process to minimize the side effect of painful arthritis

The University of Missouri Friday announced the discovery of a process to minimize the side effect of painful arthritis that develop after knee surgeries. The procedure will be tested in human clinical trials this summer if the process is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Columbia, Mo-based school said.

12 Apr 2004

AMA tackles health literacy

An estimated 90 million adults – nearly half the adults in America – have trouble understanding medical terms and directions, according to two studies published on April 8 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

12 Apr 2004

Household molds trigger allergic rhinitis

April showers can increase the amount of mold found inside and outside the home. Along with pollens from trees, grasses, and weeds, molds are an important trigger of allergic rhinitis, affecting nearly 40 million Americans, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

12 Apr 2004

Unmarried women do not feel comfortable at doctors

Regardless of sexual orientation, unmarried women ages 40 to 75 voiced reluctance to undergo routine cancer screening tests, feeling out of place or misunderstood in health care settings, according to the first wave of information from a five-year Brown University Cancer Screening Project for Women.

12 Apr 2004

Welsh plaster invention will help diabetics

A revolutionary plaster developed in Wales could mean an end to the daily grind of injections suffered by diabetics.

12 Apr 2004

Medicare to launch website showing comparative drug pricing

Medicare has announced it will be publishishing detailed information comparing the prices of most prescription drugs, which is set to shake up the pharmaceutical industry.

12 Apr 2004