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Longer looks: Doctor guilt; an abortion provider's hidden record

Okay, I know I'm a health writer, but I really don't like going to the doctor. Part of it is an unshakeable, irrational certainty that they will find something horribly wrong with me that I'd rather not know about, and part of it is a rational certainty that they will find something mildly wrong with me that is my fault and chastise me for it - drinking too much, not exercising enough, whatever. One should be able to talk to one's doctor about these things - the aspects of one's lifestyle that maybe aren't so great. ... But in 2009, a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego found that half of the patients surveyed had experienced shame as a result of something a doctor said to them.

31 Jan 2014

Clonidine before surgery may control post-surgical pain and child's anxiety

Managing a child's pain and distress after surgery is an essential part of recovery. However, using strong painkilling medications post-surgery can put kids at risk for side effects and other complications.

31 Jan 2014

Doctor offers tips for fans who suddenly have to face months without football

After the final play of the Super Bowl, millions of fans will go through withdrawal symptoms from not being able to watch football for months.

31 Jan 2014

Look to heart shaped foods to protect heart

The crumbs from the Christmas cookies are gone and black-eyed peas, eaten on New Year to bring luck, are a distant memory. Declared American Heart Month with Valentine's Day smack dab in the middle, February is here. What to eat to keep your heart healthy?

31 Jan 2014

Study points to gender-specific mechanisms of brain repair following oxygen deprivation

Physicians have long known that oxygen deprivation to the brain around the time of birth causes worse damage in boys than girls. Now a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center conducted in mice reveals one possible reason behind this gender disparity and points to gender-specific mechanisms of brain repair following such injury.

31 Jan 2014

Children with peanut allergies could benefit from oral immunotherapy treatment

Children and adolescents with peanut allergies could benefit from treatment with oral immunotherapy (OIT), in which peanut protein is consumed in increasingly larger amounts on a regular basis to build up tolerance, according to a phase 2 trial published in The Lancet.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers identify components of C. diff bacteria that can be used to develop better treatment

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified components in Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that may lead to new diagnostic tools, and ultimately more timely and effective treatment for this often fatal infection. C. diff is a spore-forming bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and is responsible for 14,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The study is published online in advance of print in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

31 Jan 2014

The health law factors heavily into Senate political calculations

Vulnerable Senate Democrats may seek chances to vote on efforts to fix the overhaul, CQ HealthBeat reports; while the New York Times examines where GOP candidates need to win.

31 Jan 2014

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute announced today that a global consortium supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been formed to develop a new vaccine against a disease that's devastating cattle herds in sub-Saharan Africa. This highly advanced cattle vaccine project could also help malaria and cancer research in humans.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers identify potential genes that can be targeted for new treatments for hepatocellular cancer

Patients with advanced hepatocellular (or liver) cancer have high mortality rates, with existing drugs demonstrating only a small, but significant survival advantage. By combining a zebrafish model of liver cancer with data from human tumors, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai hope to identify potential genes of interest that can be targeted for new treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer to develop from liver cells.

31 Jan 2014

Bubble CPAP device increases survival rate of newborns with severe respiratory illness

The first clinical study of a low-cost neonatal breathing system created by Rice University bioengineering students demonstrated that the device increased the survival rate of newborns with severe respiratory illness from 44 percent to 71 percent.

31 Jan 2014

Aerie Pharmaceuticals announces dosing of first patients in PG324 Phase 2b study

Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class glaucoma therapies, today announced dosing of the first patients enrolled in the Company's Phase 2b study of PG324, a novel, fixed-combination of Aerie's AR-13324 and latanoprost, a prostaglandin analogue that is the most widely prescribed glaucoma drug.

31 Jan 2014

UC San Diego researchers uncover causes for hereditary spastic paraplegia

In a study published in the January 31, 2014 issue of Science, an international team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report doubling the number of known causes for the neurodegenerative disorder known as hereditary spastic paraplegia. HSP is characterized by progressive stiffness and contraction of the lower limbs and is associated with epilepsy, cognitive impairment, blindness and other neurological features.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers study how epigenetic alterations contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk

Age is a key risk factor for breast cancer. A recent study by researchers from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, "Age-related DNA methylation in normal breast tissue and its relationship with invasive breast tumor methylation," examines the connection between cancer and the aging process to see if epigenetic DNA alterations might contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk.

31 Jan 2014

Many questions linger about who are the 9 million people Obama said are getting insurance through the health law

In his State of the Union address, the president touted successes in signing people up for private insurance or Medicaid. But critics suggest that the number is lower than expected, and no one yet knows how many of those people were previously uninsured.

31 Jan 2014

Large amounts of choline may be needed to support fetal development during pregnancy

Recent research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that during pregnancy, and particularly during the third trimester, large amounts of choline may be needed to support fetal development. Conclusions of the research revealed that current recommendations may be too low. Choline deficiency in pregnant women may result in elevated levels of homocysteine, potentially resulting in birth defects.

31 Jan 2014

Finding could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered what appears to be a potent stimulator of new bone growth. The finding could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other diseases that occur when the body doesn't make enough bone.

31 Jan 2014

Study finds health law may reduce income inequality

New research suggests the health law will boost the economic fortunes of people on the bottom one-fifth of the income ladder while slightly reducing average incomes for those above. Other stories look at a health plan cost calculator designed for the chronically ill, the debate over insurance risk corridors and union displeasure with the law.

31 Jan 2014

Llama-derived antibodies open door to development of new treatments for C. difficile infections

Researchers from the Alberta Glycomics Centre at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, in collaboration with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, have revealed the first molecular views showing how highly specific antibodies derived from llamas may provide a new method for controlling deadly infections from the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).

31 Jan 2014

New biological pathway-based computational model to identify genetic links with diseases

Dartmouth researchers developed a new biological pathway-based computational model, called the Pathway-based Human Phenotype Network (PHPN), to identify underlying genetic connections between different diseases as reported in BioDataMining this week.

31 Jan 2014

Medical News

Longer looks: Doctor guilt; an abortion provider's hidden record

Clonidine before surgery may control post-surgical pain and child's anxiety

Doctor offers tips for fans who suddenly have to face months without football

Look to heart shaped foods to protect heart

Study points to gender-specific mechanisms of brain repair following oxygen deprivation

Children with peanut allergies could benefit from oral immunotherapy treatment

Researchers identify components of C. diff bacteria that can be used to develop better treatment

The health law factors heavily into Senate political calculations

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

Researchers identify potential genes that can be targeted for new treatments for hepatocellular cancer

Bubble CPAP device increases survival rate of newborns with severe respiratory illness

Aerie Pharmaceuticals announces dosing of first patients in PG324 Phase 2b study

UC San Diego researchers uncover causes for hereditary spastic paraplegia

Researchers study how epigenetic alterations contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk

Many questions linger about who are the 9 million people Obama said are getting insurance through the health law

Large amounts of choline may be needed to support fetal development during pregnancy

Finding could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis

Study finds health law may reduce income inequality

Llama-derived antibodies open door to development of new treatments for C. difficile infections

New biological pathway-based computational model to identify genetic links with diseases

Directed enzyme evolution and the Nobel Prize: Making enzymes evolve in the lab

Advancing Motor Neuron Disease Diagnosis with Non-Invasive Ultrasound and AI

How agentic AI is reshaping laboratory workflows

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