Curated News: JAMA

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The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has opened the first stage of a federal prize competition designed to generate miniature, lab-grown human retinas. The retina is the light- sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. Over the next three years pending availability of funds, NEI plans to offer more than $1 million in prize money to spur development of human retina organoids.

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Although the odds of developing breast cancer are nearly identical for black and white women, black women are 42 percent more likely to die from the disease. A large, multi-institutional study, published on-line May 4, 2017, in JAMA Oncology, explores the germline genetic variations and tumor biological differences between black and white women with breast cancer.

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Alternate-day fasting diets are just as effective as diets that restrict calories every day, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago report. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, followed 100 obese adults for a year.

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In an analysis of Medicare billing data submitted by more than 2,300 United States physicians, researchers have calculated the average number of surgical slices, or cuts, made during Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), a procedure that progressively removes thin layers of cancerous skin tissue in a way that minimizes damage to healthy skin and the risks of leaving cancerous tissue behind.

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A program that penalizes hospitals for high early readmission rates of heart attack patients may be unfairly penalizing hospitals that serve a large proportion of African-Americans and those with more severe illness, a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests.

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Anna Gunby can’t run around as smoothly as most 4-year-olds because her wobbly legs are affected by a rare brain disease that also hinders her intellect. She can’t identify colors. She can’t count objects. Her attention span is short.

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A study that surveyed a national sample of emergency department health care providers and adult patients suggests that patients are substantially more willing to disclose their sexual orientation than health care workers believe.

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Hospitals nationwide are seeking ways to use price transparency – displaying the price of lab tests at the time when doctors are placing the order – to nudge doctors to consider whether the benefits are worth the cost. But, results of a new study show that simply displaying the Medicare allowable fees did not have an overall impact on how clinicians ordered these tests.

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Contrary to prevailing wisdom, preventive visits to a dentist for children under 2 years old may not reduce the need for more care later, at least among those children enrolled in Medicaid in Alabama, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

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People living in areas that restrict trans fats in foods had fewer hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke compared to residents in areas without restrictions, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Yale School of Medicine.

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New UC Project Finds Roadmap to Improve Patient Safety in Radiation Exposure

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Having surgery always comes with risks. But a new study suggests a new one to add to the usual list: the risk of becoming a long-term opioid user. About 6 percent of people who hadn’t been taking opioids before their operation, but were prescribed the drugs to ease their post-surgery pain, were still getting the drugs three to six months later, the study finds.

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A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), adds to a growing body of recent research supporting the use of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) as a first line treatment for acute low back pain, according to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

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A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center examines the complex interaction between patients’ desires for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy and surgeons’ responsibility to minimize harm.

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The risk of data breaches at U.S. hospitals is associated with larger facilities and hospitals that have a major teaching mission, according to a study published online today by JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Electronic health record systems significantly improve outcomes for patients who undergo surgeries on weekends, according to a Loyola Medicine study published in JAMA Surgery.

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Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found patients who use gastric suppression medications are at a higher risk for recurrent Clostridium difficile (C-diff) infection. C-diff is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. The study is published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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In a study published in the journal JAMA Oncology, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers report that women diagnosed and treated for cancer during their childbearing years more commonly gave birth prematurely, and to babies whose weights were below normal ranges. Cancer survivors also had a slightly higher rate of cesarean section deliveries.

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It may be possible to predict the severity of hearing loss for children diagnosed with enlarged vestibular aqueduct, according to a new study published in JAMA-Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

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The transformation of US immigration policy could have a harmful effect on the general public, patients and the health care system, say two public health law experts.

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People who lose a partner to suicide are at increased risk for a number of mental and physical disorders, including cancer, depression, herniated discs and mood disorders than those in the general population, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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A new study led by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers identifies distinct patterns of side effects for prostate cancer treatments that patients could use to guide their choices.

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The research appears in JAMA Pediatrics on March 20. “The take-home message is that a smartphone can help a child be healthier across a number of health care behaviors, like making sure they get vaccines or eat a healthy diet,” said co-author Christopher Cushing.

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Study investigates whether modern statin guidelines accurately identify African American patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

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Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are urged to take it easy. But new research shows they might benefit from moderate aerobic exercise.

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Two screening tests often used to try to predict which pregnant women are likely to deliver prematurely aren’t effective in low-risk women, according to a national collaborative study of more than 10,000 women, led by clinician-researchers at University of Utah Health Sciences and Intermountain Healthcare. Researchers found that neither transvaginal cervical measurement or fetal fibronectin tests, used separately or together, adequately predicts preterm birth. The findings are published in March 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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More than 80 percent of stroke patients with a history of atrial fibrillation either received not enough or no anticoagulation therapy prior to having a stroke, despite the drugs’ proven record of reducing stroke risk, according to a Duke Clinical Research Institute study.

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As the new administration considers the future direction of the Food and Drug Administration, a group of leading researchers has created a Blueprint for Transparency at the agency to advance the development of safe and effective new products.

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In a Viewpoint published this week in JAMA Surgery, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argue for more research on firearm injury, including the establishment of a national database on incidents of gun violence. The authors point to recent research showing that in Philadelphia, gun murders and injuries are much more strongly associated with race than neighborhood income levels.

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By the end of the third and final year of residency, evaluations of female physicians placed them three to four months behind male colleagues in the same training program. Male residents, on average, received higher evaluations on all 23 training categories. The gap emerged early in the second year of training and steadily widened until graduation.

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Scalp cooling can lessen some chemotherapy-induced hair loss – one of the most devastating hallmarks of cancer – in certain breast cancer patients, according to a new multicenter study from UC San Francisco, Weill Cornell Medicine and three other medical centers.   A majority of the study’s patients, all women with stage 1 or 2 breast cancer who underwent scalp cooling, retained more than half of their hair after completing chemotherapy, the investigators learned.

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A UAB study shows children receiving early preventive dental care from a dentist had more frequent tooth decay-related treatment, a higher rate of visits and higher annual dental expenditures.

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Since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, which provided access to health insurance to millions of previously uninsured adults in the United States, the availability of appointments with primary care physicians has improved for patients with Medicaid and remains unchanged for patients with private coverage, according to new research led by the Perelman School of Medicine and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, which compared new patient appointment availability in 10 states between 2012/13 (before the Affordable Care Act came into effect) and 2016, is published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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The implementation of state laws legalizing same-sex marriage was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of suicide attempts among high school students – and an even greater reduction among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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Recording and analyzing patient and family reports about rude and disrespectful behavior can identify surgeons with higher rates of surgical site infections and other avoidable adverse outcomes, according to a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators in collaboration with six other major academic health systems.

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The number of older Americans who take three or more medicines that affect their brains has more than doubled in just a decade, a new study finds. The sharpest rise occurred in seniors living in rural areas.

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“Every cancer diagnosis should come with a referral to genetic counseling,” says cancer expert Dr. Antonio Giordano, President of the Sbarro Health Research Organization at Temple University.

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Over the past two decades there has been a sharp rise in the number and severity of infections caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile often shortened to C. diff now the most common hospital acquired infection in the United States. But a new study suggests that the most routinely prescribed antibiotic is not the best treatment for severe cases. Scientists at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and University of Utah School of Medicine report that patients with a severe C. diff infection (CDI) were less likely to die when treated with the antibiotic vancomycin compared to the standard treatment of metronidazole.

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After a decade of using a novel approach to select patients for laryngeal cancer treatment, researchers are reporting "exceptional" survival rates nearing 80 percent, even for the most advanced patients.

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A nationwide cancer registry of almost one million patients treated for hormone-sensitive breast cancer shows that one out of six women who should have received post-surgical treatment known as adjuvant endocrine therapy did not get this recommended component of care, which can reduce the odds of recurrence.

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Frequent soccer ball heading is a common and under recognized cause of concussion symptoms, according to a study of amateur players led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers. The findings run counter to earlier soccer studies suggesting concussion injuries mainly result from inadvertent head impacts, such as collisions with other players or a goalpost. The study was published online today in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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PHOENIX – Mayo Clinic researchers have found that engaging in mentally stimulating activities, even late in life, may protect against new-onset mild cognitive impairment, which is the intermediate stage between normal cognitive aging and dementia. The study found that cognitively normal people 70 or older who engaged in computer use, craft activities, social activities and playing games had a decreased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment. The results are published in the Jan. 30 edition of JAMA Neurology.

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Young and middle-aged patients with colon cancer are nearly two to eight times more likely to receive postoperative chemotherapy than older patients, yet there seems to be no added survival benefits for these patients, according to a study published today in JAMA Surgery by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).

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Quick digital surveys before eye health appointments could help clinicians target care and improve record keeping, a Michigan Medicine study finds.

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Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute led a study that provides some of the strongest evidence to date that microorganisms living in the large intestine can serve as a link between diet and certain types of colorectal cancer.

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It sounds simple and harmless—an electronic sensor attached to a baby’s sock that monitors vital signs and alerts parents on their smart phones if, for instance, an infant’s oxygen saturation level drops. But pediatric experts argue that such devices may cause undue alarm to parents, with no evidence of medical benefits, especially to healthy babies.

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Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are tumors that arise is the wall of the digestive tract, and most often occur in the stomach or small intestine. Though more common in later in life, GISTs can occur in adolescents and young adults (AYA) under 40 years old as well. Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine report findings from the first population-based analysis of AYA patients with GIST.

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When hospitalised, people can become acutely confused and disorientated. This condition, known as delirium, affects a quarter of older patients and new research by UCL and the University of Cambridge shows it may have long-lasting consequences, including accelerating the dementia process.

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The average anesthesiologist, emergency physician, pathologist and radiologist charge more than four times what Medicare pays for similar services, often leaving privately-insured consumers stuck with surprise medical bills that are much higher than they anticipated, new research in JAMA suggests.

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For tens of millions of Americans, the start of a new year means the counter has gone back to zero on their health insurance deductible. If they need health care, they’ll pay for some of it out of their own pockets before their insurance takes over. As insurance plans with deductibles grow in popularity, a new study takes a national look at what those plans mean for people with common chronic health conditions.