Curated News: Medical Meetings

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When a fever strikes in a developing area, the immediate concern may be: Is it the common flu or something much worse? To facilitate diagnosis in remote, low-resource settings, researchers have developed a paper-based device that changes color, depending on whether the patient has Ebola, yellow fever or dengue. It takes minutes and does not need electricity. The team will describe their approach at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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The brains of people with epilepsy appear to react to music differently from the brains of those who do not have the disorder, a finding that could lead to new therapies to prevent seizures, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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Hearing loss in adults is under treated despite evidence that hearing aid technology can significantly lessen depression and anxiety and improve cognitive functioning, according to a presentation at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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APS will host the 14th International Conference on Endothelin: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics on September 2–5 in Savannah, Ga. The meeting will convene leading global researchers who study endothelin—a type of powerful peptide that constricts blood vessels, raises blood pressure and controls many other cellular functions throughout the body.

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In an effort to build better bodies, more men are turning not to illegal anabolic steroids, but to legal over-the-counter bodybuilding supplements to the point where it may qualify as an emerging eating disorder, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention.

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While recently published parenting books have preached the effectiveness of positive parenting and “no drama” discipline, psychologists presenting at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention said don’t put timeout in timeout yet.

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Despite the growing use of online support groups such as those on Facebook to help curb substance abuse, attending traditional face-to-face meetings may continue to be more effective for people trying to maintain sobriety, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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People with type 2 diabetes can lower their blood sugar if they follow a personalized blood glucose monitoring schedule, even if they don’t use insulin, according to a new study being presented at AADE15, the annual meeting and exhibition of the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

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Registration is now open to journalists planning to attend the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting.

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Healthcare providers need to be alert for signs of an eating disorder in people with type 1 diabetes – especially young girls and women, according to presentations at AADE15. A list of warning signs of the disease can help - see below.

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As they reach their teens, many with type 1 diabetes discover that the disease provides a secret weapon for losing weight. But it’s dangerous, and can lead to serious medical complications. Diabetes educators and a former diabulImia patient will share their stories and experience at AADE15.

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A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick -- small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the least invasive form of minimally invasive surgery.

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Noting a paradigm shift among consumers who are seeking greater control over their own healthcare, AACC issued a position statement today on direct-to-consumer laboratory testing, which allows people to order medical tests directly from a lab without having to work with their healthcare provider. The statement emphasizes direct-to-consumer test results must be accurate and easily understood—an area where laboratory medicine professionals play a vital role.

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Unexplained weight loss is often seen in people with dementia, which can lead to further complications, including mental and physical deterioration. New research from Bournemouth University, funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing, has revealed the challenges of providing good nutrition and hydration in people with dementia who live in care homes.

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Scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Center for Cognitive Neurology have evidence that monoclonal antibodies they developed may provide the blueprint for effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

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Although being overweight with a high body-mass index (BMI) has long been associated with a higher risk for colorectal cancer, thinner patients might not fare as well after treatment for advanced cancer, according to a new study from Duke Medicine.

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In addition to its effect on chronic tics, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can change the brain function of people with Tourette syndrome.

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Patients with atrial fibrillation who stopped taking blood thinners before they had elective surgery had no higher risk of developing blood clots and less risk of major bleeding compared to patients who were given a “bridge” therapy, according to research led by Duke Medicine.

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While not linked in this case, Streptococcus mutans serotype k, has been associated with bacteremia, infective endocarditis and hemorrhagic stroke.

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It started out as a treatment for arthritis. But steered by science, it could become a first new approach in two decades for treating the damage that diabetes inflicts on the kidneys of millions of people.

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Clinatec chairman Alim-Louis Benabid, MD, PhD -- considered the "father of deep brain stimulation " -- receives the International Neuromodulation Society's third Giant of Neuromodulation award at its 12th World Congress in Montreal

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A study at the Vancouver Island Health Authority (government health plan) supports findings that costs of spinal cord stimulation implants are recouped due to decreased demands for medical treatment in chronic pain patients.

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Researchers funded by the National Institute for Health Research to conduct a multi-center pilot study of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in refractory chronic angina pectoris will advise NICE that a fully powered nationwide study is feasible, with SCS therapy and trial outcome measures shown to be acceptable and appropriate for future randomized controlled trials.

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Children and adolescents who received deep brain stimulation for generalized dystonia maintained significant symptom relief for up to eight years, according to a study presented today at the 12th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society.

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U.S. and Chinese researchers have begun a controlled clinical trial in Crohn's disease using surface electrodes daily to stimulate an acupuncture point on the stomach meridian that was shown to reduce vagal imbalance in preclinical studies. Restoring vagal balance is known to reduce intestinal inflammation.

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Winning research abstracts present: a custom neural prosthesis to combat paralysis; cellular evidence of stroke recovery; tuning treatment of Parkinson's disease; validation of a pain model; and comparing drug-free stimulation modes of pain treatment.

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A clinical trial of the glucose-control drug sitagliptin among patients with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease has found it did not raise the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.

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Weekly sessions of non-invasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation provided sufficient long-term pain relief in 61 percent of patients with central post-stroke pain, and delivered long-term relief for patients who continued for one year.

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Eating less late at night may help curb the concentration and alertness deficits that accompany sleep deprivation, according to results of a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

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Physical activities, such as walking, as well as aerobics/calisthenics, biking, gardening, golfing, running, weight-lifting, and yoga/Pilates are associated with better sleep habits, compared to no activity, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In contrast, the study shows that other types of physical activity – such as household and childcare -- work are associated with increased cases of poor sleep habits. The full results of the study (Abstract #0246) will be presented during the poster session on Monday, June 8, at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC, June 6-10, in Seattle, WA.

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Registration is open for the 41st Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) Annual Educational Conference on September 30-October 3, 2015, in New Orleans, which provides a forum for knowledge sharing and engagement that features the finest educators and thought leaders in the world of rehabilitation nursing. No matter the type of setting, rehabilitation nursing principles and practical clinical topics are the same for all nurses working with people experiencing a traumatic injury or chronic illness.

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A survey of women with breast cancer found that nearly half considered having a double mastectomy. But of those who considered it, only 37 percent knew that the more aggressive procedure does not improve survival for women with breast cancer.

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Using high-precision genetic tests to differentiate the thousands of bacteria that make up the human microbiome, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center suggest that they have found a possible — and potentially surprising — root cause of the increased frequency of certain eye infections among contact lens wearers.

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A modified poliovirus therapy that is showing promising results for patients with glioblastoma brain tumors works best at a low dosage, according to the research team at Duke’s Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center where the investigational therapy is being pioneered.

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Whole Brain Radiation Therapy (WBRT) is associated with significantly worse cognitive function than radiosurgery, and should no longer be used in the adjuvant setting after radiosurgery to treat cancer patients with brain metastases, according to a large study led by a researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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A Phase 3, multicenter clinical trial led by Ludwig Cancer Research investigators Jedd Wolchok and Stephen Hodi shows that the combination of two immunotherapies—ipilimumab and nivolumab—induces more frequent responses and considerably longer progression-free survival in patients with advanced melanoma than the administration of either of them alone. The results of the trial, which confirm those of a smaller study similarly conducted in previously untreated patients by the same Ludwig scientists, were presented today at the 2015 American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and published online later today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Treating advanced melanoma patients with either a combination of the immunotherapy drugs nivolumab and ipilimumab or nivolumab alone significantly increases progression-free survival over using ipilimumab alone, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers.

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A large cooperative-group study has confirmed previous evidence that lenalidomide delays time to disease progression for patients with multiple myeloma and is an important treatment option for patients with the disease.

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A role for combination therapy using two or more chemotherapy agents at the same time has not been well studied. This week, however, results of a clinical trial presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center may change the perspective on a role for combination chemotherapy in advanced disease.

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Anastrozole provides a significant benefit compared with tamoxifen in preventing recurrence after a lumpectomy and radiation therapy in postmenopausal women ages 60 years or younger who had DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), a common diagnosis of non-invasive breast cancer. In women over age 60, it works as well as tamoxifen. These findings were presented today at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. The benefit reported in this trial appeared later in follow up of the women in the study.

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Removing more tissue during a partial mastectomy could spare thousands of breast cancer patients a second surgery, according to a Yale Cancer Center study. The findings were published online May 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

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Mount Sinai Health System faculty will be presenting research updates on a lymphoma vaccine clinical trial, the best dosing for a drug against metastatic cancer, and new treatment strategies in relapsed multiple myeloma at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, May 29 – June 2, 2015, in Chicago.

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CHICAGO — Use of the targeted agent pacritinib significantly reduced the symptoms and burden of advanced myelofibrosis in patients, says a Mayo Clinic researcher who co-led PERSIST-1, the worldwide phase 3 clinical trial that tested the therapy. Specifically, pacritinib substantially reduced severe enlargement of the spleen, a typical feature of advanced myelofibrosis, in more than 20 percent of patients and alleviated debilitating side effects in more than 46 percent.

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A new phase 3 study in some of the most difficult-to-treat patients, women with endocrine-resistant disease, showed that the newly approved drug, palbociclib, more than doubled the time to cancer recurrence for women with hormone-receptor (HR+) positive metastatic breast cancer.

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The public is invited to a free talk by doctors and patients on neuromodulation before a three-day world congress brings more than 1,300 international experts to Montreal to discuss this promising therapeutic approach.

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Investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will share new research findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, which is being held May 29–June 2 in Chicago.

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A team of researchers led by Ludwig Cancer Research investigator Luis Diaz has identified a genetic malfunction that predicts the effectiveness of response to a groundbreaking immunotherapy. The results of their Phase 2 clinical trial reveal that, regardless of its tissue of origin, tumors whose cells are deficient in repairing mismatched DNA sequences—and so preventing mutations—are far more susceptible to the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab than those that retain this ability. Their findings were announced today at the American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and will be published online May 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

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A multiplatform biomarker analysis of squamous cell anal carcinoma samples led by Roswell Park in conjunction with Caris Life Sciences has revealed several actionable targets.

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Promising clinical trial results presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2015 show activity of the investigational anti-cancer agent ONT-380 against HER2+ breast cancer, in one case specifically against brain metastases and in another case in overall survival of heavily pretreated HER2+ breast cancer patients.

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A University of Colorado Cancer Center study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2015 shows decreased sexual activity in women following treatment for gynecologic cancers, down from 6.1-6.8 times per month before treatment to 2.6-4.9 times per month after treatment.