Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Medicine

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are working on ways to improve the results of a non-surgical method to treat fibroids. They are examining the overall effectiveness of different agents used to destroy uterine fibroids - a discovery that could lead to more answers about the durability of a procedure called Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE).

• share
• favorite_border

Tearing a cruciate ligament in the knee is not just something humans can do. Man's best friend also can sustain the injury. And, just like in humans, surgery may be the best option to repair the damage in dogs, according to a Kansas State University veterinary medicine professor.

• share
• favorite_border

Men who drink alcohol every day have a lower risk of heart disease than those who drink less frequently, suggests research in this week's BMJ. But the same is not true for women.

• share
• favorite_border

New preliminary brain scan research confirms earlier observations by psychiatrists about vagal nerve stimulation, a therapy for treatment-resistant depression. It takes between three and 12 months for the brain to show signs of change, Saint Louis University research suggests.

• share
• favorite_border

A new surgical simulation laboratory, part of the Division of Surgical Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, may be the first state-of-the-art simulation and training lab in California and among the first in the western United States. In addition to providing hands-on training for surgical residents and refresher opportunities for experienced surgeons, it will be used to advance the science of surgery and simulated surgery.

• share
• favorite_border

A case involving seven transplant recipients killed by a rodent-borne virus that they apparently acquired from donated and infected human organs has prompted a recommendation that regulatory authorities require suppliers of pet rodents to screen their colonies for the virus.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers who participated in the WIN-R trial, the largest hepatitis C study ever conducted in U.S. patients, reported key factors affecting treatment outcomes in five data presentations here at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) annual meeting.

• share
• favorite_border

Many people think that tremors and slow, rigid movements are the only symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, although these are the most noticeable ones, they're not always the most distressing. In one survey, 88% of PD patients reported troubling non-movement symptoms. If not recognized as part of PD and treated accordingly, these symptoms can have a severe impact on a person's life.

• share
• favorite_border

Design experts, as well as those who have recently completed renovation or new construction, have learned a tremendous amount about safety, clinical appropriateness, and efficiency in design of inpatient behavioral healthcare environments. An interactive telephone workshop in June will bring behavioral health providers the latest ideas for creating a patient-centered built environment.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers in Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered genetic and drug-treatment methods to arrest the type of muscle atrophy often caused by muscle disuse, as well as aging and diseases such as cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Michigan Tech researcher Seth Donahue has synthesized a hormone that may be giving bears immunity from osteoporosis.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have identified biochemical signals that attract pathogenic cells to damaged lung tissue "“ one of the first steps in a chain of events leading to a lethal disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF.

• share
• favorite_border

Even though the prevalence of colon tumors increases with age, screening colonoscopy in patients over 80 years of age results in smaller gains in life expectancy, compared to younger patients, according to a study in the May 24/31 issue of JAMA.

• share
• favorite_border

A new Mayo Clinic study found strong familial aggregation of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), suggesting a possible genetic basis for the disorder. Results of the research will be presented Tuesday, May 23, in Los Angeles at Digestive Disease Week® 2006.

• share
• favorite_border

A recent study has shown that immune signals given by variations of a single gene can trigger different immune responses and, when combined, are associated with increased severity of Crohn's Disease, particularly in Ashkenazi Jews. The study is being presented at the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association May 20-25 in Los Angeles.

• share
• favorite_border

In a "Viewpoint" in The Lancet, researchers from UNICEF and the Friedman School at Tufts University in Boston present five surprising facts about severe childhood malnutrition (aka "wasting") and argue that it must be resolved in non-emergency settings to prevent future public health crises.

• share
• favorite_border

Poor physical function may be associated with an increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease in elderly adults, according to a report in the May 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

• share
• favorite_border

High-dose influenza vaccines may increase elderly patients' immune response without significant adverse effects, offering this vulnerable population additional protection against the flu, according to an article in the May 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

• share
• favorite_border

Computer screening may increase the odds that a woman at risk for domestic violence will talk to a health care professional in the emergency department about the topic but does not guarantee that domestic violence would be addressed, according to an article in the May 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

• share
• favorite_border

Eighteen years later, people who worked with lead have significant loss of brain cells and damage to brain tissue, according to a new study published in the May 23, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

• share
• favorite_border

A newly released report by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicates that two thirds of patients needing critical care services may be receiving suboptimal care, because the current demand for critical care services has surpassed the supply of critical care specialists (intensivists) needed to provide optimal care.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study by Florida State University researchers in Tallahassee, Fla. has found that people who were verbally abused as children grow up to be self-critical adults prone to depression and anxiety.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study suggests that sequential bilateral cochlear implantation, or the placement of cochlear implants in both of a child's ears through separate surgeries, has the potential to improve speech perception abilities in quiet and in noise. Cochlear implants are electronic devices that have the potential to restore partial hearing to the deaf.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study from the University of Chicago establishes that Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) may contribute to pediatric swallowing dysfunction. The study further suggests that GERD treatment may improve the swallowing function in distress.

• share
• favorite_border

A new report shows QIOs making significant progress reducing disparities in the quality of health care received by underserved groups"”principally African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and rural residents. The report calls on Medicare to launch a national campaign to address health care disparities.

• share
• favorite_border

Forget the cliché of the successful but overstressed executive "” lower, not higher, socioeconomic status is associated with increased levels of stress hormones in the body.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and the Baylor Research Institute have developed a novel technique using microscopic "bubbles" to deliver insulin genes to the pancreas, the organ that produces the body's insulin. This approach is a major step in the potential treatment of Type I diabetes since patients with the disease do not produce enough insulin on their own.

• share
• favorite_border

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas now offers candidates for hip replacement surgery another option. Known as the Birmingham Hipâ„¢ Resurfacing System, it is the first total hip resurfacing technique and implant approved for use by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

• share
• favorite_border

Despite the ease and availability of Internet searches, cancer patients looking for information about their disease found more information by seeking help from a librarian than by searching on their own, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

• share
• favorite_border

If you've had chickenpox, you may be at risk of shingles -- a painful skin disease that can lead to serious health complications.

• share
• favorite_border

It's undeniable. Your hair is thinning around the temples. One look at your older brother's receding hairline shows you what's likely ahead -- and you'd rather not go there. But is there any way to avoid a receding hairline?

• share
• favorite_border

If you're bothered by bad breath, simple measures often can help. Bad breath often stems from food particles in the mouth, from dry mouth, or from a health problem.

• share
• favorite_border

The results of the Fluid and Catheter Treatment Trial (FACTT), the largest controlled clinical trial of fluid management strategies and catheter use in intensive care patients with severe lung injury, will be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 21nd. Press briefing at 10:30 a.m. (PDT).

• share
• favorite_border

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center is one of the first hospitals in the U.S. to offer a new alternative for total hip replacement -- hip resurfacing. The technique allows the orthopedic surgeon to shave and cap several centimeters of bone within the hip joint, helping to preserve bone and joint stability for young or active patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Rapid, uncontrollable eye movements that swish and thump as the eyes roll and blink. Bones that creak as the body moves. Sudden dizziness, loss of balance. Falling down after a loud noise, such as the sound of your own voice, a cough or even laughter. These are hallmarks of a debilitating and relatively rare syndrome known as superior canal dehiscence that has stumped clinicians for a long time.

• share
• favorite_border

An obstetrician well known for research into multiple-birth pregnancies has found that dietary changes, specifically dairy, can affect a woman's chances of having twins, and that her overall chance is determined by a combination of diet and heredity.

• share
• favorite_border

An adenotonsillectomy, or surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids, leads to an improvement in behavior and sleep for pediatric patients diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing has been revealed in a study from the University of Kansas Medical Center and School of medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

Intubation and decreased barometric pressures encountered during high altitude transport may lead to an increased rate of vocal cord paralysis of military burn victims. This is a finding of a retrospective study conducted by otolaryngologist"”head and neck surgeons at the Brook Army Medical Center in Texas.

• share
• favorite_border

Israeli researchers have found that slightly more than half of children admitted to a major treatment facility for acute otitis media have received alternative and complementary therapy. The most common therapy received was various immune boosting national preparations containing Echinacea Purpurea, despite the fact that no evidence exists proving that this product is effective against this common pediatric medical disorder.

• share
• favorite_border

This new study, thought to be the largest one to date to investigate facial nerve dehiscence when cholesteatoma is also present, aims to describe how often and where the facial nerve is most commonly missing its bony covering. Armed with this knowledge, the careful surgeon can better remove the dangerous cholesteatoma without causing injury to the facial nerve and a potential facial paralysis.

• share
• favorite_border

Cochlear implant device integrity is not compromised by electrosurgery used in removal of tonsils and adenoids. This finding from a new experiment could be an important first step to providing safe, effective, and the most pain-free removal of tonsils and adenoids for deaf children.

• share
• favorite_border

A study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein is a key biomarker for sepsis, a severe inflammatory response that develops following a bacterial infection. The findings offer a promising new target for the development of drug therapies to treat this overwhelming "“ and often fatal -- condition.

• share
• favorite_border

Why are chickens so sensitive to dioxins, but terns seem much more resistant, despite their exposure through eating dioxin-tainted fish? The life-or-death difference researchers have found can be partially explained by two amino acids in the chain of 858 amino acids that form one critical protein.

• share
• favorite_border

"Diabetes is the only major disease with a death rate that continues to be on the upswing," proclaimed a front-page New York Times story this week. Now, for the first time, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified a reliable, non-invasive imaging method that may eventually enable more precise care of people with diabetes by measuring their quantity of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells.

• share
• favorite_border

Data presented today at the Heart Rhythm Society's 27th Annual Scientific Sessions finds that during a 10-year study period more than one in five automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) were recalled due to potential malfunction. The findings represent some of the first data available on safety and reliability of the devices, which are used to resuscitate victims of cardiac arrest.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, are the first to discover a switch inside blood vessel cells that controls angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth). The switch, they learned, is turned on and off by the balance between two enzymes (known as PI3K and PLCg) that compete for the use of the same lipid membrane to fulfill opposite missions, growth and regression, respectively.

• share
• favorite_border

A new review of evidence suggests that a "stepped-up" care approach can lower blood pressure for patients who haven't achieved good control of their hypertension.

• share
• favorite_border

Understanding the meaning behind a person's posture or body movement comes easily to many people and helps guide how we react to others socially. But people with schizophrenia, even those who have mild to moderate symptoms and take medications, are not fluent in understanding body language.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists now have inside information to use in the fight against Proteus mirabilis "“ a nasty bacterium that can cause kidney stones, as well as hard-to-treat urinary tract infections. Data from the first complete genome sequence for P. mirabilis will be presented at the ASM meeting.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, are the first to discover a switch inside blood vessel cells that controls angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth). The switch, they learned, is turned on and off by the balance between two enzymes (known as PI3K and PLCg) that compete for the use of the same lipid.