Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Medicine

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Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine report that cutting back on the consumption of processed and fried foods, which are high in toxins called Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs), can reduce inflammation and actually help restore the body’s natural defenses regardless of age or health status. These benefits are present even without changing caloric or nutrient intake.

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Postmenopausal women who have higher testosterone levels may be at greater risk of heart disease, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome compared to women with lower testosterone levels, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). This new information is an important step, say researchers, in understanding the role that hormones play in women’s health.

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Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco have developed and experimentally tested a technique to predict new target diseases for existing drugs.

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New study shows that a long period of estrogen deprivation can lead to loss of sensitivity and protective effects in the brain and weaken areas normally resistant to stroke damage.

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Myocarditis is an important, and often unrecognized cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Several new diagnostic methods, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are useful for diagnosing myocarditis, according to a study published in the November 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings

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First responders who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general U.S. population, according to data presented by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), in San Diego.

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Decatur man receives lifesaving lung transplant at Loyola after wife refuses to give up on him.

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Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient, according to a new guideline co-authored by Yan Yu, Ph.D., director of Medical Physics in the department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University.

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The immune system's T cells are both jury and executioner. How they shift from one role to another has been a mystery. Dana-Farber investigators report that when a T cell’s “receptors” lock onto antigens, parts of the receptors bend and signal the T cell to change from scanning to fighting mode.

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High blood pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation in the blood in middle age appear more common in individuals whose parents have Alzheimer’s disease than in individuals without a parental history of the condition, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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In a comparison of five different smoking cessation medications, a nicotine patch plus a nicotine lozenge appears most effective at helping smokers quit, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine-the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease-has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have identified the important role a protein plays in the body's first line of defense in directing immune cells called neutrophils toward the site of infection or injury.

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Imagine waking up after surgery to find out you have lost your sight—permanently. Although rare, postoperative visual loss is a well-recognized complication of anesthesia and surgery that is more common after certain types of procedures and in some groups of patients, according to a study in the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

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Non-invasive, low-complication treatment helps heal fractures.

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Over nearly a century, thousands of residents and workers in Libby, MT, have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore, leading to markedly higher rates of lung disease and autoimmune disorders, and causing to Libby in 2002 to be added to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s “National Priorities List.”

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A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine suggests that many patients are dissatisfied with the way they receive results of radiology tests and want more access to information in their medical records, specifically, detailed, lay-language results from those tests.

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On average, research shows, the United States loses the equivalent of at least one entire medical school class each year to suicide1 - as many as 400 physicians. The book Faculty Health in Academic Medicine: Scientists, Physicians, and the Pressures of Success (Humana Press/Springer), by faculty at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and other national medical experts, breaks new ground in a first-of-its-kind look at faculty health.

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A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent hypertension.

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Holding on to hope may not make patients happier as they deal with chronic illness or diseases, according to a new study by University of Michigan Health System researchers.

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Like savvy Wall Street money managers, bacteria hedge their bets to increase their chances of survival in uncertain times, strategically investing their biological resources to weather unpredictable environments.

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Improving survival among dialysis patients may increase treatment costs significantly, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The authors created models of a 100 patient dialysis treatment center and a program with 7,500 hemodialysis patients (the approximate number of such patients in the Province of Ontario, Canada). Improving patient survival increased costs in the 100 patient model by $5 million over 10 years, and in the 7,500 patient model by $400 million over 10 years.

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Individuals who consume a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks are more likely to experience a decline in kidney function, according to two papers being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting in San Diego, California.

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Charcoal may provide a new approach to managing the high rate of heart disease in patients with advanced kidney disease, according to preliminary research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.

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Switching to a newer type of immunosuppressant drug may reduce the high rate of skin cancer after kidney transplantation, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.

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Individuals with a history of lupus who receive a kidney transplant rarely develop the serious inflammatory condition lupus nephritis in their new organ, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The findings indicate that having lupus should not keep individuals from seeking a kidney transplant if they need one.

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Woman are at particular risk of their primary care physicians delaying diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that educating practitioners about CKD could increase the timely diagnosis of CKD, thereby leading to improvements in care to patients and savings in Medicare dollars.

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Dialysis patients with low body fat are at increased risk of death—even compared to patients at the highest level of body fat percentage, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego.

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If you’re sick, traveling to a foreign land may boost your spirits, but jeopardize your health, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The findings indicate that dialysis patients who travel on vacation risk infections, anemia, and other complications that can compromise their dialysis treatments.

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Like all tissues in the body, the eye needs a healthy blood supply to function properly. Poorly developed blood vessels can lead to visual impairment or even blindness. While many of the molecules involved in guiding the development of the intricate blood vessel architecture are known, only now are we learning how these molecules work and how they might affect sight. Reporting in the Oct. 16 issue of Cell, researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine find that when some cells in the mouse retina are not properly fed by blood vessels, they can remain alive for many months and can later recover some or all of their normal function, suggesting that similar conditions in people may also be reversible.

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The proposed Medicare "bundled" payment system for dialysis is likely to reduce government reimbursements for dialysis units in certain regions of the United States and for some types of facilities, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.

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Pre-dialysis transplant recipients with a high level of kidney function don’t benefit from their transplant more than pre-dialysis recipients with low level kidney function, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The findings indicate that there may be no urgency for kidney disease patients to get a transplant while their kidneys are still somewhat healthy.

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Low levels of vitamin D may account for nearly 60 percent of the elevated risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in African Americans, according to a report in the December Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

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Women generally take more OTC and prescribed medications due to chronic conditins, but often do not understand the benefit and risk of drugs and how to take correctly.

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Athletes who use anabolic steroids may gain muscle mass and strength, but they can also destroy their kidney function, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The findings indicate that the habitual use of steroids has serious harmful effects on the kidneys that were not previously recognized.

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Get-togethers with a kidney disease patient’s family and friends can improve their willingness to consider donation, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. The findings indicate that group-education of patients’ relatives and friends is an effective way to help alleviate the organ shortage and increase living donations.

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Compared with veteran doctors, recent medical school graduates are more likely to refer chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients for kidney transplantation before their patients require dialysis, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. These findings suggest that more recent medical training is associated with early referral. This is potentially due to a lack of knowledge about preemptive kidney transplantation among more veteran physicians.

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Kidney transplant consent forms are often written at a level that makes it difficult for many kidney patients to fully understand them, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting in San Diego, CA. The study findings indicate that consent forms are written on average at a 12th-grade reading level, but to ensure all patients fully comprehend treatment options should be prepared at a 5th – 8th grade reading level. Doing so would enable all patients – regardless of education, race, ethnicity or language background to provide informed consent, which is both legally and ethically required before transplantation.

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A unique partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital and the local Red Cross Chapter is breaking new ground in blood utilization.....increasing blood donation and decreasing blood use....to help ensure a steady, reliable blood supply.

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Each year, 200,000 Americans experience mini strokes called transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs. More than one-third will later have full strokes. But TIAs, like strokes, are treatable and preventable.

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High-definition (HD) colonoscopy is much more sensitive than standard colonoscopy in finding polyps that could morph into cancer, say researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida.

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After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge.

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Although nearly 80 percent of the U.S. population lives within 2 hours by ground or helicopter transport to a verified burn center, there is substantial state and regional variation in geographic access to these centers, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA.

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Compared to the general population, patients starting dialysis have an increased risk of death that is not attributable to a higher rate of death from cardiovascular causes, as previously thought, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA.

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Electronic tools and technology applications for consumers can help improve health care processes, such as adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The analysis of consumer health informatics was based on an examination of 146 published research studies of patient-focused electronic tools. It is among the first to explore the potential value of consumer health informatics.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center patient Michael LeBlanc, 40, is the first in North Texas to receive the newest generation of a mechanical device designed to improve heart function. It will be his lifeline while he awaits a heart transplant.

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New discovery of spine disease will help back pain suffers, primarily younger women, who have been misdiagnosed with conditions that include restless leg syndrome, multiple sclerosis and myleopathy. Symptoms include severe middle back pain, leg spasms, loss of coordination and balance. Disease progression can lead to loss of function in lower extremities and possible paralysis. Minimally invasive outpatient microsurgery has shown effective in reversing symptoms and restoring patients back to healthy and active life.

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Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear. Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link.

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New Mayo Clinic research has found that survival rates of patients with Barrett’s esophagus, which can be a precursor for esophageal cancer, are no different than the survival rates for the general population.

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Heart attacks appear to have become more common in middle-aged women over the past two decades, but all women and especially those younger than 55 have recently experienced a greater increase than men in their chances of survival following such a heart event, according to two reports in the October 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.