Medical News

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Too much cholesterol in the blood appears to raise a person's risk of developing heart valve disease, according to a study in today's Circulation.

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You don't have to be a diva for a voice problem to threaten your career; a special clinic at UAB takes care of professional voices, whether they belong to performing artists or those with more ordinary livelihoods such as radio dispatchers and salespeople.

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The 4th of July conjures up images of barbecues, picnics and fireworks; but while the summer holiday is lot of fun, it also can be hazardous; here are some guidelines for preventing accidents, and what to do in case of emergency.

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Because neurosurgeons across the country report seeing patients who have not been appropriately diagnosed or properly referred for specialty treatment, the two major professional societies for neurosurgeons are calling on Congress to enact a meaningful Patient Bill of rights.

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In his new book "Recreating Medicine: Ethical Issues at the Frontiers of Medicine," UAB philosopher Greg Pence tries to dispel misconceptions often fueled by bioethicists.

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Bringing together medical leaders from throughout the East Coast, Drexel and MCP Hahnemann Universities present "Challenges Confronting IRBs on the Protection of Human Research Subjects."

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Three pilot studies aimed at assessing the benefits of "integrative" or "alternative" modalities as supplemental therapies after open-heart surgery are under way at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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Community programs directed by UAB's Center for Health Promotion aim to eliminate racial disparities when it comes to diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

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A 25-year-old medical student, stem cell transplant recipient, and breast cancer survivor will be one of six speakers at the Cancer Survivors Day celebration at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on June 5.

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If you're cooking out this holiday weekend, beware of the dangers of undercooked meat.

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Heart attack patients who undergo primary angioplasty have a 28 percent lower mortality rate when treated at hospitals which perform large numbers of the procedure than patients treated at less experienced hospitals (NEJM, 5-25-00).

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Frogs get tuberculosis too, and by studying the amphibian version of this disease, Stanford researchers have pinpointed two genes that may enable the TB bacterium to survive for decades within the human body (Science, 5-26-00).

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Comprehensive Cancer Care 2000, the nation's only conference exploring how alternative and traditional therapies work together for cancer patients, is June 9-11 in Arlington, Va.

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The American Psychiatric Association today urged House and Senate conferees to support meaningful patient protection in managed care; APA emphasized this is best embodied by the provisions of the Norwood-Dingell bipartisan patient protection bill now pending before the conference committee.

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Broadcast, print, and on-line journalists are invited to submit entries to the annual media awards competition of the American Psychiatric Association, which will honor outstanding contributions to the public understanding of mental illnesses, psychiatric treatment, and psychiatry.

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News tips are given based on research expected to be presented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Annual Meeting 2000 Education and Exhibits to be held June 4-7 in Philadelphia.

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Milk fermented with Lactobacillus casei (dairy starter bacteria) can destroy Helicobacter pylori, the ulcer bug, under laboratory conditions. Some components in the fermented milk containing L. casei are very active in this action, according to University of Alberta researchers.

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Long-term exposure to radon in the home is associated with lung cancer risk and presents a significant environmental health hazard, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Iowa (American Journal of Epidemiology, 6-1-00).

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West Nile encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease, killed seven New Yorkers and made at least 62 others seriously ill last summer, so the disease naturally is a prime concern of public-health officials along the East Coast. But experts say it's not the only mosquito-borne disease that deserves the attention of health officials, the news media and the public.

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Second-generation Holocaust survivors are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress and react with extreme anguish when faced with traumatic situations, according to a new study in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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The American Psychiatric Association, in letters today from APA Special Counsel and Director of Government Relations Jay B. Cutler, commended Senators Domenici (R-NM) and Kennedy (D-MA) and indicated support for the senators' introduction of their new omnibus bill, the Mental Health Early Intervention, Treatment, and Prevention Act of 2000.

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As you haul out the grill for the summer, The American Institute for Cancer Research advises taking a few precautions in order to reduce cancer risk.

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Although elderly African-American veterans show significantly higher rates of cognitive and substance use disorders, they have less than half the rate of mood disorder diagnoses of elderly Caucasian veterans, according to a study conducted in Veteran Administration hospitals.

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Baseball All-Star Eric Davis and 11 major league baseball teams are urging fans to step up to the plate and get screened for colon cancer. "Score for Screening 2000" takes place Friday May 26 and Monday May 29.

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Performing chest compressions on people experiencing cardiac arrest may be just as good as, and possibly better than, combining chest compressions with mouth-to-mouth ventilation, the director of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center writes in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

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Brain scans of veterans who returned from the Gulf War sick show evidence of significant brain-cell loss, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.

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Each and every one of us is a walking culture collection of bacteria. Some of these bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics, but many are resistant to antibiotics we rely on to treat infection.

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Human stress hormones can enhance the growth of disease causing germs, according to Morehouse School of Medicine researchers.

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AMGA has developed the Provider Satisfaction Benchmarking Program to enable medical groups to gather data about the level of satisfaction among providers at their organizations, examine results by clinic, site, and specialty, as well as compare themselves with other groups.

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Smokers who are hopeful that hypnosis will help them kick their habit need to temper their expectations. A review at Ohio State of nearly five dozen studies showed that while hypnosis may have some effect as an anti-smoking treatment, its benefit is still questionable.

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An enzyme implicated in colon cancer may also play a role in other cancers by promoting development of blood vessels to feed tumors, a Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientist and his colleagues report.

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A radioactive antibody compound known as Bexxar produced tumor shrinkage in 97 percent of 76 previously untreated patients with advanced-stage, low-grade non-Hodgkins lymphoma in a new study at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have developed an easy, inexpensive index to measure the severity of Alzheimer's disease (Journal of Neurology, 5-24-00).

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A University of Maryland graduating senior who helped uncover the microbiology mystery behind the healing power of an herbal plant used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine will present the research findings during the American Society for Microbiology meeting.

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Reporting in the May 24/31 JAMA, VA researchers and colleagues have discovered a possible link between increased coffee intake and a lower risk of Parkinson's disease.

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Researchers at the University of Maryland have discovered that plants use a strategy similar to traditional Chinese medicine to combat microbes, providing support for this ancient medical practice.

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Ulcers in the stomach and small intestine can be healed by injections of the genes that produce chemicals instrumental for repairing damaged tissue, according to a team led by researchers at UC Irvine.

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These news tips are based on abstracts or posters being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

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Bioactive glasses are an effective means for delivery of antimicrobial agents such as the heavy metal silver, according to University of Missouri Rolla researchers.

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Achilles A. Demetriou, the key developer of a system designed to extend the lives of patients suffering from liver failure, will update his colleagues on the device's success during Digestive Disease Week 2000, May 21-24 in San Diego.

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People interested in maintaining good health should consider adding weight training to their exercise regimen, according to an Ohio University study of 32 young men and women who lowered body fat and increased muscle strength by weight lifting (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research).

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The American Psychiatric Association today criticized a television report, which implied that the field of psychiatry is driven by pharmaceutical companies; the report was labeled by the APA as inaccurate, misleading, and socially and medically irresponsible.

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An online registry of medical proxy forms allows immediate access to information for hospitals and health care institutions and gives full legal voice in partners' healthcare decisions.

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A substance found in dark green leafy vegetables and egg yolks may improve vision in people with retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative eye conditions, according to a study published by a Johns Hopkins researcher (Optometry, 3-00).

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Three independent factors--water temperature, water hardness, and type of piping material--affect survivability of the highly toxic E. coli O157:H7 strain of bacteria in drinking water systems, according to researchers at England's Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research.

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The age-old stigma against people with epilepsy is alive and well in the print media. That's the consensus of neurologists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland who screened several hundred recent popular press articles on epilepsy/seizures for misinformation or outright errors (Neurology, 5-00).

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A gene mutation that raises levels of triglycerides, a major type of fat in the body, doubles the risk of developing blockages in the brain that can lead to a stroke, researchers report in today's Circulation.

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MRI can accurately detect re-narrowed heart arteries in people who've had balloon angioplasty or other artery-clearing procedures, report researchers from Wake Forest University and the University of Texas in Circulation (5-22-00).

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DioxiBrite Toothpaste was capable of killing high concentrations of microorganisms in less than one minute, according to researchers at Westbury Diagnostics, Inc.

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When growing microorganisms under some Mars-like conditions, size does matter -- at least if you're talking about the sample size and surface area involved, according to University of Arkansas researchers.