Health News

ZocDoc releases results of its first annual digital doctor survey, benchmarking technology trends in healthcare

Date: Oct-14-2013
ZocDoc, a service that helps patients receive faster access to care and optimizes doctors' schedules, has published the results of its first annual Digital Doctor Survey. This survey will keep a pulse on how physicians engage with various technologies year over year. The 2013 survey explored the use of online reviews, practice management technology, and social media among a sample of ZocDoc's network of healthcare providers which included primary care doctors, dentists, obstetricians and gynecologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, dietitians, cardiologists, and more...

New way to grow neural stem cells may accelerate therapy development for brain injuries and disease

Date: Oct-14-2013
Researchers have discovered a new, highly efficient way to produce neural stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells that can then go on to form neurons in the brain. The discovery, reported in the current issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, could greatly accelerate the development of new drug and cell therapies for people suffering from brain injuries or disease...

Phase 1 data presented on first oral combination 17β -estradiol and progesterone capsule to treat menopausal symptoms being developed for FDA review

Date: Oct-14-2013
TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (NYSE MKT:TXMD) - Pharmacokinetic study presented in a poster session at The North American Menopause Society 2013 Annual Meeting in Dallas suggests that the first combination 17β-estradiol and progesterone capsule in clinical development may have overcome the well-recognized difficulties of achieving good bioavailability with oral administration of these hormones in combination. In a study of 66 healthy postmenopausal women, bioavailability of TX 12-001-HR, a capsule containing both 17β- estradiol and progesterone for oral use being developed by TherapeuticsMD, Inc...

McMaster lab digs for antibiotics in the dirt

Date: Oct-14-2013
In the battle against antibiotic resistance bacteria, McMaster University researchers have found resistance itself is a successful pathway for discovering new antibiotic drugs. "In essence, we've made resistance useful instead of a scary problem," said Gerry Wright, professor and scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research...

Cancer in EU cost €126 billion in 2009

Date: Oct-14-2013
The first ever study to evaluate the economic cost of cancer across the 27 countries of the EU has found that the total cost of cancer in the EU in 2009 was €126 billion, with cancer in Germany, France, Italy, and the UK together accounting for just over two-thirds of this cost (€83 billion). The results, published in The Lancet Oncology, reveal substantial disparities between different countries in the EU in spending on health care and drugs for cancer, with Luxembourg and Germany spending the most on health care for cancer per person, and Bulgaria spending the least...

Echotherapy specialist Theraclion announces very encouraging clinical results in the noninvasive treatment of thyroid nodules

Date: Oct-14-2013
Theraclion, a company specializing in advanced medical equipment for echotherapy (or ultrasound therapy), has unveiled very positive initial clinical results in the treatment of thyroid nodules. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of its Echopulse device in the treatment of this condition. Trials for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules with echotherapy were conducted on 20 patients at The University Hospital of Endocrinology of Sofia, Bulgaria. The treatment reduced the size of the nodules in all patients. The reduction in size at the 6-month mark was an average of 52%...

Study shows that diet and lifestyle advice for those with diabetes should be 'no different' from that for general public

Date: Oct-14-2013
New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) suggests that lifestyle advice for people with diabetes should be no different from that for the general public, although those with diabetes may benefit more from that same advice. The research is by Dr Diewertje Sluik, Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany, and colleagues...

Experts call for rational approach to the use of opioids in pain management

Date: Oct-14-2013
Experts at the Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC in Florence, Pain in Europe VIII, viewed the increasing prescription of opioids in the treatment of pain with mixed feelings. More than 4,000 participants from around the world have gathered at the event to exchange ideas about innovations in pain management. Improvements in the provision of opioid treatment for sufferers were welcomed, but figures presented revealed large and alarming discrepancies in access to these important drugs...

'Dechronifying' chronic migraine: Detox then treat

Date: Oct-14-2013
"Worldwide, headache affects approximately 50% of adults each year. Approximately 11% of cases meet the criteria for migraine," Prof Paolo Martelletti (Rome, Italy) said today, speaking at the Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC in Florence. "In Europe and America, we estimate the prevalence of migraine to be 6 to 8% in men and 15 to 18% in women." According to WHO data, migraine is more prevalent than other common disorders such as diabetes and asthma, and is in fact the third most common condition in the world...

Some people are predisposed to focus on the negative

Date: Oct-14-2013
A new study by a University of British Columbia researcher finds that some people are genetically predisposed to see the world darkly. The study, published in Psychological Science, finds that a previously known gene variant can cause individuals to perceive emotional events - especially negative ones - more vividly than others. "This is the first study to find that this genetic variation can significantly affect how people see and experience the world," says Prof. Rebecca Todd of UBC's Dept. of Psychology...