Health News

Sleep Apnea Patients At Increased Mortality Risk May Be Identified By Stress Test

Date: May-22-2013
Many studies have shown that men and women who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - a disorder that causes breathing to halt intermittently during sleep - have a higher mortality rate than those who do not have the disorder. Now, a study from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic shows that OSA patients who also have poor functional capacity have an even greater risk of mortality and suggests that an assessment of functional capacity in this population can help physicians identify patients most at risk for death...

Exposure To Traffic Emissions In The Womb Associated With Respiratory Infection In Young Children

Date: May-22-2013
Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston...

Analgesics And Asthma Link Likely Due To Early Childhood Respiratory Infections

Date: May-22-2013
A new study conducted by Boston researchers reports that the link between asthma and early childhood use of acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be driven by underlying respiratory infections that prompt the use of these analgesics, rather than the drugs themselves. The results of the new study were presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference...

Risk And Symptoms Of COPD Increased By Combined Wood And Tobacco Smoke Exposure

Date: May-22-2013
People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, as well as more severe airflow obstruction, than those who are exposed to only one type of smoke, according to the results of a new population-based study conducted by researchers in Colombia. The results of the study were presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference...

Predictive Model Created For Mortality Risk In The ICU

Date: May-22-2013
A metabolic profile of intensive care unit (ICU) patients based on biomarkers of four metabolites can be used to accurately predict mortality, according to a new study. "Existing models for predicting mortality in the ICU may not always be accurate and they can also be cumbersome to use," said researcher Angela J. Rogers MD, MPH, Instructor in Medicine at Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. "Levels of lactate, a metabolite from the carbohydrate pathway, are an established biomarker for ICU mortality...

News From Annals Of Internal Medicine, May 21, 2013

Date: May-22-2013
1. Older, Sicker Men Unlikely to Benefit from Aggressive Therapy for Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Older men with localized prostate cancer and other serious health conditions may not benefit from aggressive treatment for their cancer. Surgery and radiation therapy are associated with serious side effects (erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, bowel problems) and are not likely to prolong life. Older men with several comorbid conditions are more likely to die of something other than prostate cancer within 10 years of diagnosis...

News From The Annals Of Family Medicine, May/June 2013

Date: May-22-2013
Much of the May/June 2013 issue of Annals of Family Medicine and the entirety of an accompanying supplement published in partnership with the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are about changing primary care practice. Practice transformation on a large scale toward the patient-centered medical home model of care is a cornerstone of health care reform efforts in the United States, and the research and commentary in this issue can serve as a roadmap to achieve practice transformation...

Protection Against E. coli O157:H7 Provided By Intestinal Bacteria

Date: May-22-2013
A cocktail of non-pathogenic bacteria naturally occurring in the digestive tract of healthy humans can protect against a potentially lethal E. coli infection in animal models according to research presented at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, could have important implications for the prevention or even treatment of this disease...

Improved Detection Of Elephantiasis Worm Infection

Date: May-22-2013
A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field study in Liberia, in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. The new test found evidence of the infection - lymphatic filariasis - in many more people that the standard test had missed. The study, the first to independently evaluate the new test, was led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation...

Fluid And Sodium Restriction Pointless For Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients

Date: May-21-2013
Aggressive fluid and sodium restriction among patients who've been hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) appears to have no effect on weight loss or clinical stability, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. A total of 75 patients hospitalized patients with ADHF participated in the study. Researchers assessed the effect that sodium and fluid restriction had on them. Heart failure is a serious condition which occurs when the heart is not pumping blood around the body efficiently...