Health News

Stopping Phentermine After Long-Term Treatment Does Not Result In Amphetamine-Like Withdrawal

Date: May-17-2013
New research published at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) shows that abrupt cessation after long-term use of the anti-obesity drug phentermine does not induce amphetamine-like withdrawal symptoms. The research is by Dr Ed Hendricks, Center for Weight Management*, Sacramento & Roseville, California, USA, and was funded by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP). Phentermine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class, with pharmacology similar to amphetamine...

Ten-Year Study Shows 2 Different Genetic Polymorphisms Predict Weight Gain In Men And Women

Date: May-17-2013
New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that while the FTO genetic variation predicts weight gain over 10 years in men, a different variation on the MMP2 gene predicts weight gain in women. The research is by Freek G Bouwman, Nutrition and Toxicology Research, Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Netherlands, and Dr Jolanda Boer, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and colleagues...

Researchers Discover Master Regulator That Drives�Majority Of Lymphoma

Date: May-17-2013
New Findings Show Inhibiting Powerful Protein with New Agents May Supply Broad Benefit for Lymphoma Patients A soon-to-be-tested class of drug inhibitors were predicted to help a limited number of patients with B-cell lymphomas with mutations affecting the EZH2 protein. However, a research team, led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College, now report that these agents may, in fact, help a much broader cross section of lymphoma patients...

Following CDC Protocols Cuts Dialysis Bloodstream Infections In Half

Date: May-17-2013
CDC provides tools to help all U.S. dialysis facilities reduce potentially deadly infections The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released results of its Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Prevention Collaborative showing a 32 percent decrease in overall bloodstream infections and a 54 percent decrease in vascular access-related bloodstream infections after CDC prevention guidelines were used. Vascular access-related bloodstream infections are those related to devices used to access the bloodstream for hemodialysis...

Study Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Suicide Risk In Deployed Military Personnel

Date: May-17-2013
JAMA Psychiatry Study Highlights A study by Craig J. Bryan, Psy.D., A.B.P.P., of the National Center for Veterans Studies, Salt Lake City, Utah, suggests that suicide risk is higher among military personnel with more lifetime traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Patients included 161 military personnel referred for evaluation and treatment of suspected head injury at a military hospital's TBI clinic in Iraq...

Research Letter Suggests Twitter May Serve As A Good Forum For Communicating Information About Acne

Date: May-17-2013
JAMA Dermatology Study Highlights A research letter by Kamal Jethwani, M.D., M.P.H., of the Center for Connected Health, Boston, and colleagues suggests that clinicians can learn about the perceptions and misconceptions of diseases like acne via Twitter, and communicate reliable medical information on the popular social media platform...

Study Suggests Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Carries Risk Of Metastasis And Death

Date: May-17-2013
JAMA Dermatology Study Highlights A study by Chrysalyne D. Schmults, M.D., M.S.C.E., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues suggests cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) carries a low but significant risk of metastasis and death. The ten-year retrospective cohort study was conducted at an academic medical center in Boston, and included 985 patients with 1,832 tumors. Main measures of the study were subhazard ratios for local recurrence, nodal metastasis, disease-specific death, and all-cause death adjusted for presence of known prognostic risk factors...

Surgical Residents Disapprove Of 2011 ACGME Duty Hour Regulations, Survey Finds

Date: May-17-2013
JAMA Surgery Study Highlights In a study by Brian C. Drolet, M.D., of the Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, and colleagues, the majority of surgical residents who were surveyed reported that they disapprove of the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Common Program Requirements (65.9 percent). A total of 1,013 residents in general surgery and surgical specialties at 123 ACGME-accredited teaching hospitals in the United States and U.S...

Study Examines Relationship Between Hemispheric Dominance And Cell Phone Use

Date: May-17-2013
JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Study Highlights A study by Michael D. Seidman, M.D., of the Henry Ford Health System, West Bloomfield, Michigan, and colleagues examined if an association exists between sideness of cell phone use and auditory hemispheric dominance (AHD) or language hemispheric dominance (LHD). An Internet survey was randomly e-mailed to 5,000 individuals, 717 surveys were completed. Sample questions surveyed which hand was used for writing, whether the right or left ear was used for phone conversations, as well as whether a brain tumor was present...

Skin Cancer Link To Lower Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease, Says Study

Date: May-17-2013
People who have skin cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to research published this week in Neurology®. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, followed 1,102 people who did not have dementia. They had an average age of 79 and were followed for an average of 3.7 years. 109 people reported that they had skin cancer in the past. During the study, 32 people developed skin cancer and 126 people developed dementia, including 100 with Alzheimer's...