Health News

Study Suggests Glucocerebrosidase Gene Mutations Are Risk Factor For Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Date: Apr-17-2013
A study by Michael A. Nalls, Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, and colleagues suggests mutations in glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) are a risk factor for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). (Online First) The study compared genotype data from patients and controls from 11 centers from sites around the world performing genotyping. Researchers found 721 cases that met diagnostic criteria for DLB and 151 had Parkinson disease (PD) with dementia. These cases were compared with 1,962 controls from the same centers matched for age, sex, and ethnicity...

Study Examines Relationship Between Pregnant Women's Hostile Attributes And Early Child Maltreatment

Date: Apr-17-2013
A prospective longitudinal study by Lisa J. Berlin, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland School of Social Work, Baltimore, and colleagues examined pregnant women's hostile attributions about infants as a risk factor for early child maltreatment and harsh parenting. (Online First) A diverse, community-based sample of 499 pregnant women participated in the study. Hostile attributions were examined in terms of women's beliefs about infants' negative intentions...

Study Examines Downstream Outcomes Following Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening In Older Men

Date: Apr-17-2013
A study by Louise C. Walter, M.D., of San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California, and colleagues sought to quantify 5-year downstream outcomes following an abnormal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening result of 4.0 ng/mL or more, in older men. (Online First) A total of 295,645 men 65 years or older that underwent PSA screening in the Veterans Affairs health care system in 2003 and were followed up for 5 years using national Veterans Affairs and Medicare data participated in the study. Among men whose index screening PSA level exceeded 4...

Study Looks At Influence Of Providing Fee Data On Laboratory Test Ordering

Date: Apr-17-2013
A study by Leonard S. Feldman, M.D., and colleagues at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, examined if the number of laboratory tests ordered could be reduced by presenting clinicians with test fees at the time of order entry, without adding extra steps to the ordering process. (Online First) All clinicians, including physicians and nonphysicians, who ordered laboratory tests through the computerized order entry system at The Johns Hopkins Hospital were included in the study...

Study Suggests Home-Based Exercise Beneficial For Patients With Alzheimer Disease

Date: Apr-17-2013
A randomized controlled trial by Kaisu H. Pitkala, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues suggests an intensive and long-term exercise program has beneficial effects on the physical functioning of patients with Alzheimer Disease without increasing costs of health and social services or causing any significant adverse effects. (Online First) A total of 210 home-dwelling patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD) living with their spouse caregiver participated in the trial...

UM Researchers Help Identify New Gene Associated With Alzheimer's Disease in African Americans

Date: Apr-17-2013
Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine collaborated with an international team to identify a new gene associated with Alzheimer's disease in African Americans. Published April 10 in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association, their study, "Variants in the ATP-binding cassette transporter, ABCA7, and the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele substantially and equally influence risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease in African Americans," provides new directions for biological, genetic and therapeutic studies of Alzheimer's disease. Margaret A...

New Study Supports Titan Spine Endoskeleton® Interbody Device For Rapid Fusion And Improved Patient Outcomes

Date: Apr-17-2013
Titan Spine, a medical device surface technology company focused on developing innovative spinal interbody fusion implants, announced today that clinical data support the use of its Endoskeleton® titanium interbody cage for achieving rapid lumbar fusion and improved patient outcomes. The prospective study was presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), held in Vancouver, British Columbia, April 3-6...

The Lancet: Malaria Elimination Strategies Should Adapt To Changing Patterns Of Infection

Date: Apr-17-2013
Malaria control strategies must keep up with the rapidly changing patterns of malaria infection in low transmission settings, according to the authors of a new Review, published in The Lancet. Whereas women and young children suffer from the greatest burden of malaria in high transmission areas, an increasing proportion of malaria cases in low transmission settings are occurring in adult men, sometimes concentrated in small geographic areas and sharing certain occupations or behaviours...

News From Annals Of Internal Medicine: 16 April 2013

Date: Apr-17-2013
1. Task Force Reviews Evidence for New Recommendations on Medications to Reduce Risk for Primary Breast Cancer High-risk women may derive the most benefit, least harms from preventive drug therapy Women at high risk for breast cancer may benefit most from preventive drug therapy. In 2002, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine use of tamoxifen and raloxifene for prevention of primary breast cancer for women at average risk...

Speeding Healing Of Injured Tissues With New Plasma-Based Biomaterials

Date: Apr-17-2013
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) derived from blood contains growth factors and other bioactive molecules that promote healing at sites of tissue injury. However, it is difficult to deliver and retain these molecules at a target site, and clinical results have proven to be mixed - until now. A new solid form of bioactive plasma-based biomaterials, known as PBMs, can accelerate tissue healing. Not only are PBMs easier to work with, inexpensive to produce, and safe to use, they are available as off-the-shelf products...