Health News

Use Of Retail Medical Clinics Continues To Grow, Study Finds

Date: Aug-20-2012
Fast-growing retail medical clinics are attracting more older patients and delivering more preventive care, particularly flu shots and other vaccinations, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation. Researchers found that visits to retail medical clinics increased four-fold from 2007 to 2009, with the proportion of patients over age 65 growing from 8 percent to 19 percent of all visits during this period...

Molecular And Protein Markers Discovered For Liver Transplant Failure From Hepatitis C

Date: Aug-20-2012
Researchers have discovered molecular and protein signatures that predict rapid onset of liver damage in hepatitis C patients following a liver transplant. The markers appeared soon after transplant and well before clinical evidence of liver damage. Such early detection of susceptibility to hepatitis C virus-induced liver injury could lead to more personalized monitoring and treatment options after a transplant...

Could FastStitch Device Be The Future Of Suture?

Date: Aug-20-2012
After a surgeon stitches up a patient's abdomen, costly complications -- some life-threatening -- can occur. To cut down on these postoperative problems, Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a disposable suturing tool to guide the placement of stitches and guard against the accidental puncture of internal organs. The student inventors have described their device, called FastStitch, as a cross between a pliers and a hole-puncher...

Married Men Drink Less, Women More

Date: Aug-19-2012
A new study finds that where drinking is concerned, marriage seems to be more beneficial to men than women: it reveals that compared to their single or divorced counterparts, married men tend to consume fewer alcoholic drinks whereas married women tend to consume more. The researchers propose the reason is the effect married couples have on each other: wives' drinking habits rub off on their husbands, and vice versa...

Pan-Fried Meat Increases Risk Of Prostate Cancer, New Study Finds

Date: Aug-19-2012
Research from the University of Southern California (USC) and Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) found that cooking red meats at high temperatures, especially pan-fried red meats, may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer by as much as 40 percent. Mariana Stern, associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, led analyses for the study, "Red meat and poultry, cooking practices, genetic susceptibility and risk of prostate cancer: Results from the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study...

Non-Invasive Treatment For Children With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Suggested By Ben-Gurion University Study

Date: Aug-19-2012
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers revealed that a majority of children suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) treated with montelukast, a drug approved for asthma or hay fever, showed significant improvement in respiratory disturbance and adenoid size, according to a new study published in Pediatrics Journal. A considerable percentage of children who suffer from OSA and undergo tonsillectomies and polypectomies occasionally suffer from post-operative infection, bleeding and dehydration. Some children experience a reoccurrence of the condition. According to Dr...

Enzalutamide Adds 5 Months Survival In Late-Stage Prostate Cancer

Date: Aug-19-2012
Results of a phase III clinical trial of the drug Enzalutamide, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, show the drug extends life by an average five months in the most advanced stages of prostate cancer. "This is a major advance. Not only do we see more survival benefit than from traditional chemotherapy, but the side effects of Enzalutamide are much lower...

RI Hospital: Use Of PMP May Increase Demand For Drug Treatment, Reduce Painkiller Abuse

Date: Aug-19-2012
A Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that the use of electronic prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs) may have a significant impact on the demand for drug treatment programs and how prescribers detect and respond to abuse of painkillers. The study by Traci C. Green, Ph.D., MSc, research scientist in Rhode Island Hospital's department of general internal medicine, is published online in advance of print in the journal Pain Medicine...

Added Benefit Of Eribulin In Breast Cancer Is Not Proven

Date: Aug-19-2012
Eribulin (trade name: Halaven®) was approved in March 2011 for women with locally advanced or metastasizing breast cancer in whom the disease has progressed despite prior drug therapy. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether eribulin offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy...

Molecular Signature Used To Predict Radiation Therapy Benefit Validated By Moffitt Cancer Center Researchers, Colleagues

Date: Aug-19-2012
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, working with colleagues in Sweden, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico, have validated a radiosensitivity molecular signature that can lead to better radiation therapy decisions for treating patients with breast cancer. The results appeared in a recent issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research...