Health News

Physician-Led Quality Initiatives Could Be Solution To Medicare Payment Problems, Internists Say

Date: Jul-26-2012
ACP testimony to Ways and Means subcommittee says reforms should focus on medical professions' efforts to improve quality "Repeal of Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is essential, but repeal by itself will not move Medicare to better ways to deliver care," David L. Bronson, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), today told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health...

Bacteriophages Recruited In The Fight Against Disease

Date: Jul-26-2012
Scientists have discovered the structure and operating procedures of a powerful anti-bacterial killing machine that could become an alternative to antibiotics. In research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, scientists from Monash University, The Rockefeller University and the University of Maryland detail how the bacteriophage lysin, PlyC, kills bacteria that cause infections from sore throats to pneumonia and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome...

What Are Antidepressants?

Date: Jul-26-2012
Antidepressants are psychiatric medications given to patients with depressive disorders to alleviate symptoms.They correct chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain which probably cause changes in mood and behavior. Antidepressants may be used for a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including social anxiety disorder, anxiety disorders, and dysthymia (mild chronic depression). Antidepressants were initially developed in the 1950s, and have become progressively more common over the last twenty years. In 1996 there were 13...

High Definition Fiber Tracking Images Accurately Reflect Brain Fiber Anatomy, Says Pitt/UPMC Team

Date: Jul-26-2012
High definition fiber tracking, or HDFT, provides colorful, detailed images of the brain's fiber network that accurately reflect brain anatomy observed in surgical and laboratory studies, according to a new report from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the August issue of Neurosurgery. The findings support the notion that HDFT scans can provide valuable insight into patient symptoms and the prospect for recovery from brain injuries, and can help surgeons plan their approaches to remove tumors and abnormal blood vessels in the brain...

Colon Cancer Alliance And American College Of Radiology Urge Congress To Pass CT Colonography Screening For Colorectal Cancer Act

Date: Jul-26-2012
A recent study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology has reconfirmed that virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography) is an effective screening tool for colorectal cancer in seniors age 65 and older. In response to these results, those of a landmark 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, and those of a study published this year in Radiology, the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) and American College of Radiology (ACR) call upon Congress to pass H.R. 4165 - the CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act...

Alzheimer's Patients Sleep Better When Exposed To Light

Date: Jul-26-2012
New Study From the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer is the First To Collect Circadian Light Exposure and Activity Data in Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease Individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) often sleep during the day and are awake at night. The situation can turn life-threatening if they leave their homes and wander around outside. This irregular sleep schedule and night wandering, and the consequent burden on their caretakers, is a primary reason individuals with ADRD are placed in more controlled environments such as nursing homes...

PREPOPIK™ For Colonoscopy Preparation Receives FDA Approval

Date: Jul-26-2012
New Low-Volume Regimen With 10 Ounces of Prep Solution The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. approval to market PREPOPIK (sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide, and anhydrous citric acid) for oral solution indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults. PREPOPIK is a low-volume, orange-flavored, dual-acting, stimulant and osmotic laxative. The FDA approval is based on data from two pivotal Phase III non-inferiority studies in which PREPOPIK was compared to 2L PEG+E plus 2x 5-mg bisacodyl tablets...

Proper Regulation Could Reduce Up To 50% Of Cardiovascular Disease Deaths In Europe

Date: Jul-26-2012
Up to 50% of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe could be avoided by implementing population level changes such as taxation and regulation of advertising. Population level prevention will produce greater impacts on CVD than individualised approaches, according to the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation (EACPR) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Cardiovascular disease is still the main cause of death in Europe, leading to more than 4.3 million deaths each year and costing at least 190 billion euros...

Targeted Therapy For Treatment-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Date: Jul-26-2012
Scientists have identified what may be the Peyton Manning of prostate cancer. It's a protein that's essential for the disease to execute its game plan: Grow and spread throughout the body. Like any good quarterback, this protein has command over the entire field; not only does it control cell growth in tumors that are sensitive to hormone therapy, a common treatment for men with advanced disease, but also in tumors that grow resistant to such treatment - a dismal development that leaves men and their doctors with no good options to turn to...

Risk Of Death From Motor Vehicle Accidents May Be Reduced By Greater Availability Of Neurosurgeons

Date: Jul-26-2012
Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire have found an association between increasing the distribution of neurosurgeons throughout the United States and decreasing the risk of death from motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). The findings of their study are described in the article "Increased population density of neurosurgeons associated with decreased risk of death from MVAs in the United States. Clinical article," by Atman Desai, M.D., and colleagues, published, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery...