Health News

Finding That Emotion Is Reversed In Left-Handers' Brains Could Lead To New Treatment For Anxiety, Depression

Date: May-05-2012
The way we use our hands may determine how emotions are organized in our brains, according to a recent study published in PLoS ONE by psychologists Geoffrey Brookshire and Daniel Casasanto of The New School for Social Research in New York. Motivation, the drive to approach or withdraw from physical and social stimuli, is a basic building block of human emotion. For decades, scientists have believed that approach motivation is computed mainly in the left hemisphere of the brain, and withdraw motivation in the right hemisphere. Brookshire and Casasanto's study challenges this idea, showing that...

JAM-A Protein Keeps Blood Clots In Check

Date: May-05-2012
Cut your toe, and platelets -- those disc-shaped cells circulating in your blood -- rush to the scene, clumping together to plug the leak. But when an unwanted clot forms in an artery, and an overaccumulation of platelets blocks blood flow, a heart attack or stroke occurs, too often with fatal results. Heart disease and stroke rank as humankind's top killers, according to the World Health Organization. Ulhas Naik, director of the Delaware Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Delaware, hopes to help change that grim statistic for the better. For the past several years, Naik has...

Advanced Radiotherapy Linked To Improved Survival Rates Among Elderly Lung Cancer Patients

Date: May-04-2012
The latest issue of the journal Annals of Oncology reports that a major new study by one of the country's leading cancer centers, the VU University Medical Center (VUMC) in Amsterdam has revealed that widespread use of advanced radiotherapy techniques in the Netherlands has resulted in improved survival rates amongst elderly lung cancer patients. Until now, the VUMC has treated over a thousand patients for pulmonary tumors with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Varian Medical Systems supplied the machines for the SABR treatment. Dr. Niels Haasbeek from VUMC's department of radiation...

Comorbidities Increase Risk Of Mortality In COPD Patients

Date: May-04-2012
A new study published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals that comorbidities amongst patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common, and that several of these comorbidities are independently linked to a higher risk of mortality. Leading author Miguel Divo, MD, a physician in the Pulmonary and Critical Division at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who is also an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said:  "We followed 1,664 COPD patients recruited from five pulmonary clinics in the United States and Spain for a median...

Headphones In Intensive Care Unit Help Patients' Confusion And Sleep Patterns

Date: May-04-2012
Patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) often become confused or delirious soon after, or within a few days of admittance to the ICU. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care, shows that use of earplugs can result in better sleep (as reported by the patients), lower the incidence of confusion, and delay the onset of cognitive disturbances. Patients in the ICU are thought to suffer confusion and delirium due to sensory overload. Part of this is due to the physical injuries and sensations of the patients, and part due to their environment. Sound in the ICU...

How Hand Hygiene Impacts Hospital Infection Rates

Date: May-04-2012
The Cleanyourhands campaign was initiated in January 2005 across all acute NHS trusts in England and Wales after concerns were raised over high levels of infections and low levels of hand hygiene. Worldwide, the campaign is the first to be done nationally. A study published in BMJ, which coincides with the World Health Organization SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign on the 5 May 2012, reveals that the campaign played a significant role in reducing rates of some healthcare associated infections in hospitals across England and Wales.  The WHO's SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign is part of...

Managing Hypertension - Using Single Tablet Regimens

Date: May-04-2012
The Journal of Medical Economics reveals that hypertensive patients who are treated with a single tablet regimen (STR) as part of their therapy had a considerable reduction in serious cardiovascular events at a neutral cost as compared with individual component therapies.  The data was based on a retrospective analysis of the UK THIN database and demonstrated that the treatment was cost neutral to the NHS due to the additional drug acquisition costs for STR therapy being offset by a reduction in hospital admissions and initial referral costs for cardiovascular events. According to Dr Jonathan...

Lyrica (pregabalin) No Good For Diabetes Or HIV Associated Neuropathic Pain

Date: May-04-2012
Lyrica (pregabalin) No Good For Diabetes Or HIV Associated Neuropathic Pain Editor's Choice Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics Also Included In: Diabetes;  HIV / AIDS Article Date: 04 May 2012 - 14:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'Lyrica (pregabalin) No Good For Diabetes Or HIV Associated Neuropathic Pain' Patient / Public: 2.75 (4 votes) Healthcare Prof: 3 (1 votes) Article opinions: 1 posts Lyrica (pregabalin) failed in two separate human trials to reduce neuropathic pain linked to diabetes or HIV,...

USA Spends Much More On Health Than Other Rich Nations - Is It Worth The Extra Money?

Date: May-04-2012
A new study from The Commonwealth Fund reveals that although health care expenditures are greater in the United States than in 12 other developed countries, the care provided is not "notably superior." According to the study, in 2009, the United States spent almost $8,000 per person on health care services, compared with Japan and New Zealand who spent approximately $2,666 and Norway and Switzerland $5,333. Even though survival rates for colorectal and breast cancer in the U.S. are better, the nation has some of the highest rates of potentially preventable deaths from asthma and amputations...

Kids Born After 42 Weeks Have Higher Behavioral Problems Risk

Date: May-04-2012
According to a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, children born after 42 weeks of pregnancy (post-term birth) are more likely to have behavioral and emotional problems, especially Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) problems, in early childhood. Lead author Hanan El Marroun, explained: "Post-term children have a considerably higher risk of clinically relevant problem behavior and are more than twice as likely as term born children to have clinical ADHD. Further research is needed in order to determine the causes of post-term birth and to minimize the...