Health News

More than 14 percent of pregnant women prescribed opioids, study says

Date: Feb-14-2014
More than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioids (narcotics) for pain at some time during their pregnancy, according to a study posted to the online version of Anesthesiology. Given the surprising rate these medications were prescribed to pregnant women, more research is needed to assess the risk of opioids to unborn babies, the study suggests.Prescriptions for opioids increased almost threefold in the general population, to more than 200 million between 1991 and 2009, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Muscle loss ups mortality and sepsis risk in liver transplant candidates

Date: Feb-14-2014
Japanese researchers have determined that sarcopenia - a loss of skeletal muscle mass - increases risk of sepsis and mortality risk in patients undergoing live donor liver transplantation. Findings published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society, suggest that post-transplant sepsis was reduced in candidates with sarcopenia who received early nutritional support with a feeding tube, known as enteral nutrition.

Cook Medical introduces EchoTip® ProCore™ endobronchial ultrasound needle

Date: Feb-14-2014
Cook Medical is introducing the first endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) needle in the U.S. that can acquire histological samples. The EchoTip® ProCore™ Endobronchial Ultrasound Needle gives physicians the ability to retrieve both cell and tissue samples from lymph nodes or tumors in the pulmonary area.The EchoTip ProCore EBUS needle is a single-use needle that collects cell and tissue samples in order for a physician to diagnose lung cancer and various mediastinal diseases.

Cook Medical introduces EchoTip® ProCore™ endobronchial ultrasound needle

Date: Feb-14-2014
Cook Medical is introducing the first endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) needle in the U.S. that can acquire histological samples. The EchoTip® ProCore™ Endobronchial Ultrasound Needle gives physicians the ability to retrieve both cell and tissue samples from lymph nodes or tumors in the pulmonary area.The EchoTip ProCore EBUS needle is a single-use needle that collects cell and tissue samples in order for a physician to diagnose lung cancer and various mediastinal diseases.

MedAssist partners with CarePayment to offer patient financing solutions

Date: Feb-14-2014
MedAssist has entered into a partnership with CarePayment to make affordable and flexible patient financing programs available as a complement to its eligibility, enrollment and revenue recovery services for hospitals and health systems nationwide. MedAssist's healthcare clients will be able to choose from a variety of CarePayment financing programs that feature credit lines with terms of up to 72 months at 0.00% APR, with no application or credit check.

More than 14 percent of pregnant women prescribed opioids, study says

Date: Feb-14-2014
More than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioids (narcotics) for pain at some time during their pregnancy, according to a study posted to the online version of Anesthesiology. Given the surprising rate these medications were prescribed to pregnant women, more research is needed to assess the risk of opioids to unborn babies, the study suggests.Prescriptions for opioids increased almost threefold in the general population, to more than 200 million between 1991 and 2009, according to the National Institutes of Health.

More than 14 percent of pregnant women prescribed opioids, study says

Date: Feb-14-2014
More than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioids (narcotics) for pain at some time during their pregnancy, according to a study posted to the online version of Anesthesiology. Given the surprising rate these medications were prescribed to pregnant women, more research is needed to assess the risk of opioids to unborn babies, the study suggests.Prescriptions for opioids increased almost threefold in the general population, to more than 200 million between 1991 and 2009, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Immunologists from the University of Bonn topple dogma relating to macrophages

Date: Feb-14-2014
An international team of scientists under the leadership of the University of Bonn disproves a dogma: To date, immunologists have assumed that the macrophages functioning as "scavenger cells" can be classified into two different forms. In an extensive search, the researchers have now discovered that these immune cells turn into far more different manifestations. These findings also give rise to completely new therapeutic approaches for many widespread diseases. The results are now being published in the renowned journal "Immunity".

Strong religious beliefs may drive self-perception of addiction to online pornography

Date: Feb-14-2014
People who consider themselves very religious and view Internet porn even once may perceive they are addicted, according to a new Case Western Reserve University's psychology study."This is one of the first studies to examine the link between perceptions of addiction to online pornography and religious beliefs," said Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral student in psychology and lead author of the study.The research, "Transgression as Addiction: Religiosity and Moral Disapproval as Predictors of Perceived Addiction to Pornography," was published in the journal, Archives of Sexual Behavior.

How dense breast tissue drives the early stages of cancer

Date: Feb-14-2014
Scientists from The University of Manchester working with IBM Research have identified a key biological mechanism that for the first time explains why women with dense breast tissue are at greater risk of developing breast cancer.The research, published in the journal Cell Cycle, has important implications for future cancer prevention and treatment.Women with higher breast density - detected on mammograms - have more compacted breast tissue and are more likely to develop breast cancer, but until now the reasons for this have been unclear.