News

The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study finds that moderate health improvements such as modest weight loss or the use of anti-diabetic drugs can prevent or lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes in high risk populations.

Researchers traced a molecular cascade that ends up increasing the expression of a novel target, the protein SHP-1, which de-activates PDGF activity and thus triggers cell death.

Shock-wave therapy appears to prompt a metabolic reaction similar to what occurs during the natural bone-healing process, resulting in complete healing of nonunions for approximately 70% of patients in an Italian study within six months.

The new health Internet being designed by federal officials will hopefully be up and running by next year, a move that will allow physicians and patients to more easily exchange health information.

A new study by researchers in Canada shows that a majority of high school freshmen have at least one major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. These factors include obesity and elevated cholesterol levels, two problems that are also common in America. Results of the study may serve as a guide for US physicians to monitor and work to change heart disease and stroke risk in teenagers.

Pain scores were significantly reduced in the blinded phase of a Henry Ford Health System study, with many patients experiencing complete resolution of pain on the drug.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced that BENLYSTA™ (belimumab) met the primary endpoint in BLISS-76, the second of two pivotal phase 3 trials in seropositive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

If you're running your practice or business with smartphones using software from Microsoft, I'd seriously recommend upgrading to the latest version: Windows Mobile 6.5. Your fingers will be glad you did.

A study examining the efficacy of Kaiser Permanente Southern California's Healthy Bones Program found that an aggressive, multi-disciplinary approach that more closely involves orthopedic surgeons prevented 970 hip fractures in 2007.

Many patients with advanced cancer require opioids to treat pain. In some patients, this leads to opioid-induced constipation. In a plenary session at the recent American College of Gastroenterology in San Diego, researchers presented data from a phase II study of the novel oral drug NKTR-118 (PEG-naloxol) that showed it increased the frequency of spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs) without negatively affecting the opioids’ analgesic effects.

The answer may surprise you.

For Verizon Wireless customers, the new Motorola Droid just became the best smartphone option for you

Strong opinions appear on blogs and discussion boards.

Clearly, women live to older ages and are more likely to use medical services than their male counterparts. So, given the premise that it's OK to charge more for heavier users of care, it's not irrational to assume that women can be charged more.

In the latest issue of JAMA is an article questioning the value of breast cancer screening. In it, Professor Laura Esserman analyzes the incidence of early versus advanced breast cancers in an era prior to screening and then sixteen years later, when screening became established.

In contrast to earlier research, new findings from the American Academy of Neurology show that diabetes may slow the progression of memory loss in Alzheimer's patients, not increase it.

The weight gain that is often seen in children taking antipsychotic medications can also have a negative impact on metabolic factors in those children.

Cardiologists will find that these online resources will be beneficial for themselves and their patients.

A researcher at McMaster University, in collaboration with a team of international scientists, has proposed that a “paradigm shift” needs to occur in disease control that focuses more on the impact that human travel can have on the moving of drug-resistant infectious diseases around the world.

In addition to seeking increase in the number of embryonic stem cell lines available for NIH-funded research, the organization hopes to utilize federal funding to enhance research efforts using cells generated through somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Researchers with the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) recently published an update to the GHSG HD9 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The trial was initiated in 1993, when standard treatment for advanced Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL) consisted of cycles of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (COPP) alternated with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD). The COPP/ABVD regimen was compared with a new regimen that added bleomycin, etoposide, and doxorubicin to COPP.

I finally broke down and made an appointment to have my daughter vaccinated against H1N1 at our pediatrician’s office. I’d straddled the fence for a while – not because of safety concerns, but because I wasn’t convinced it was necessary. You see, I’ve never had a flu vaccination and my spouse gets one every year. We both typically get the flu during the winter months and, for better or for worse, this only functions to make me more secure in my choice.

Dementia is a terminal illness. However, people with advanced dementias often languish in skilled nursing facilities, far from the ministrations of specialists. And, with reasonable luck, they have directives that specify that they are not to be taken to the hospital in the event of a respiratory arrest. Consequently, most of us are not privy to the mechanisms of demise in such situations.

Rates of clostridium difficile are increasing in the outpatient setting, according to new research from the Mayo Clinic.

Migraine sufferers got some more bad news on Monday, when the results of a study determined that "sufferers are also more prone to splitting head pain after drinking too much."

I see dead doctors every day when I work as a Hospitalist at my local community hospital...

A recent study from Kaiser Permanente shows that women with diabetes face a 26% greater risk of also developing atrial fibrillation.

A new network from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will create a national database that aims to see how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients respond to different RA drugs, and then use that information to further personalize RA treatment.

Long-term exposure to cell phone electromagnetic fields could weaken bones, potentially affecting the outcomes of surgical procedures using bone grafts.

The American Academy of Dermatology recently released guidelines for the management and treatment of psoriasis using UV light therapy, including patient considerations and the use of UV therapy alone or in conjunction with other treatments.