Medical News

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More than 300 physicians, nurses, lawyers, scientists, ethicists, consumers, and journalists will gather in Cambridge, Mass., for a conference on the medical, legal, and social impact of new genetic technologies. The conference is sponsored by the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, and the George Washington University Medical Center.

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Children without health insurance are more than three times as likely to go without necessary health care as insured children are, according to a new study of nearly 50,000 children nationwide. The study also revealed that uninsured children are six times as likely as insured children not to have a usual source of primary medical care.

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Heartstyles, the first-ever study examining the attitudes and behaviors of people with high blood pressure, revealed that hypertensive patients can fall into one of four profiles, providing physicians with insights for new, individualized approaches to treatment and arm patients with a new awareness of the issues that impact their ability to successfully control their hypertension.

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White students tend to evaluate essays written by Black students less critically than similar essays written by other White students, according to research to be reported in the March issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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One of the first studies undertaken to examine the effects caregiving has on care recipients found that physically disabled older adults may not always receive the appropriate amount of help they need, and nearly 40 percent reported emotional distress from receiving assistance.

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Researchers from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) have discovered that the ApoE genetic test for Alzheimer's coupled with a thorough clinical evaluation may help to confirm the diagnosis.

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LSU researchers have created a tiny sensor to help determine when bones are healed and a unique instrument to test the health of cartilage.

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Scientists from Boston University's College of Engineering have developed the first objective diagnostic tool to determine whether a patient suffers from congestive heart failure. A simple mathematical analysis of the pattern of a person's heartbeat detects the problem with 100 percent accuracy, report the scientists in the February 16th issue of Physical Review Letters.

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Sunscreens may not protect users from developing the deadly skin cancer, melanoma -- one of the fastest rising cancers in the United States, reports Dr. Marianne Berwick, an epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

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Johns Hopkins researchers have found evidence that some cancer cells are such incredible sugar junkies that they'll self-destruct when deprived of glucose, their biological sweet of choice.

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Researchers are gaining valuable insight into how Ebola uses glycoproteins to wreak its deadly havoc. Results from this study provide insight into the strategies that Ebola virus uses to evade detection and point to potential antiviral targets. The new findings may also have far-reaching benefits for fighting other illnesses.

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Developing nations, including China and India, face an epidemic of heart disease and stroke that could devastate their economies, researchers report in today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Bacteria found in dental plaque near diseased gums can induce clumping of blood platelets, a University of Minnesota study has found. Such clumping is an early step in the formation of blood clots, the precipitating event in heart attacks. While previous reports have linked bacterial infections to the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque in coronary arteries, the researchers believe this to be the first evidence linking bacteria to the event that directly causes most heart attacks.

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1) Screening for chlamydia is cost effective versus no screening and subsequent treatment of the disease. 2) Annals of Internal Medicine Launches New Series to help physicians lead the charge to redesign health care. 3) Treatment options, counseling, followup and survelliance skills need to be employed by physicians and other health care workers with individuals that have recently been exposed to HIV via sexual relations. 4) Alendronate, a bisphosphonate, has been shown to prevent bone loss in women without osteoporosis.

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Inexpensive screening of all sexually active young women under 30 for Chlamydia trachomatis infection would vastly reduce infertility and the costly medical complications of this sexually transmitted disease, according to results of a Johns Hopkins study.

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Lives are saved when older men with high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels, diabetes or smoking, follow risk factor intervention programs and change their life style.

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While you can control how much saturated fat and cholesterol you eat in foods, you can't yet control whether your genetic inheritance will turn these fats against you or will confer some protection from them.

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The results of a study funded by the NIH to avoid rejection to platelet transfusion, found that leukocyte (white blood cell) reduction of platelet components by filtration significantly reduced the incidence of refractoriness.

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Position statements, guidelines, and action papers adopted as official APA policy include: 1) Importance of using self-help to ameliorate treatment, 2) Compassion and an open door to new research on medical efficacy of marijuana, 3) Physicians also deserve rights to privacy, 4) APA provides guidance on tough child custody issues...(more)

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Women considering breast reconstruction following mastectomies for breast cancer expressed strong satisfaction with a novel approach in surgery, reports a researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center.

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Indigenous people of the rain forest -- not pharmaceutical companies --should grow newly identified medicinal plants to combat malaria and other tropical diseases, Cornell University Professor of Environmental Studies Eloy Rodriguez says Feb. 15 in a AAAS lecture, "Natural Medicines of the Amazonas: Evolution of Drug Selection by Indigenous Tribes and Wild Primates."

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Johns Hopkins chemists have developed new compounds that show promise for treating malaria by making the disease-causing parasite self-destruct.

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The Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) today announced a joint research project with Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California that could help all managed care organizations target and provide appropriate health services for enrollees and family members suffering from depression or other mental health symptoms.

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The hefty tax on cigarettes being debated in Congress is supported by research at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

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Embargoed release: University of Maryland scientists transform sodium channels into calcium channels. Their findings have important implications for development of new drugs for cardiovascular, neurological and muscular diseases.

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A Columbia University researcher is "stirring" up conventional views on the function of rapid eye movement(REM) sleep. According to David Maurice, Ph.D., professor of ocular physiology in the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, REM sleep may have more to do with vision than with dreams.

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Bone Cement Permits Surgeons To Restore Normal Facial Contours

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Two or three unprovoked seizures may greatly increase the risk for more seizures and should be necessary criteria for diagnosing epilepsy, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. The study, published in the Feb 12 New England Journal of Medicine, establishes the first mathematically sound definition of epilepsy. The data could lead to a better understanding of seizure occurance and more appropriate treatment intervention.

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A University of Iowa researcher may have made a key advance in finding more effective and safer drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders.

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Rancho Mirage, CA ó Physicians reporting at the annual spine-section meeting of the combined American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) societies this week will describe how the Digital Holographyô System from VoxelÆ (NASDAQ:VOXL) helps them diagnose and treat disorders of the spine.

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Tulane University and University of Rochester medical researchers find that a vaccine therapy for ovarian cancer using genetically altered tumor cells could improve the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy treatments. The research will be presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

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The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASPRS) recommends that people considering lipoplasty, popularly known as liposuction, be fully informed about the procedure before surgery. In a position statement issued today, the organization states that lipoplasty is believed to be generally safe, provided that patients are carefully selected, the operating facility is properly equipped, and the physician has proper surgical education with special training in body contouring.

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As prologue to a soon-to-be-published study that confirms the efficacy of valacyclovir--a new, more potent, cost-effective and convenient anti-herpes medication--the study's lead author warns that stopping the spread of genital herpes will take more than popping a pill or avoiding sex during outbreaks.

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Women facing surgery for endometrial cancer may want to think twice before embarking on a lengthy course of radiation treatments after the operation, a national study chaired by a Stanford researcher suggests.

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Daily smokers have twice the risk for major depression compared to people who have a history of smoking on an occassional basis, according to a Henry Ford Health System study.

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Medical researchers from the University of California-Irvine and the State University Hospital at Stony Brook, NY, have determined that a vaginal delivery will result in an increased postpartum regression rate for pregnant women with abnormal antepartum cervical cytology. Their findings will be presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

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A revolutionary new tool has been introduced which will help women determine their risk of being attacked by one of the most deadly of all killers: reproductive cancer (cancer of the ovaries, uterus, and cervix). The Women's Cancer Network (WCN) website, at www.wcn.org, is the world's first interactive reproductive cancer website and allows a woman to instantly receive an assessment of her risk for developing these cancers.

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As much as one-fifth of the U.S. population may be at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes because they do not eat enough food with vitamin B-6 and folic acid, according to a report in today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Approximately 80% of women with cervical cancer receive a favorable prognosis if treated with a radical hysterectomy and early radiotherapy. However, in the last 30 years, the 20% mortality rate of patients following surgery has not improved. Now, medical researchers specializing in the treatment of women's cancers have completed research that offers hope to women recovering from treatment for this deadly disease. Their findings will be presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

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Medical researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have conducted the first long-term follow-up of ovarian cancer patients having a negative second-look laparotomy, after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy. Their findings will be presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

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Through a public awareness campaign, researchers in Normal, Ill. were able to significantly improve people's knowledge of stroke warning signs and, in the process, found that women were more apt to listen to stroke messages than men.

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The press is invited to attend a meeting of the National Advisory Council (NAC) for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation on February 12, 1998. The Council provides advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) on matters related to AHCPR activities.

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Researchers at Henry Ford Health System have discovered evidence that suggests the male brain shrinks faster with age than the female brain.

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A virtual "flight" through a colon, new math and high-resolution telescopes, a promising new cancer-fighting technique, and new information about plant growth hormones. What do these technological innovations have in common?

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Repeated heartburn should sound an alarm; Navel battle reduces fat, risk for health problems; Parents of colicky babies need attention, too; Knock yourself out with fitness boxing; Antibiotics cannot cure all ear infections

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Temple University Hospital enrolled the first patients into both the clinical therapy and surgical portions of the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) within the past week. The first NETT patient to enter the surgical portion also received lung volume reduction surgery this week at Temple University Hospital.

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Protection from strokes may be found in high doses of vitamins B6, B12 and folate. A University of Maryland researcher reports that high doses of B-vitamins lower homocysteine, an amino acid associated with increased stroke risk when levels in the blood are even slightly elevated.

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New data reveal that the cholesterol-lowering drug pravastatin (Pravachol) can significantly reduce the risk of a stroke or ministroke in people who have previously suffered a heart attack.

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A trio of B vitamins given to a group of people who had suffered a stroke reduced their homocysteine levels and improved biochemical "markers" in their blood that indicate injury to artery walls -- damage that can lead to strokes.

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Genetic variations in apolipoprotein E, a key protein involved in the transport and disposal of cholesterol in the body, may be associated in African Americans with the occurrence of a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain.