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Medical identity theft

Many consumers take precautions against identity theft, but what about medical identity theft?

10 Oct 2007

Intensity modulated radiation therapy better for sparing bladder when treating prostate cancer

When treating early-stage prostate cancer, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) spares the bladder significantly more from direct radiation when compared to 3-D conformal proton therapy (3D-CPT), but the amount of rectal sparing is similar with both treatments, according to a study released in the October issue of the International Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

10 Oct 2007

Under HMOs, Medicaid patients fare worse than commercial HMO patients

Once viewed as a panacea to the nation's health care problems, HMOs have fallen out of favor.

10 Oct 2007

Decrease in the use of radiotherapy procedures for the treatment of cancer in hospitals

The Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the Universidad de Granada, in Andalusian hospitals radiotherapy is not used as much as should be expected for the treatment of cancer, in favour of other procedures such as chemotherapy or surgery.

10 Oct 2007

TB patient jailed in the U.S flees 'abuse' for safety of Russia

A tuberculosis patient, confined in a hospital jail ward in Arizona since August 2006 has fled the country apparently because he could no longer tolerate the abuse metered out to him.

9 Oct 2007

Quick action after a minor stroke reduces the risk of a major stroke

According to two studies by British and French researchers quick action following a minor stroke reduces the chance of a major stroke later on.

9 Oct 2007

Xeloda (capecitabine) better all round for cancer patients

A drug to treat colon cancer is proving much more convenient than traditional chemotherapy, has fewer side effects - and a study of almost 2,000 patients has shown it is giving them a better chance of surviving the disease.

9 Oct 2007

Research highlights importance of adopting current adult pneumococcal vaccination guidelines

Among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, those who had previously received the pneumococcal vaccine had a lower risk of death and admission to the intensive care unit than patients who were not vaccinated, according to a report in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007

Patients perceived cancer care unaffected by lower Medicare reimbursements

Patients perceive no significant change in the quality of care for cancer since the United States' government passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) according to a study published in the November 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

9 Oct 2007

One injection of gene therapy spreads through brain in animal study

By targeting a site in a mouse brain well connected to other areas, researchers successfully delivered a beneficial gene to the entire brain - after one injection of gene therapy.

9 Oct 2007

New thoracic imaging protocol

University of Cincinnati (UC) radiologists have developed a new technique for capturing images of chest veins that eases diagnosis of venous diseases.

9 Oct 2007

Study examines the safety of Tasers

A nationwide study examining the safety of Tasers used by law enforcement agencies suggests the devices are safe, causing a low occurrence of serious injuries.

9 Oct 2007

In biology, polarization is a good thing

Using a molecular cellular compass, individual cells in complex organisms know which way is up or down, in epithelial cells known as apical-basal polarity.

9 Oct 2007

Link between woman's hips and daughter's risk of breast cancer

In a study of the maternity records of more than 6,000 women, David J.P. Barker, M.D., Ph.D., and Kent Thornburg, Ph.D., of Oregon Health & Science University discovered a strong correlation between the size and shape of a woman's hips and her daughter's risk of breast cancer.

9 Oct 2007

Taking antidepressants with painkillers dangerous

Taking antidepressants together with painkillers can substantially increase the risk of bleeding from the stomach, according to new research by the University of East Anglia.

9 Oct 2007

SSRIs may double risk of gastrointestinal bleeding

New research shows that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a group of drugs commonly used to treat depression, may double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

9 Oct 2007

Potential new treatment for Huntington's disease found

MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegererative Disorders (MIND) researchers have identified a compound that may lead to a treatment that could protect against the effects of Huntington's Disease (HD).

9 Oct 2007

Increase in ATV injuries triggers questions on their safety

A new study says that all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and the injuries incurred driving them have resulted in an average of 19 people a day ending up in hospital emergency departments (ED) in Ontario.

8 Oct 2007

Latest death in Indonesia from bird flu takes toll up to 87

The Indonesian health ministry says the 44-year-old woman was from Pekan Baru city on Sumatra, and was apparently treated for fever at several hospitals before finally being admitted to Arifin Achmad hospital on October 4th where she died the following day.

8 Oct 2007