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Left-sided brain injury increases infection risk

Patients with a left-sided brain injury are more likely to develop hospital-acquired infections than those with right-sided injury, show study findings.

5 Mar 2013

Increased pneumonia rates after Japan earthquake

Significantly increased rates of pneumonia and related deaths were seen after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Tohoku, Japan, report researchers.

5 Mar 2013

Bipolar disorder patients avoid rewarding activities

People with bipolar I disorder tend to be aware of the potential for goal achievement to trigger mania and as a result dampen their emotions and avoid reward, preliminary research suggests.

5 Mar 2013

Call for universal CAH screening

An analysis of 100 years of epidemiological data from Sweden has shown that neonatal screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia is as effective at improving survival in boys as it is in girls.

5 Mar 2013

Misdiagnosed bipolar depression has subtle clinical features

Increased appetite, sleep, and weight gain, among other clinical features, can be used to help identify patients with bipolar disorder who have been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder.

5 Mar 2013

Gene cluster implicated in Behçet's disease

Scientists may have uncovered an underlying genetic susceptibility for Behçet's disease in East Asian patients.

5 Mar 2013

Youth development intervention could reduce teenage pregnancies

A primary care intervention involving case support and peer leadership significantly increased contraception use among teenagers at high-risk for pregnancy, US research shows.

5 Mar 2013

Anti-metabolic syndrome efforts needed for young ALL survivors

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are at risk for developing the metabolic syndrome during maintenance therapy, suggest study findings.

5 Mar 2013

Nursing home patients with pneumonia may need viral screening

Viral testing should be carried out among all older individuals who have been admitted to hospital for nursing home-acquired pneumonia, recommend researchers.

5 Mar 2013

Reversal of heart damage from obesity more likely if you lose weight sooner rather than later

In a study of the impact of weight loss on reversing heart damage from obesity, Johns Hopkins researchers found that poor heart function in young obese mice can be reversed when the animals lose weight from a low-calorie diet. However, older mice, who had been obese for a longer period of time, did not regain better heart function after they were on the same low-calorie diet.

5 Mar 2013

Two asthma medications combined in one inhaler more effective than recommended treatment

Two large randomised trials published to coincide with the launch of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine provide compelling new evidence that using two types of common asthma medications combined in one inhaler for both preventive and rescue treatment (Single inhaler Maintenance and Reliever Therapy; SMART) is more effective at reducing attacks than guideline-based treatment in adults whose asthma is not well controlled, and is safe and well tolerated.

5 Mar 2013

Benefits of diastolic function improvement in heart failure questioned

The importance of left ventricular diastolic function improvement in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction has been questioned, after researchers found that treatment with spironolactone resulted in some functional improvements but failed to impact on patients’ exercise capacity.

5 Mar 2013