Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Study looks at maggot therapy on wound healing

Larval (maggot) therapy has similar health benefits and costs compared with a standard treatment for leg ulcers, find two studies published on bmj.com.

20 Mar 2009

Interventions helped reduce MRSA rates up to 62% in study hospitals

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Plexus Institute (Plexus) has announced results from an analysis of a multifaceted methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) prevention program that employed positive deviance (PD), a novel approach to social and behavioral change, to trigger significant reductions in MRSA incidence ranging from 26 to 62 percent at participating hospitals.

20 Mar 2009

Barriers to diabetes care include restaurants and high-risk lifestyles

Eating out, lack of social support and high-risk lifestyles are just some of the barriers that stop patients with type 2 diabetes from controlling their condition, according to a research review that covered 8,900 patients and 4,550 healthcare providers from 28 countries.

20 Mar 2009

3 million people at risk with out of date European Health Insurance Cards

UK travellers facing hefty medical bills for treatment in Europe

20 Mar 2009

New strategy to weaken traumatic memories

Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you.

17 Mar 2009

Medical costs for one premature baby could cover a dozen healthy births

The medical costs that businesses pay to care for one premature baby for a year could cover the costs for nearly a dozen healthy, full-term infants, according to new statistics from the March of Dimes.

17 Mar 2009

Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study headed by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.

17 Mar 2009

Telemedicine expansion gives parents more options

Parents who need after-hours healthcare for their children don't need to turn to the Emergency Department (ED) for common childhood illnesses, such as ear infections and sore throats.

17 Mar 2009

Ultraviolet light cuts spread of tuberculosis

Ultraviolet lights could reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms by 70%, according to a new study, published in PLoS Medicine today.

16 Mar 2009

Study finds that dying patients and families suffer from lack of continuity of physician care

In a study published in the March 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found that patients and families can suffer from feelings of abandonment when a physician who had been actively involved in care is no longer involved.

16 Mar 2009

New aspirin recommendation can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among many adults

A new recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) underscores the value of regular aspirin use in preventing heart attacks and strokes among many adults, the head of Partnership for Prevention said today.

16 Mar 2009

Trial of new combination treatment targeting hormone receptor-positive locally advanced breast cancer

Researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) have opened a clinical trial, which aims to evaluate a new treatment for breast cancer in combination with one that is already approved for other types of cancers.

16 Mar 2009

Depression almost twice as high in people with epilepsy

A new study published in Epilepsia finds that the prevalence of depression is almost twice as high in people with epilepsy compared to the general population.

16 Mar 2009

Obama advisers suggest President might not oppose taxing some employer-sponsored health benefits

The Obama administration is "signaling to Congress" that President Obama "could support taxing some employee health benefits" to help offset the cost of health care reform, a move supported by "several influential lawmakers and many economists" but "opposed by union leaders and some businesses," the New York Times reports (Calmes/Pear, New York Times, 3/15).

16 Mar 2009

ATCC develops and isolates novel avian flu monoclonal antibodies

ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) researchers have developed a panel of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against avian influenza viruses. These antibodies could lead to a rapid diagnostic test for the infection, ATCC announced today. The organization has filed a patent covering the development of these novel antibodies.

16 Mar 2009

Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative announces completion of genome-wide analysis

Researchers announced today that a high-density genome wide analysis of participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; www.adni-info.org) is more than 95% complete and that data will be shared with scientists around the world for further analysis.

16 Mar 2009