Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Personal digital assistants used to track tuberculosis data

For patients who have drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, it's critical to monitor the disease as closely as possible.

11 Feb 2009

2 genes influence social behavior, visual-spatial performance in people with Williams syndrome

Unraveling the genetics of social behavior and cognitive abilities, researchers at the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have traced the role of two genes,GTF2I and GTF2IRD, in a rare genetic disorder known as Williams Syndrome.

11 Feb 2009

Unexplained chest pains

Each year, many people seek emergency treatment for unexplained chest pains.

9 Feb 2009

Continuation of statin treatment associated with lower risk of death

Patients with high cholesterol levels who continually take statins appear to have a lower risk of death over four to five years, regardless of whether they already have diagnosed heart disease, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2009

A happy hospital makes for happy patients

Imagine a hospital where morale is high, employee turnover is low and patient call buttons rarely go unanswered---and if they do, you can call the hospital's CEO.

9 Feb 2009

Alarming increase in prevalence of chronic low-back pain

The proportion of people suffering from long term, impairing low back pain has more than doubled in North Carolina since the early 1990s, according to a new study.

9 Feb 2009

Traumatic brain injury patients can relearn emotions

The visitor in Barry Willer's office at the University at Buffalo was frustrated and deeply depressed.

9 Feb 2009

Remote Intelligent Drug Delivery System (RIDDS) may soon be a reality

Electronic implants that dispense medicines automatically or via a wireless medical network are on the horizon. Australian and US researchers warn of the security risks in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology .

8 Feb 2009

Healthcare reform

Faced with a barrage of pressing issues, the Obama administration has placed health-care reform high on its agenda.

8 Feb 2009

Medications control metabolism dominate spending for prescription meds

Medications that affect a person's metabolism by helping to lower cholesterol, control diabetes and control weight accounted for $38 billion of the $208.1 billion that American adults spent on medications in 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

8 Feb 2009

How electronic medical records can be used to test drug efficacy

For years controversy has surrounded whether electronic medical records (EMR) would lead to increased patient safety, cut medical errors, and reduce healthcare costs.

8 Feb 2009

Calcitrol - active form of vitamin D - stimulates protein that inhibits growth of breast cancer cells

Calcitrol, the active form of vitamin D, has been found to induce a tumor suppressing protein that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a study by researcher Sylvia Chistakos, Ph.D., of the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.

5 Feb 2009

What's the ideal relationship between the drug industry, health professionals and patients?

The relationship between the drug industry, academia, healthcare professionals, and patients is widely believed to be at an all time low.

3 Feb 2009

Regular physical activity linked to better quality of life in early-stage lung cancer survivors

Survivors of early-stage lung cancer who take part in regular physical activity have a better quality of life, according to a study in the February issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention , available online now.

3 Feb 2009

NRL partners with industry to develop compact biosensor for wide-ranging applications

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are partnering with industry to develop a sensor system for biomolecules that could make a significant contribution to a variety of fields such as healthcare, veterinary diagnostics, food safety, environmental testing, and national security.

3 Feb 2009

Nightmares increase risk of further suicide attempts

A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, concludes that people who have nightmares following a suicide attempt are five times more likely to attempt suicide again, compared with those who do not have nightmares.

3 Feb 2009

Robot scientist promises to dig up new drugs

A robot scientist that can make informed guesses about how effective different chemical compounds will be at fighting different diseases could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry by developing more effective treatments more cheaply and quickly than current methods.

3 Feb 2009