Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Obese women who undergo bariatric surgery decrease pregnancy-related health complications

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2008

Diabetes cost U.S. estimated $217.5 billion in 2007

According to findings from a National Diabetes Economic Barometer study, undiagnosed, pre-diabetes and diabetes cost the United States an estimated $217.5 billion in 2007 due to higher medical expenditures and lost productivity.

18 Nov 2008

Poor understanding of medicare leads to worse healthcare access

A study appearing in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that Medicare beneficiaries' understanding of their healthcare benefits may affect their ability to access needed care effectively and could lead them to the delay or avoid seeking care.

18 Nov 2008

Seniors should have the flu jab this winter, say experts

Despite recent doubts about its effectiveness, the influenza vaccine does give valuable protection against illness, hospital admission and death caused by influenza, and people over 65 should have the flu jab this winter, say experts on bmj.com.

18 Nov 2008

Musculoskeletal Center wins $2.2 million to study biologics safety

The UAB Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics has won a $2.2 million federal grant to study the risks and benefits of a class of drugs called ‘biologics' -- genetically engineered agents targeting the immune system of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders.

18 Nov 2008

Medicsight seeks FDA 510(k) clearance to market ColonCAD software in the U.S.

Medicsight PLC has announced the submission of a 510(k) Premarket Notification to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clearance to market its ColonCAD(TM) image analysis software throughout the U.S.

18 Nov 2008

Is hysteroscopic sterilization permanent for women?

Women who have decided that they do not want to ever become pregnant often select permanent sterilization.

18 Nov 2008

Cancer survival rates impact type of Web communities used by patients

Online support communities for high survival rate cancers contain a greater amount of emotional support content than online support communities for cancers with low survival rates, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

18 Nov 2008

First simulation of the the ageing process

The first simulation of how it feels to age decades in minutes will be run by staff from Eisai at the new University of Hertfordshire simulation centre tomorrow (19 November).

18 Nov 2008

International health research boosted by NIH grant to create bioethics master's degrees at Indiana and Moi Universities

A new partnership between the Indiana University and Kenya's Moi University will develop master's degrees at both universities that focus on ethical issues in international health research.

18 Nov 2008

NCI sponsors Canadian cold/flu remedy trial in leukemia patients

Cancer patients, with their weakened immune systems, are particularly vulnerable when the cold and flu season hits. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health and the world's most prestigious cancer research body, is sponsoring a landmark trial to evaluate if a unique Canadian cold remedy - ginseng extract COLD-FX - can help.

18 Nov 2008

Latina women more likely to regret breast cancer treatment decisions

Latina women who prefer speaking Spanish are more likely than other ethnic groups to express regret or dissatisfaction with their breast cancer treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

18 Nov 2008

Scientists use patient's own stem cells to treat heart failure

Researchers at the University of Utah are enrolling people in a new clinical trial that uses a patient's own stem cells to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure.

17 Nov 2008

Study suggests Siemens non-invasive blood test may have a role in monitoring breast cancer patients' response to Herceptin

Siemens Healthcare announced that data from a new study published in the American Cancer Society journal Cancer, supports using the Siemens Serum HER-2/neu test to monitor patients with an aggressive type of metastatic breast cancer.

17 Nov 2008

Financial incentives motivates doctors to reduce ethnic differences in heart disease treatments

Financial incentives for doctors can improve the management of coronary heart disease (CHD) and reduce ethnic differences in quality of and access to care, according to Dr. Christopher Millett, Consultant in Public Health at Imperial College Faculty of Medicine in London in the UK, and his colleagues.

17 Nov 2008