Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Free drug samples may burden patients' pockets

Following free drug sample receipt, patients who receive these samples have significantly higher out-of-pocket prescription costs than those who don't, according to the first study to look at the out-of-pocket cost associated with free-sample use, published in the March 24, 2008, issue of Medical Care.

25 Mar 2008

Hard to treat TB case diagnosed in Britain

Health officials in Britain say they are dealing with the country's first case of a rare strain of tuberculosis (TB) which is almost untreatable.

24 Mar 2008

Typhoid no longer an enemy of the past as study highlights risk for travellers to indian sub-continent

UK travellers visiting friends and relatives on the Indian sub-continent are carrying an unnecessary burden of typhoid and paratyphoid (also called enteric fevers), according to researchers at the Health Protection Agency.

24 Mar 2008

Toxic organophosphates appear to contribute to motor neuron disease

Motor neuron disease is a rare, devastating illness in which nerve cells that carry brain signals to muscles gradually deteriorate.

24 Mar 2008

Where nurses are bullied, the quality of patient care declines

In workplaces where nurses are bullied, the quality of patient care declines, the health of nurses suffers, and the retention of quality nurses becomes difficult.

24 Mar 2008

A national Clostridium difficile prevalence study

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has announced a detailed strategy to combat Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD).

24 Mar 2008

Taking correct medications on time easier with a pill card

Free, online instructions for creating a pill card -- an illustrated medication schedule -- using only a personal or laptop computer and printer are now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the US. Department of Health and Human Services.

24 Mar 2008

Robot fetches objects with just a point and a click

Robots are fluent in their native language of 1 and 0 absolutes but struggle to grasp the nuances and imprecise nature of human language.

20 Mar 2008

New study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3 can improve accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis

New clinical data from a study of 570 men published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Urology support the use of PROGENSA PCA3 as a tool for diagnosing prostate cancer. The study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3, the world's first gene-based urine test to help detect prostate cancer, can provide clinicians with valuable information that helps guide diagnosis.

20 Mar 2008

Neuronal regulators offer potential targets for cancer

Being too brainy can be a bad thing in a junior high cafeteria, where the social hierarchy favors other traits. "Braininess" also causes problems for cells.

20 Mar 2008

Genomas awarded $1.2 million to develop DNA-guided system for management of statin therapy

Genomas, a biomedical company advancing DNA-guided medicine and personalized healthcare, has announced the award of a Fast-Track Phase I-II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant totaling $1.2 million.

20 Mar 2008

New medical adhesive

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new medical adhesive (a fibrin sealant) called Artiss for use in attaching skin grafts onto burn patients.

20 Mar 2008

New understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain

Emotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions.

19 Mar 2008

New choices bring wider range of women to family planning

A study appearing in the March 2008 issue of the journal Contraception reports that the Standard Days Method, a natural family planning method developed by researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center's Institute for Reproductive Health, brings new women to family planning.

19 Mar 2008

FDA sends approvable letter for Ceftobiprole as treatment of complicated skin infections

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD), has announced that it received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for ceftobiprole for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections, including diabetic foot infections.

19 Mar 2008

Psychological stress resulting from the traumatic stress may damage this brain

Individuals who experience military combat obviously endure extreme stress, and this exposure leaves many diagnosed with the psychiatric condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

19 Mar 2008

At home genomic tests for disease risk may be premature

The recent marketing of "at home" genomic tests for disease risk may be premature, according to Dr. Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH, Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

19 Mar 2008

UK doctors warned to not allow personal beliefs to affect patients' treatment

Family doctors in Britain have been told not to allow their personal, religious or moral beliefs to affect a patients' treatment.

18 Mar 2008

Study examines changes in quality of life after head and neck cancer treatment

In the year following their first treatment, patients with head and neck cancer report declines in their physical quality of life but improvements in their mental health quality of life, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

18 Mar 2008

New robotic interventional imaging technology holds promise of improved cancer care

New research released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C., this week, holds promise of a new interventional imaging capability using advanced robotics provided by Siemens Healthcare (www.siemens.com/healthcare), to improve the value of chemoembolization in treating cancer.

From Siemens Healthineers 18 Mar 2008