Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Low morale and staff shortages means 'grave' situation for midwives

The morale of British midwives is at an all time low and 10,000 extra staff are needed, according to a leading healthcare expert.

From Sheffield Hallam University 9 May 2006

That dreadful feeling - most choose more pain sooner rather than less later

According to research into why people experience the feeling of dread, a team of Emory neuroscientists led by Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the areas of the brain that are activated when someone gets that dreadful feeling.

9 May 2006

Cardiovascular disease impact varies according to age, gender, other factors

Cardiovascular disease deaths have declined in the last 25 years, but the effect of America's No. 1 killer varies greatly based on gender, age, location and type, according to a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

9 May 2006

fMRI used to show dread responses in brain

In order to better understand how people make decisions when the outcomes are known to be unpleasant, a team of Emory neuroscientists led by Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the areas of the brain that are activated when someone experiences dread.

8 May 2006

Melatonin, taken orally can improve ability to sleep

Researchers from the Divisions of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School have found in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study, that melatonin, taken orally during non-typical sleep times, significantly improves an individual's ability to sleep.

3 May 2006

Endocannabinoid system shows promise in combating obesity

As the obesity epidemic grows in the United States, the medical community is faced with the significant challenge of properly treating patients before complications such as heart disease arise.

3 May 2006

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services, according to a new national study by researchers at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

3 May 2006

Current US drug safety system is moving toward a delay in drug approval

In the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, analyzes the limitations of the current system of drug-safety monitoring and proposes a solution that addresses overly aggressive early marketing practices

3 May 2006

Surgeons exhibit the lowest level of teamwork and nurses the highest in the operating room

A study based on a survey measuring attitudes toward the work environment in the operating room (OR) reveals that surgeons exhibit the lowest level of teamwork and nurses the highest.

3 May 2006

Researchers recommend national uniform newborn screening tests

In a new study, conducted for the federal government and published in a supplement to the May issue of the journal Pediatrics, Stephen M. Downs, M.D. and Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine, recommend a national uniform panel of newborn screening tests which they found to be cost saving as well as life saving.

3 May 2006

Drug combo significantly more effective in reducing dyspepsia in arthritis patients

UCLA/VA researchers found that for arthritis patients, taking a combination of two drugs may be most effective in protecting against stomach upset called dyspepsia, which is a side effect of common pain medications.

3 May 2006

South East Asia could be the epicentre of the next human influenza pandemic

The Asia-Pacific region faces a number of challenges in preparing for an influenza pandemic, yet gaps and inconsistencies in plans across the continent could hinder an effective response to a pandemic, according to a new report presented at the Lancet Asia Medical Forum 2006, Singapore.

3 May 2006

Dimensional analysis of the concept of obesity

Health professionals need to use more than tape measures and scales to define and tackle obesity, according to a paper in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

3 May 2006

British healthier than Americans in middle-age

According to a large international study middle-aged Americans are not as healthy as their British cousins.

2 May 2006

New method could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments

Scientists from Imperial College London and Pfizer have developed a new method that could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments. The authors anticipate that the development will advance biomedical research further towards development of personalised medicines.

28 Apr 2006

Breast cancer survivors turning their backs on recommended mammograms

A new study finds use of annual mammography among breast cancer survivors, who are at increased risk of a recurrence or a new malignancy in the other breast, dropped off after a few years. During the five year study period, only one in three women in this high-risk population had received regular annual mammograms.

24 Apr 2006

Nurses encouraged to practice family-centered maternity care

The March issue of Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing is challenging nurses who care for pregnant and laboring women to reconsider family centered maternity care.

18 Apr 2006

Only 43 percent of older people with diabetes receive medicines that could protect their heart and kidneys

...despite the fact that virtually all of them could benefit from those drugs, a new University of Michigan study finds. And even among those with the most to gain from the medicines, the rate of use barely reaches 53 percent.

18 Apr 2006

Study finds nationwide increase in antipsychotic medications used for children with ADHD

A disturbing nationwide trend has been documented by a researcher at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt: Doctors are prescribing antipsychotic medicines for children with behavioral problems that are not defined as "psychosis," such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

18 Apr 2006

Significant variations in costs generated by surgeons under controlled circumstances

Surgeons incurred a wide range of hospital costs even when their procedures were controlled for complexity and patient risk, according to one of the first studies of its kind to track the cost performance of individual surgeons.

18 Apr 2006