Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

New technology could save vision of millions

In the blink of an eye, people at risk of becoming blind can now be screened for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

18 Feb 2009

Opportunities for the health system in a sick economy

With the interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission published yesterday the time for implementing reform could hardly be better.

18 Feb 2009

Race and ethnicity affect use of hospice services among patients with advanced cancer

Race and ethnicity appear to have an effect on whether a patient with terminal cancer uses hospice care services, according to a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

10 Feb 2009

Nightly dose of vitamin B12 an effective canker sore therapy

A team of physicians at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has discovered that a nightly dose of vitamin B12 is a simple, effective and low risk therapy to prevent Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS), better known as "canker sores."

10 Feb 2009

Pregnancy has no impact on breast cancer, but can delay diagnosis and treatment

A new study finds women who develop breast cancer while pregnant or soon afterwards do not experience any differences in disease severity or likelihood of survival compared to other women with breast cancer.

9 Feb 2009

Minority health-care clinics separate but unequal

A study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine may shed new light on why minority Americans have poorer health outcomes from chronic conditions such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.

9 Feb 2009

Weight loss stops obstructive sleep apnea

For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , one of the American Thoracic Society's three peer-reviewed journals.

8 Feb 2009

Volunteers needed for hydrocortisone in treatment resistant depression research

Can hydrocortisone, a drug which affects the body's stress system, help people with depression who do not respond to current treatments?

5 Feb 2009

More children need medical help for respiratory syncytial virus than previously known

More than 2 million children with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are seen in hospitals, emergency rooms and doctors' offices in the United States every year -- many more than doctors know.

5 Feb 2009

Major research effort to improve quality of care for heart patients

People suffering from angina or heart attacks are set to benefit from a major investigation by the University of Bristol into their quality of care.

5 Feb 2009

Primary care doctors miss opportunities to recommend colon cancer screening

While it is known that patients with few primary care doctor's office visits are less likely to receive colorectal cancer screening, new research indicates that even patients who see their physicians regularly also do not receive screening.

3 Feb 2009

Researchers design re-engineered hospital discharge program to reduce rehospitalization

Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have designed a process to minimize discharge failures.

2 Feb 2009

Distrust of medical research more common among African American parents

Distrust of medical research appears more common among African American parents than white parents and may present a barrier to enrollment of minority children in research studies, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Feb 2009

The state of America's health care is poor

"The state of America's health care is poor," Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), reported today at the annual State of the Nation's Health Care briefing.

2 Feb 2009

Internet program helps reduce depressive symptoms in teens

An Internet program helps to reduce depressive symptoms and prevent episodes of clinical depression in adolescent patients at risk, reports a study in the February issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Survivorship care after breast cancer, call for more action

As the nation's growing population of breast cancer survivors ages, many patients will likely develop common chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, and they'll need specialized care to balance those problems with the late effects of cancer therapies they received.

19 Jan 2009

Savella - Fibromyalgia treatment approved by FDA

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Cypress Bioscience, Inc. have announced that Savella (milnacipran HCl), a selective serotonin and norepinephrine dual reuptake inhibitor, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of fibromyalgia.

19 Jan 2009

Eli Lilly to pay $1.415 billion for off-label promotion of Zyprexa

American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company today agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion for promoting its drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice announced today.

19 Jan 2009

Cancer survivor needs examined beyond specialized care

According to the National Cancer Policy Board, it is estimated that by the year 2050 there will be more cancer survivors in the United States than those newly diagnosed with the disease.

19 Jan 2009