The use of the medication citalopram was associated with a reduction in agitation in patients with Alzheimer disease, although at the dosage used in the study, patients experienced mild cognitive and cardiac adverse effects that might limit the practical application of this medication at the dosage of 30 mg per day, according to a study in the February 19 issue of JAMA.
Culture
Among patients with untreated paroxysmal (intermittent) atrial fibrillation (AF), treatment with electrical energy (radiofrequency ablation) resulted in a lower rate of abnormal atrial rhythms and episodes of AF, according to a study in the February 19 issue of JAMA.
In a survey of a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population, 65 percent of respondents reported awareness of online physician ratings and about one-fourth reported usage of these sites, according to a study in the February 19 issue of JAMA.
The results of a Journal of the American Medical Association study offer a glimmer of hope to families caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the University of Rochester, Johns Hopkins University, and six other academic medical centers found that a high dose of a common antidepressant drug (citalopram) significantly reduced agitation in patients participating in the study. However, given potentially concerning side effects of citalopram, researchers say further investigation is needed to determine whether a smaller dose will be as effective.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 18, 2014 — Scientists and engineers developing more accurate approaches to analyzing nuclear power reactors have successfully tested a new suite of computer codes that closely model "neutronics" — the behavior of neutrons in a reactor core.
A new UCLA-led study shows that a blood test commonly used to determine whether heart transplant recipients are rejecting their new organ can also predict potential rejection-related problems in the future.
Reporting in the online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Transplantation, researchers demonstrate how the AlloMap test, which uses a blood sample to measure changes in the expression of roughly a dozen genes, can be used over a period of time to assess the risk of dysfunction or rejection of a transplanted heart — months before such an event may occur.
Nest-switching is common during the initial period of colony establishment, when individual wasps try to join other colonies and existing members have to decide whether to accept or reject new comers. The wasps recognize nestmates from non-nestmates using chemical signals that are specific to each colony.
A new decision tool will help emergency physicians everywhere identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at risk of serious complications or death. The Ottawa COPD Risk Scale was published today in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
Physicians and patients should talk about unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures so that they can make smart and effective care choices and avoid potential for harm, writes Dr. Wendy Levinson in a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
Nursing homes are widely used by Medicare beneficiaries who require rehabilitation after hospital stays. But according to a recent study led by a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, a high percentage of Medicare patients who are discharged from nursing homes will return to the hospital or the emergency room within 30 days.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Corporations with board directors who have investment banking experience are more likely to acquire other businesses – and make better acquisitions when they do – according to a new study from the University at Buffalo School of Management.
Sophia Antipolis, 18 February 2014: One-quarter of high risk patients do not receive anticoagulants after ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF), according to the latest survey of European practice.
The annual bill for Medicare and Medicaid fraud hit 11 digits in 2012. That's tens of billions.
The numbers might be daunting, but University of Cincinnati research shows that recent strategies to combat this unique form of white-collar crime are increasingly effective.
Missouri's 2007 repeal of its permit-to-purchase (PTP) handgun law, which required all handgun purchasers to obtain a license verifying that they have passed a background check, contributed to a sixteen percent increase in Missouri's murder rate, according to a new study from researchers with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.
The study, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Journal of Urban Health, finds that the law's repeal was associated with an additional 55 to 63 murders per year in Missouri between 2008 and 2012.
Overweight and obese people who feel their physicians are judgmental of their size are more likely to try to shed pounds but are less likely to succeed, according to results of a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.
The findings, reported online last week in the journal Preventive Medicine, suggest that primary care doctors should lose the negative attitudes their patients can sense if the goal is to get patients with obesity to lose 10 percent or more of their body weight — an amount typically large enough to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes risk.