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Study shows rheumatoid arthritis support and education program has strong positive impact

A study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) finds that a support group addressing the psychological and educational needs of people recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a strong positive impact on their lives.

Ninety percent of participants indicated that as a result of the free group, they could make informed choices about their RA. The study findings were presented in the "Innovations in Rheumatologic Care" session at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting on November 19 in Boston.

Trial shows treatment-resistant advanced non-small cell lung cancer responds to rociletinib

Barcelona, Spain: A new drug that targets not only common cancer-causing genetic mutations in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but also a form of the mutation that causes resistance to treatment, has shown promising results in patients in a phase I/II clinical trial. The research will be presented today (Friday) at the 26th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain.

Paradox lost: Speedier heart attack treatment saves more lives after all, study suggests

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A national effort to shave minutes off emergency heart attack treatment time has increased the chance that each patient will survive, a new study suggests. But yet the survival rate for all patients put together hasn't budged.

It seems like a paradox. But wait, say the authors of the new report: the paradox vanishes with more detailed analysis of exactly who has been getting this treatment.

New protocol for imaging patients with Ebola

In a breakthrough that could substantially improve physicians' ability to rapidly evaluate patients with suspected Ebola, physicians and nurses specializing in infectious diseases at Emory University Hospital have outlined a successful protocol for obtaining chest radiographs using portable computed radiography. The protocol not only limits the exposure of personnel and equipment to body fluids, it also minimizes the risk of contaminants leaving the isolation unit by use of thorough decontamination procedures.

Home exercise can ease hopelessness in coronary heart disease patients

Home exercise can ease feelings of hopelessness in people with coronary heart disease, according to a small study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.

Feeling hopeless can be dangerous because it can discourage people from taking healthful steps such as exercising or quitting smoking, said Susan L. Dunn, Ph.D., R.N., lead author of the study and a professor of nursing at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

People with hopelessness may also suffer from depression, which is marked by a loss of interest in activities they normally enjoy.

New wireless ECG saves treatment time for people with severe heart attacks

A new trans-satellite wireless 12-lead ECG can identify the most severe type of heart attack swiftly and save significant time from ambulance to angioplasty, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.

An ECG measures the electrical activity of the heart and helps medical personnel determine if a person had an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Angioplasty, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is a procedure in which an inflatable balloon opens a blocked artery to restore blood flow to the heart.

Vanderbilt study finds nationwide decline in one type of serious heart attack

The most emergent form of heart attacks is decreasing nationwide, but this declining incidence could affect emergency departments' quality and timeliness of care.

This is the key finding of a Vanderbilt University study released today in the American Journal of Cardiology and presented at the national American Heart Association meeting in Chicago this week.

Why we need to fund newer blood-thinning agents to prevent strokes

Philadelphia, PA, November 18, 2014 - Care gaps are emerging due to disharmony between healthcare reimbursement policies and evidence-based clinical guideline recommendations, cautions a group of Canadian physicians. Writing in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, they use the example of stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) to make a case for engaging with policy-makers to address the growing barriers to patients' access to optimal care.

New data suggest little benefit of adding heart valve repair to bypass surgery in patients with coronary heart disease

NEW YORK (November 18, 2014) - The addition of mitral valve (MV) repair (a valve of the heart) to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), a type of open-heart surgery, did not result in significant benefit to the patient and was associated with increased risk of neurological events. Therefore, the routine addition of MV repair to CABG in patients with moderate IMR did not demonstrate a clinically meaningful advantage.

Pioneering anti-clotting medication halves stent blockage in heart attack patients

Ticagrelor halves risks of stents blocking with blood clots
Study of 18,000 patients shows cost-effective drug could prevent premature deaths
Reduces the risk of patients needing repeat operations

Treating heart attack patients with ticagrelor reduces the risk of stents blocking with blood clots according to a ground breaking new study conducted by researchers from the University of Sheffield.

Car crash survival rates increase with being younger, male and driving a big vehicle

Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of unintentional life lost around the world, with about 30,000 deaths occurring annually in the U.S. due to motor-vehicle crashes.

A study by a doctoral student in epidemiology at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis showed that vehicle inequities have a significant impact on survivability in head-on collisions.

AP-NORC releases new analysis of Hispanics' experiences with long-term care

Chicago, November 18, 2014--The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released an issue brief containing results of a survey about Hispanics' experiences with long-term care in the United States. The issue brief provides new data on how Hispanics age 40 and older are, or are not, planning for long-term care, details how their experiences compare to those of non-Hispanics, and highlights ways in which demographic differences among Hispanics affect their experiences.

New model clarifies photoexcited thin-film lattice dynamics

WASHINGTON D.C., November 18, 2014 -- A research team from Germany developed an analytical model to describe the structural dynamics of photoexcited thin films and verified it by ultrafast X-ray diffraction.

Lattice dynamics, atomic movements in a crystal structure, can influence the physical and chemical properties of a material. The phenomenon can be directly studied using ultrafast X-ray diffraction, in which femtosecond X-ray pulses take snapshots of the atomic positions in a crystal by interacting with the structure at the core electronic level.

New study finds testosterone replacement therapy does not increase cardiovascular risks

CHICAGO - An important new study of men who have undergone testosterone replacement therapy has found that taking supplemental testosterone does not increase their risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiac event, such as a heart attack or stroke.

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, which is the flagship facility for the Intermountain Healthcare system, studied 5,695 men between the ages of 53 and 71. The men, all patients at Intermountain Healthcare hospitals, had initial low testosterone levels.

Noninvasive test that identifies patients at risk of kidney transplant rejection

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and doctors at University Hospital of Bellvitge, together with a team of researchers from the University of California, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, California Pacific Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, University Emory and Stanford University (USA) and the Children's Hospital of Mexico Federico Gomez, have developed a genetic test that identifies patients at high risk of kidney transplant rejection.