Culture

Emotional reactions to cancer center consumer advertisements may lead to unrealistic expectations and inappropriate treatments, according to an article being published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

A team of researchers, led by physicians from Children's Hospital Los Angeles, have found that infants with bronchiolitis who were treated with inhaled hypertonic saline in the emergency department (ED) were less likely to require admission to the hospital compared to infants treated with normal saline.

The study, conducted at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, will be published in JAMA Pediatrics on May 26.

A new chemotherapy drug being investigated for its potency against two types of cancer was found by scientists at Houston Methodist and seven other institutions to be effective in about one-third of the 58 patients who participated in a phase I study.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- Graphene's promise as a material for new kinds of electronic devices, among other uses, has led researchers around the world to study the material in search of new applications. But one of the biggest limitations to wider use of the strong, lightweight, highly conductive material has been the hurdle of fabrication on an industrial scale.

Parents need to be convinced about the benefits of their children walking or cycling to school as much as the children themselves, according to research led at the University of Strathclyde.

A study of children's habits in commuting to and from school discovered that, in the vast majority of cases, parents were the main decision makers in how the children travelled.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of some 850,000 people published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that women with diabetes are 44% more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD) than men with diabetes independent of sex differences in the levels of other major cardiovascular risk factors.

Last month WHO issued a report that warned of an increase of antimicrobial-resistance and the renewed threat of bacterial infections world-wide and called for a concerted effort to develop new and better antimicrobial drugs. A study published on May 22nd in PLOS Pathogens reveals how a new type of anti-microbial substance interferes with biofilms formed by several dangerous bacteria.

Washington, DC (May 22, 2014) — Compared with long and frequent home hemodialysis, kidney transplantation may allow kidney failure patients to be successfully treated and to live longer, but it may also increase their risk of being hospitalized within the first year. Those are the findings of study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

(TORONTO, Canada – May 22, 2014) – A first-ever study from a large Canadian centre found that kidney transplant recipients lived longer and had better treatment success than patients on intensive home hemodialysis, but also had an increased risk of being hospitalized within the first year.

22 May 2014, Paris, France: At EuroPCR 2014 yesterday, experts discussed the development in evidence for bioresorbable vascular scaffolds, which represent an era of vascular restoration in interventional cardiology. The available data were analysed and participants heard that bioresorbable fixed strut vascular scaffolds are associated with increased acute thrombogenicity due to flow disturbances. This means that patients who are implanted with these devices need to receive ongoing dual antiplatelet therapy.

22 May 2014, Paris, France: The value of analysing published clinical trials and the benefit of informed discussion were highlighted yesterday when the ACCOAST trial data were discussed in a new session format—Will this trial change my practice?— at EuroPCR 2014. ACCOAST trial results demonstrate that pre-treatment with prasugrel in NSTEMI patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is inferior to treatment with the drug after angiography.

Philadelphia, PA—Opinion formation in a large population is influenced by both endogenous factors, such as interaction with one's peers—in-person and via social media—as well as exogenous factors, such as the media, of which mainstream media is one of the most influential factors. For example, according to a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2006, after the introduction and expansion of Fox News in the United States between 1996 and 2000, an estimated 3-28% of the audience was persuaded to vote Republican.

Medical students use social media extensively, but medical schools may need to offer more guidance in potential pitfalls, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

"We assessed how medical students engage with social media platforms like Facebook and found that they have a pretty sophisticated understanding of its risks and benefits," said Daniel R. George, assistant professor of humanities. He and Dr. Michael J. Green, professor of humanities, conducted two studies that report findings from a survey of 2,109 medical students nationwide.

There are many misconceptions and unknowns about premature ejaculation in the medical community and the general population. Two papers, both being published simultaneously in Sexual Medicine and the Journal of Sexual Medicine, provide much-needed answers that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment for affected men.

The decision to jettison the approach to care of the dying, known as the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), was "too extreme," given that its principles are widely regarded as among the best examples of palliative care in the world, argues a senior ethicist in the Journal of Medical Ethics.