DURHAM, N.C. -- For the millions of people forced to rely on a plastic tube to eliminate their urine, developing an infection is nearly a 100 percent guarantee after just four weeks. But with the help of a little bubble-blowing, biomedical engineers hope to bring relief to urethras everywhere.
Culture
An EORTC study published in The Lancet Oncology does not support administration of intensified doxorubicin and ifosfamide for palliation of advanced soft tissue sarcoma, unless the objective is to shrink the tumor.
(Boston)--In a recently to be published study in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, researchers have found the use of the drug allopurinol was associated with a reduced risk of death in hyperuricemic (gout) patients. The study, the first in a general population, has found the overall benefit of allopurinol on survival may outweigh the impact of rare serious adverse effects.
Researchers from the Section of Rheumatology and Clinical Epidemiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) contributed to this study.
Evidence increasingly suggests that insufficient or disturbed sleep is associated with metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, and addressing poor quality sleep should be a target for the prevention – and even treatment – of these disorders, say the authors [1] of a Review, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.
Current system allows approval of modified devices without clinical data
Premarket approval, or PMA, is the process by which the FDA assesses the safety and effectiveness of new devices. When modifications to existing devices are made, a less rigorous process known as a PMA supplement is employed. This process does not require clinical data and researchers are concerned that clinicians and patients may be subjected to unknown risks, especially when devices have multiple PMAs.
Online sexual hook-ups may present a unique opportunity to explore many factors of decision-making that inform sexual health, according to an analysis conducted by Eric Schrimshaw, PhD, at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Martin J. Downing, Jr., PhD, of the National Development and Research Institutes.
The week before open enrollment closes for new health care exchanges, a study by researchers at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research shows that those who might potentially benefit the most from the Affordable Care Act — including those earning near the Federal Poverty Level — are also the most clueless about health care policies.
Many physicians are adopting patient portals in response to governmental incentives for meaningful use (MU), but the stage 2 requirements for portal use may be particularly challenging for newer electronic health record (EHR) users. This study examines enrollment, use based on MU requirements, and satisfaction in a recently-adopting fee-for-service multispecialty system. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) financial incentives for meaningful use (MU)1 likely will persuade many reluctant doctors to adopt electronic health records (EHRs).
ATLANTA--Counties that change their delivery of public assistance benefits from paper checks to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system – using debit cards – see their street crimes drop significantly, according to a study published today by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Individuals suffering from spinal fractures—caused by osteoporosis or weakened bones—now have another option to reduce pain, restore function and improve quality of life, according to a study of 300 patients treated with a new type of vertebral augmentation. Results of a randomized, controlled multicenter trial on a new implant treatment for vertebral compression fractures are being reported for the first time at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting.
SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Music may soothe the soul, but it takes video to calm a patient undergoing medical treatment, notes a study in which individuals watched television shows or movies through special video glasses while having a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment. The research is being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Bethesda, MD (March 24, 2014) — Patients want physicians to provide high-quality care and the health system requires good value for physician work. To help gastroenterologists achieve these goals, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has developed a colonoscopy bundled payment model, which has been published in Gastroenterology1, the official journal of the AGA.
A new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries. The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.
Wrinkling is a common phenomenon for thin stiff film adhered on soft substrate. Various wrinkling phenomenon has been reported previously. Wu Dan, Yin Yajun, Xie Huimin,et al from Tsinghua University proposed a new method to control wrinkling and buckling of thin stiff film on soft substrate. It is found that the curve pattern on the soft substrate has obvious influence on the wrinkling distribution of the thin film/soft substrate.
To mark the Stop TB Partnerships' World TB Day on Monday 24 March 2014, The Lancet journals will publish a special new collection of Reviews, Comment, and Articles to cast light, and the world's attention, on tuberculosis, in the hope of raising this disease higher up the agendas of international communities.