Culture | Science Codex

Mindfulness therapy might help veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Mindfulness exercises that include meditation, stretching, and acceptance of thoughts and emotions might help veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder find relief from their symptoms.

A new collaborative study from the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System shows that veterans with PTSD who completed an 8-week mindfulness-based group treatment plan showed a significant reduction in symptoms as compared to patients who underwent treatment as normal.

Patients who have STEMI heart attacks while hospitalized more likely to die

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – If you suffer a heart attack while walking down the street and are taken to the hospital quickly, your chances of survival are very good. But if you have a heart attack while already in the hospital for something else, you are 10 times more likely to die.

Stereotype threat debunked - People perform better to counteract prejudices toward their group

In psychology, there are competing speculations about bias. Some claim that if people do poorly on a test, it is because they are already perceived as being poor at it; a small white guy may do poorly at basketball, a woman may do poorly on a math test, because they believe their reputations precede them and that performance pressure ironically causes the under-performance.

Cell-permeable peptide shows promise for controlling cardiovascular disease

Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2013 – Atherosclerosis – sometimes called "hardening of the arteries" – is a leading cause of death and morbidity in Western countries. A cell-permeable peptide containing the NF-ĸB nuclear localization sequence (NLS) shows promise as a potential agent in controlling the development of atherosclerotic disease. This study is published in the May 2013 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

What sewage tells us about medicine - half of Tamiflu prescriptions went unused during 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic

A new study concludes that approximately half of the prescriptions of Tamiflu during the 2009-10 influenza pandemic went unused in England. The unused medication represents approximately 600,000 courses of Tamiflu at a cost of around £7.8 million to the UK taxpayer. The novel scientific method used in the study could help measure and improve the effectiveness of future pandemic flu strategies.

Osteoporosis costs EU countries €37 billion every year

A new report prepared in collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, is the first to describe in detail the epidemiology, burden, and treatment of osteoporosis in all 27 member states of the European Union (EU27).

CT and serum LDH shows promise as survival predictor for some metastatic melanoma patients

Combining CT imaging findings with baseline serum lactate dehydrogenase levels is showing promise as a way to predict survival in patients with metastatic melanoma being treated with anti-angiogenic therapy.

PPP meets mental health needs in northern Uganda

A partnership involving the public and private sector successfully addressed the mental health needs of people in the post-conflict regions of northern Uganda and could be used as a model in other post-conflict settings, according to a Health In Action article by Ugandan and US researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine as part of an ongoing series on Global Mental Health Practice.

Routine EKG finding could signal serious heart problem

A common test that records the heart's electrical activity could predict potentially serious cardiovascular illness, according to a UC San Francisco-led study.

A cardiac condition called left anterior fascicular block (LAFB), in which scarring occurs in a section of the left ventricle, may not be as benign as currently thought and could increase the likelihood of heart failure, sudden cardiac death or atrial fibrillation.

Patients with surgical complications provide greater hospital profit-margins

Boston, MA -- Privately insured surgical patients who had a complication provided hospitals with a 330% higher profit margin than those without a complication, according to new research from Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health system innovation at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Boston Consulting Group, Texas Health Resources, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Medicare patients with a complication produced a 190% higher margin.

Study examines relationship between occurrence of surgical complications and hospital finances

Findings of an analysis that included nearly 35,000 surgical discharges from a 12-hospital system suggest that the occurrence of postsurgical complications was associated with a higher per-encounter hospital contribution margin for patients covered by Medicare and private insurance but a lower one for patients covered by Medicaid and who self-paid, according to a study in the April 17 issue of JAMA.

Outcomes for treating heart failure with cell therapy, high-dose ultrasound

Treatment that consisted of shock wave (procedure using high-dose ultrasound)-mediated preconditioning of the target heart tissue prior to administration of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells was associated with significant, albeit modest improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction) after 4 months in patients with chronic postinfarction heart failure, according to a study in the April 17 issue of JAMA.

Magnet hospitals achieve lower mortality, reports Medical Care

Philadelphia, Pa. (April 16, 2013) - Lower mortality and other improved patient outcomes achieved at designated "Magnet hospitals" are explained partly—but not completely—by better nurse staffing, education, and work environment, reports a study in the May issue of Medical Care.

New study finds digoxin safe despite recent reports

CHICAGO --- A study published today in the European Heart Journal found no evidence that digoxin increases mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the opposite of results just published by another group in the same journal analyzing the same data.

Researchers devise X-ray approach to track surgical devices, minimize radiation exposure

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in "minimally invasive" surgical procedures while also limiting the patient's exposure to radiation from the X-rays.