Palliative care for cancer patients in the UK is well established – but the situation is starkly different for those suffering from heart failure. A recent service evaluation led by the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School (HYMS) shows this doesn't have to be the case – particularly if clinicians have the courage to talk about death with their patients.
Culture
Suicides by psychiatric in-patients have fallen to a new low, research published today (Thursday) has found.
The study by the University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, one of very few to look at trends over time, shows the rate of suicide among psychiatric in-patients fell by between 29% and 31% between 1997 and 2008 with nearly 100 fewer deaths per year.
- Standard treatment for chronic leukemia is too harsh for many older patients.
- Early clinical trials testing indicates that these patients respond well to the experimental drug ibrutinib.
- This agent merits further testing as a first-line therapy for older chronic-leukemia patients.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The experimental drug ibrutinib (PCI-32765) shows great promise for the treatment of elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to interim findings from a clinical trial.
LGL leukemia is a relatively rare, malignant blood disease of the mature T-cells and, in many cases, it is related to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The pathogenetic mechanism of the disease has been unknown and it has previously been unclear if the disease is an overreaction of the normal defense system or a malignant hematological disease.
One of the key symptoms of LGL disease is a low count of white blood cells (neutrophils), which may predispose the patients to life-threatening infections.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally approves drug therapies faster and earlier than its counterparts in Canada and Europe, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. The study counters perceptions that the drug approval process in the United States is especially slow.
Led by second-year medical student Nicholas Downing and senior author Joseph S. Ross, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine, the study will be published May 16 online by the New England Journal of Medicine.
MAYWOOD, Ill. -- iPhones and other smartphones can be a huge help to the visually impaired, but few vision doctors are recommending them to patients, according to a study co-authored by a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine ophthalmologist.
Researchers surveyed 46 low-vision adults from the Chicago Lighthouse and the Spectrios Institute for Low Vision in Wheaton, Ill. Participants' best-corrected vision ranged from 20/70 to complete blindness.
Each year, more than 10 million girls under the age of 18 marry, usually under force of local tradition and social custom. Almost half of these compulsory marriages occur in South Asia. A new study suggests that more than two decades of effort to eliminate the practice has produced mixed results.
Agricultural expert outlines path for developing nations to double food production, meet 2050 demand
Like countries throughout the world, Malaysia will need double its current food production by 2050 due to population growth and rising living standards.
At a meeting today in New York with Malaysia's Prime Minister and other senior leaders, a renowned international agricultural scientist says meeting that daunting challenge is possible but results will be gradual and efforts must begin now.
FAME II trial demonstrates the importance of targeting treatment to the right patients
A ground breaking international trial, presented yesterday at EuroPCR, has demonstrated for the very first time the true value of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with stable coronary artery disease. The study highlights the critical importance of targeting these interventions to patients with ischemia and may revolutionise the patient selection procedure for PCI.
Paris, 16 May 2012: Life saving primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) treatment is increasing in countries participating in the Stent for Life Initiative.
These achievements and other activities will be revealed at EuroPCR 2012, 15-18 May, in Paris, France. EuroPCR is the official annual meeting of the European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
"Le mélange des genres" - Mixing genres, Jacques Moret
SAN DIEGO, CA – May 16, 2012 – Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) today announced a late-breaking poster presentation at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 15th Annual Meeting being held May 16-19, 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.
In a study about to be published in EPJ E¹, French physicists from the Curie Institute in Paris have demonstrated that the behaviour of a thin layer of cells in contact with an unfavourable substrate is akin to that of thin fluid or elastic films. Understanding the mechanism by which a thin layer of cells splits into disjointed patches, thus breaking the layer's structural integrity, bears great significance because the human tissue, or epithelium, covering organs can only fulfil its role if there are no holes or gaps between the cells.
MAYWOOD, Ill. -- The constant health education that dialysis patients receive can lead to boredom and noncompliance.
But a Loyola University Medical Center study has found that brief, casual chats can be a significant benefit to patients.
The technique is called "talking control support therapy." As patients were undergoing dialysis, researchers stopped by for informal chats. A typical conversation began with small talk, before moving on to general conversation about healthy dialysis lifestyles. Unlike conventional dialysis education, no specific education goals were set.