Culture

Dubai (20 April 2012): Women with acute coronary syndrome∗ (ACS) receive inferior or less aggressive treatment compared to men, according to three large studies presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology.

The CREATE registry study of 20,468 patients in India revealed that relatively fewer women are admitted with ACS. Moreover, these women are older, reach hospital later, have more risk factors, receive inferior treatments and have worse outcomes.

Patients suffering from type 2 diabetes may not benefit from taking both an oral glucose lowering drug (metformin) and insulin instead of insulin alone, a study published on bmj.com claims.

The researchers say the combination leads to better blood sugar control, less weight gain and less need for insulin. However, they also suggest that more trials are needed to provide firm evidence about the long term benefits and harms of the combination and specifically about the risks of premature death.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Forced body cooling known as therapeutic hypothermia has reduced in-hospital deaths among sudden cardiac arrest patients nearly 12 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The research is among several Mayo abstracts that will be discussed at the conference.

When 25 percent of the payments to community health clinics were based on quality of care, patients received better care and had better depression outcomes. The results of this initiative will be published in the April 19 issue of the American Journal of Public Health in the paper, "Quality Improvement with Pay-for-Performance Incentives in Integrated Behavioral Health Care."

People with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD) who consume alcohol in modest amounts – no more than one or two servings per day – are half as likely to develop hepatitis as non-drinkers with the same condition, reports a national team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The findings are published in the April 19, 2012 online issue of The Journal of Hepatology.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and powerplants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Every year, more than a million Americans receive an artificial hip or knee prosthesis. Such implants are designed to last many years, but in about 17 percent of patients who receive a total joint replacement, the implant eventually loosens and has to be replaced early, which can cause dangerous complications for elderly patients.

To help minimize these burdensome operations, a team of MIT chemical engineers has developed a new coating for implants that could help them better adhere to the patient's bone, preventing premature failure.