A new classification for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown to be as accurate as currently used algorithms, but required no further liver biopsy. The study appearing in the January issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, details a method that synchronously combines two fibrosis tests, providing a non-invasive and more precise fibrosis diagnosis.
Culture
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A study from Rhode Island Hospital has found that collaborativebehavioral management may be effective in reducing substance abuse among convicted marijuana users who are paroled. The findings have important implications for the management of a substantial proportion of the U.S. community correctional population. The study is published in Addiction and is available online in advance of print.
(PHILADELPHIA) – Patients simultaneously treated for both Type 2 diabetes and depression improve medication compliance and significantly improve blood sugar and depression levels compared to patients receiving usual care, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia, PA, January 10, 2012 – Going out to eat has become a major part of our culture. Frequently eating out and consuming high-calorie foods in large portions at restaurants can contribute to excess calorie intake and weight gain. However, a study in the January/February 2012 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior demonstrates that individuals can eat out and still lose weight.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking its pancreatic islet beta cells and requires daily injections of insulin to regulate the patient's blood glucose levels. A new method described in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine uses stem cells from cord blood to re-educate a diabetic's own T cells and consequently restart pancreatic function reducing the need for insulin.
SEATTLE -- The growing number of people with multiple physical and mental chronic conditions are among the toughest—and costliest—to care for. The TEAMcare collaborative care program is a promising solution. In the January/February 2012 Annals of Family Medicine, Group Health Research Institute and UW Medicine researchers have found how this program works: through primary-care doctors starting and adjusting medications sooner and more often to reach goals ("treating to target"); and motivating patients to participate in their own care and monitor their illnesses.
A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research finds that the number of guns that were subsequently linked to crime sold by Badger Guns & Ammo, a Milwaukee-area gun shop, increased dramatically after Congress adopted measures likely to reduce the risks gun dealers face if they divert guns to criminals. The study is the first to examine the impact of these amendments on the diversion of guns to criminals and was recently published online in the peer-reviewed Journal of Urban Health.
Your risk of heart attack may increase during the days and weeks after the death of a close loved one, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
A study of 1,985 adult heart attack survivors showed that after a significant person's death, heart attack risks:
Acute kidney injury (AKI) has severe consequences, with a 25 to 80 percent risk of in-hospital death. Researchers have found a way to diagnose AKI using a urine test, enabling emergency departments to identify these high-risk patients when they first arrive at the hospital. The study will be published online on January 9, 2012, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
CHICAGO – A substantial proportion of emergency department eye care in Florida is reimbursed through Medicaid or paid for out of pocket by patients, and those findings may help in strategic planning as the debate over how best to implement the nation's new health care reform law progresses, according to a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
CHICAGO – Replacing visual acuity screenings for new Medicare enrollees with coverage of a dilated eye exam for healthy patients entering the government insurance program for the elderly "would be highly cost-effective," suggests a study being published Online First by the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
BOSTON – A person's risk of suffering a heart attack increases by approximately 21 times in the first 24 hours after losing a loved one, according to a study lead by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The study published Jan. 9 online in the journal Circulation found the risk of heart attack remained eight times above normal during the first week after the death of a loved one, slowly declining, but remaining elevated for at least a month.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn -- The prospect of electronics at the nanoscale may be even more promising with the first observation of metallic conductance in ferroelectric nanodomains by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ferroelectric materials, which switch their polarization with the application of an electric field, have long been used in devices such as ultrasound machines and sensors. Now, discoveries about ferroelectrics' electronic properties are opening up possibilities of applications in nanoscale electronics and information storage.
CHICAGO -- A 2010 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Wisconsin has been linked to a decorative fountain in a hospital lobby, according to a study published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Philadelphia, PA, January 9, 2012 – New research reveals that insulin applied in therapeutic doses selectively stimulates the formation of new elastic fibers in cultures of human aortic smooth muscle cells. These results advance the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diabetic vascular disease. The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Pathology.