San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting focuses on the effect that breathing irregularities have on the accuracy of 4D positron emission tomography (PET) scans and outlines a PET imaging method that reduces "motion artifacts" or image blurring arising from respiratory motion. Non-gated PET imaging with 4D computed tomography may be useful for imaging patients who do not benefit from the use of respiratory gating, most notably patients with erratic breathing.
Culture
San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Patients undergoing molecular imaging to evaluate their stomach's ability to clear food are going to have an altogether new kind of breakfast. A study presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting has confirmed that nuclear medicine technologists can effectively use oatmeal products radiolabeled with a medical isotope to target and image the emptying of the stomach.
The ABCD2 score used to identify people at risk of stroke after suffering a transient ischemic attack — a "mini" or "warning" stroke — is not sensitive enough to distinguish between high- and low-risk patients and has limited clinical application, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj101668.pdf.
A national study has found that nearly 68,000 deaths potentially could be prevented each year by optimally implementing key national guideline–recommended therapies, including critical medications and cardiac devices, for all eligible heart failure patients.
Although heart failure is a major cause of death, morbidity and health care expenditures in the U.S., the routine clinical use of scientifically proven treatments that reduce mortality and improve quality of life has been slow and inconsistent.
New research finds that gestational diabetes, or pregnancy-related diabetes, may not raise the risk of heart disease independent of other cardiovascular risk factors except in certain high-risk populations, such as Hispanics. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
A new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health and The Boston Globe finds 63% of Massachusetts residents support the health care reform legislation enacted in 2006, 21% oppose it while 6% are not sure and 9% have not heard or read about the law. The percentage of residents supporting the law has increased since a 2009 poll (53%).[1] Support for the law varied by party affiliation, with 77% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and 40% of Republicans saying they support the legislation. The poll was conducted May 24-26, 2011.
Today, The Endocrine Society released "Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." The clinical practice guideline (CPG) is published in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of The Endocrine Society.
To fully optimize a drug therapy for osteoporosis and low bone mineral density (BMD), patients should maintain vitamin D levels above the limits recently recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), according to a new study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The study will be presented at the Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting in Boston, June 4-7.
Women with low bone density are seven times more likely to benefit from a bisphosphonate drug when their vitamin D blood levels are above recent recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as adequate for bone health. These new study results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Instead of feeling stressed by the money they owe, many young adults actually feel empowered by their credit card and education debts, according to a new nationwide study.
Researchers found that the more credit card and college loan debt held by young adults aged 18 to 27, the higher their self-esteem and the more they felt like they were in control of their lives. The effect was strongest among those in the lowest economic class.
Only the oldest of those studied – those aged 28 to 34 – began showing signs of stress about the money they owed.
Patients with a very aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma who receive a stem cell transplant after standard chemotherapy during their first remission have comparable survival rates to those who receive the same standard therapy alone and, if needed, a transplant when they relapse. These findings from a U.S. and Canadian clinical trial of 370 patients conducted at 40 clinical institutions were presented today by Patrick Stiff, MD, lead investigator and director, Loyola Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, at the annual meeting for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
RENO, Nev. – In one of the most in-depth studies to date of adults who earn minimum wage, University of Nevada, Reno economist Bradley R. Schiller answers the question that many policymakers have been asking for years: Do a large number of families depend on the income from minimum-wage jobs? The answer, according to Schiller's research, is an emphatic "No."
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An interim analysis of a phase II clinical trial indicates that a novel experimental agent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is highly active and well tolerated both in patients who are undergoing treatment for the first time and those who have relapsed and are resistant to other therapy.
The agent, called PCI-32765, is the first drug designed to target Bruton's tyrosine kinase, whose function is essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation.
The drug topiramate can help people lose weight as long as they can tolerate the side effects, according to authors of a new study that reviewed the medical literature. Brazilian researchers will present the results Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
Among more than 3,300 overweight or obese patients, those who took topiramate for at least four months lost 11.8 pounds more on average than individuals who took "dummy" pills, or placebo, found the meta-analysis, a systematic and quantitative review of published studies.
Young female athletes who have stopped menstruating have a weakening in the quality of their bone structure that may predispose them to breaking a bone, despite getting plenty of weight-bearing exercise, a new study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.