Culture | Page 2530 | Science Codex

What, me worry? Young adults get self-esteem boost from debt

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.

Early transplants are no better than chemotherapy followed by transplant for NHL patients

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).

University of Nevada, Reno economist refutes conventional wisdom about minimum-wage earners

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."

Novel experimental agent is highly active in CLL patients, interim study shows

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.

Topiramate may have benefit as a weight-loss drug

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.

Athletic girls more likely to have impaired bone structure if menstrual cycle stops

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.

Pioneering stem cell bandage receives approval for clinical trial

Millions of people with knee injuries could benefit from a new type of stem cell bandage treatment if clinical trials are successful. The world's first clinical trial for the treatment of patients with torn meniscal cartilage has received approval from the UK regulatory agency, the MHRA1, to commence.

The current treatment for the majority of tears is the removal of the meniscus, a procedure that often results in the early onset of osteoarthritis.

Indiana U. study points to health disparities in physical fitness

An Indiana University study examining disparities in physical fitness levels between older adults who are patients of safety net community health centers (CHC) and those who are members of a medically affiliated fitness center is producing stunning results.

Matching targeted therapies to tumor's specific gene mutations key to personalized cancer treatment

CHICAGO — Customizing targeted therapies to each tumor's molecular characteristics, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach by tumor type, may be more effective for some types of cancer, according to research conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Emergency department physicians growing weary of frequent users

DETROIT – Emergency department physicians are frustrated and burned out from treating patients who frequent the ED for their care, according to a Henry Ford Hospital survey of physicians from across the country.

The survey found that 59 percent of physicians acknowledged having less empathy for so-called frequent users than other patients, and 77 percent held bias for frequent users. Physicians defined frequent users in the survey as patients who visit the ED at least 10 times a year.

Other highlights:

Not all hospitals treat elderly the same

TORONTO, Ont., June 3, 2011—Hospitals that provide quality care for young people do not always provide the same quality care for the elderly, a new study has found.

As our population ages and requires more healthcare, hospitals need to measure the quality of care they provide for the over 65s and implement programs to meet their distinct needs, said the study's author, Dr. Avery Nathens, trauma director at St. Michael's Hospital.

BUSM study finds older men more likely to lose the ability to orgasm due to gabapentin

(Boston) - Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have found that Gabapentin, (trade name Neurontin) a medication commonly used to treat neuropathic pain, seizures and biopolar disease in older and elderly patients, seems to have a higher incidence of anorgasmia, or failure to experience orgasm, than previously reported. This study appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy.

NEJM: PCPs treat hepatitis C as effectively as specialists through new delivery model

Albuquerque, NM – Under a completely new way of providing health care, primary care clinicians in remote villages, prisons and poor urban neighborhoods who were trained to treat patients with hepatitis C achieved excellent results identical to those of specialists at a university medical center.

Use of clot-busting drug for US stroke patients doubled from 2005 to 2009

CINCINNATI—In a review of nationwide hospital databases, University of Cincinnati (UC) emergency medicine and neurology researchers have found that the rate of treatment with the standard therapy for acute ischemic stroke patients has doubled since 2005.

Their paper, "Recombinant Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator Use for Ischemic Stroke in the United States," is published online ahead of print in the journal Stroke. The study estimates between 23,800 and 36,000 U.S. patients received rtPA treatment in 2009—up from between 10,800 to 12,600 in 2004.

Noninvasive diagnostics may offer alternative to liver biopsy for assessing liver fibrosis

Patients who are evaluated for liver diseases such as hepatitis C (HCV) are typically recommended for liver biopsy to determine the extent of disease progression. For patients who question whether less invasive testing is available, clinicians now have alternatives options to consider. Elastography and serum markers are two such diagnostic options reviewed in an editorial published in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.