Culture

Offering a standard biomarker test earlier in pregnancy could potentially help doctors to better identify women at risk of giving birth prematurely, thus enabling health services to focus treatments on women at highest risk, according to a new study led by King's College London.

WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2015) -- Symptoms of mild to minimal depression were associated with early indicators of heart disease in a research letter published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, but the study found regular exercise seems to reduce the adverse cardiovascular consequences of depression.

More than 15 million American adults seek treatment for depression each year. However, a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice reveals an eye-opening disconnect between the priorities of patients and clinicians when it comes to the information needed to make decisions about treatment options. 

Large families often capture the public's attention, from "The Brady Bunch" to "19 Kids and Counting." But new research from economists at the University of Houston offers strong evidence that children in larger families are more likely to fall behind in cognitive achievement and have behavioral and other problems.

The findings were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The authors include Chinhui Juhn, Henry Graham Professor of Economics at UH, Yona Rubinstein of the London School of Economics and C. Andrew Zuppann, assistant professor of economics at UH.

Death is inevitable, but what death shows us about the social behaviors of the living is not.

And recent University of Cincinnati research examining the ancient bereavement practices from the the Central Apulian region in pre-Roman Italy helps shed light on economic and social mobility, military service and even drinking customs in a culture that left no written history.

A study led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigator finds evidence of an association between weight loss in patients with early Parkinson disease and more rapid disease progression. While weight loss is common in Parkinson's patients, results of the study - which is being released online prior to publication in the March issue of JAMA Neurology - could suggest that weight loss early in the course of the disease signifies a more serious form of the neurodegenerative disorder.

Substantial costs are involved with transforming primary care practices into "medical homes," which may pose a financial challenge for small and independent practices wanting to make the shift, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Examining the experiences of a dozen primary care practices in Pennsylvania that took part in a recent medical home demonstration, researchers found that the greatest transformation costs involved adding new staff to help better coordinate patients' care.

A study presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium shows that 40 percent of patients with castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with docetaxel following abiraterone had at least 50 percent reduction in prostate specific antigen (PSA), demonstrating the activity of this drug sequencing.

Research by Laura Kray, a professor in the Haas Management of Organizations Group at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, suggests that when one party conveys information with emotional reasons behind it, the other party is more likely to develop sympathy, be more willing to compromise, and find creative solutions.

"Sympathy is an emotion that corresponds with good will," says Prof. Kray. "In negotiations, it can translate into a willingness to problem solve in ways that might not otherwise occur."

ROSEMONT, Ill.--Bracing often is recommended for adolescents diagnosed with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis, and a spinal curve between 25 and 45 degrees. When worn consistently and as directed, braces have been found to effectively halt or slow further progression of a spinal curve, often preventing surgery.

HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth College and University of California, Santa Barbara scientists studying a Caribbean fishing village are shedding new light on the social and ecological factors pressuring coral reef fisheries around the world.

The research appears in the journals Marine Policy and Ambio. PDF's are available on request.

WASHINGTON -- Veterans who participated in a series of tests during the 1960s known as Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense) show no significant increase in adverse health outcomes, specific causes of death, or death rates compared with a similar group of veterans who were not involved in the tests, says a new report from a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The congressionally mandated report builds on a 2007 Institute of Medicine report, which also found no consistent, specific patterns of poorer health among SHAD veterans.

Following a heart attack or other heart trauma, the heart is unable to replace its dead cells. Patients are often left with little option other than heart transplants, which are rarely available, or more recently cell therapies that transplant heart cells into the patient's heart. In far too many cases, however, the transplanted heart cells do not engraft well, resulting in poor recovery.

Staff at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust have reduced waiting times for mental health patients after redesigning their referral system.

The results show around a 20% increase in patients seen within target referral times and are published in BMJ Quality Improvement Reports today - an open access forum to help clinicians share improvement ideas.

Anaectodal evidence suggested that waiting times within the older adults community mental health team (OA CMHT) covering the south area of the London Borough of Croydon had been increasing.

An academic from the University of British Columbia has analysed, in a review published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, what could have been done differently in the efforts to prevent the Ebola epidemic in 2014.