Culture

While hospitals have made strides in reducing the time it takes to treat heart attack patients once they arrive at the hospital, patient delays recognizing symptoms and seeking treatment are associated with increased damage to the heart, according to a study published online today in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death. Patients with type 1 diabetes have their insulin secreting cells destroyed by the immune system and require daily insulin injections. Pancreatic islet transplantation is an effective treatment that can dramatically reduce daily doses or even eliminate dependence on external insulin. Insulin producing cells are injected into a recipient liver. After an adaptation period they start to produce sufficient hormone needed by diabetic patients.

NEW YORK, NY - Cannabidiol (CBD), a medical marijuana derivative, was effective in reducing seizure frequency and well-tolerated and safe for most children and young adults enrolled in a year-long study led by epilepsy specialists at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other chronic respiratory disorders who received music therapy in conjunction with standard rehabilitation saw an improvement in symptoms, psychological well-being and quality of life compared to patients receiving rehabilitation alone, according to a new study by researchers at The Louis Armstrong Center of Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI). Study findings were published this week in Respiratory Medicine and suggest that music therapy may be an effective addition to traditional treatment.

An analysis based on data from previously published literature suggests it is more cost effective to treat all suspected cases of nail fungus (onychomycosis) with the oral medication terbinafine than to perform confirmatory diagnostic tests beforehand, although confirmatory testing before treatment with the expensive topical medicine efinaconazole, 10 percent, was associated with reduced costs, according to an article published online by JAMA Dermatology.

Two studies and an editorial published online by JAMA Dermatology examine the relationship between skin disorders and endocrine diseases.

In the first study, Dipankar De, M.D., of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, and coauthors looked at the association between insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in male patients with acne (ages 20 to 32). The study included 100 men with acne and 100 men without.

A survey of patients with glaucoma in Washington, D.C., showed that the perception of the legality and acceptability of marijuana use was significantly associated with intentions to use marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma, even though research has indicated it is of limited benefit, according to a study published online by JAMA Ophthalmology.

An article in the online journal BMJ Case Reports describes the first published case of confusional state in a healthy 14-year-old girl attributed to excessive consumption of over the counter cough medicine that contained codeine.

Codeine is a widely prescribed painkiller, but it can also be purchased over the counter in preparations of cold/cough remedies.

Washington, DC (December 22, 2015) -- The first study to carefully characterize the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) across Europe found considerable variation. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

The White House today announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation -- the nation's highest honors for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology. The new awardees will receive their medals at a White House ceremony early next year.

The American Thoracic Society applauds President Barack Obama and the Administration for the release of the National Action Plan to Combat Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB) today.

ATS TB experts played an active role in helping the administration reach its decision, emphasizing the need for increased funding for domestic and global TB control and research programs.

Evolocumab (trade name: Repatha) has been approved since July 2015 for two therapeutic indications: on the one hand, for hypercholesterolaemia or mixed dyslipidaemia, and on the other, for homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia. The drug is an option for patients whose cholesterol levels are not adequately lowered by diet and other drugs. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether evolocumab offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.

When patients suffer, doctors tend to want to fix things and if they cannot many doctors then withdraw emotionally. But by turning toward the suffering, physicians can better help their patients and find more meaning in their work, wrote University of Rochester Professor Ronald M. Epstein, M.D., in the Journal of the American Medical Association's weekly essay, "A Piece of My Mind."

There have been nearly 60 cases identified in California from 2012 - 2015 of acute flaccid myelitis, a rare syndrome described as polio-like, with most patients being children and young adults, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA. The cause of the condition in these cases remains unknown.

Using mobile phones for research is not new. However, interpreting the data collected from volunteers' own smart phones--which has the potential to emulate randomised trials--can advance research into human behaviour. In a new study published in EPJ Data Science, scientists have just demonstrated the potential of using smart phones for conducting large-scale behavioural studies.The results stem from the work of Fani Tsapeli from the University of Birmingham, UK, and her colleague and Mirco Musolesi from University College London, UK.