Culture

Heralded a miracle by many infertile couples, in vitro fertilization (IVF) can pack a painful financial punch for those without insurance coverage for the treatment. This prohibitive cost leads many would-be parents who pursue in vitro fertilization to transfer multiple embryos at once to increase their chances of getting a baby - and reduce the need to pay for subsequent attempts.

Pennsylvania College of Technology is really excited someone in the humanities department did something, so they posted the following release, which officially gets Penn College more press coverage than it has ever gotten.

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http://news.psu.edu/story/408045/2016/05/02/penn-college-sociology-facul...

Penn College sociology faculty member evaluates manuscriptMay 2, 2016

Delegates at this year's Insigneo Showcase (May 5, 2016 at The Octagon Centre in Sheffield) will hear how in silico medicine -- computer simulations of the human body and its disease processes -- can help improve diagnosis and prognosis for conditions like Parkinson's and pulmonary vascular disease. Although ultimately destined for the clinic, the technology looks likely to move quickly into use within clinical trials, as it can enable more effective monitoring of the impact of new drugs and treatments.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Every hospital's intensive care unit has treated them -- the critically ill patients who spend weeks going from crisis to crisis, never quite getting better enough to get out of the ICU, but never quite dying.

Now, new research shows they really are a different kind of patient -- and that despite their tiny numbers, they're using a vast chunk of healthcare resources.

Nearly one in three British Columbia women over age 65 received inappropriate prescription medicines in 2013, according to a University of British Columbia study. One in four men of the same age received similar prescriptions.

"The effect of a patient's sex on the risk of inappropriate prescribing is of tremendous clinical and social concern," said Steve Morgan, professor in UBC's school of population and public health and principal investigator for the study.

DALLAS, May 4, 2016 -- For the first time, guidelines have been developed by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for rehabilitation after a stroke.

According to the Vision Council of America, roughly 75% of adults in the United States require some form of vision correction. Yet only 10% of Americans wear contact lenses. Studies estimate that one in four initial contact-users finds the lenses uncomfortable and stops wearing them. Thus, increasing the comfort level of contact lenses and expanding the market is a continual objective in the vision industry.

Orlando, Fla. - The largest risk-directed study by a national hospital system demonstrates a 40 percent decline in bleeding events for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients and a significant reduction in pharmacy costs. This quality improvement project (QIP) study was presented today as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2016 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 4, 2016 -- The survival rate of patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis who respond well to antiviral therapies equals that of the general population, say investigators in the Journal of Hepatology.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Popular television shows such as "Modern Family" and the "Brady Bunch" brought the dynamics of stepfamilies into mainstream pop culture. However, as families become increasingly diverse and complex, defining family membership remains ambiguous. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri's College of Human Environmental Sciences and Sinclair School of Nursing are shedding new light on what happens within a family when the stepgrandparent had no active role in raising the parent of the stepgrandchild.

Orlando, Fla. - In the largest study of its kind, a new device has been found to significantly reduce the volume of radiographic dye without decreasing image quality in patients who are at risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) after undergoing a coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The device -- known as AVERT™ -- did not, however, reduce contrast-induced AKI (CI-AKI). The AVERT results were presented today as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2016 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla.

Kent legal expert shows how UK surrogacy laws have become 'nonsensical'

In an article in the Medical Law Review, Dr Kirsty Horsey, of the University of Kent, describes cases that show current surrogacy law in the UK is 'fraying at the edges'.

Dr Horsey, a senior lecturer at the University's Kent Law School, says the existing law fails to protect the best interests of children born to surrogates, the families created this way, and surrogates themselves.

CHICAGO (May 4, 2016): A simple arm test that employs a novel wearable technology can rapidly and accurately identify physiological frailty in older adults, according to study results published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in advance of print publication.

May 4, 2016 - A specialty medical home--providing expert medical care coordinated with attention to social support and mental health--is a promising new approach to patient-centered, cost-effective care for patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, according to a special "Future Directions" paper in the May issue of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

Offering virtual dermatology care to Medicaid recipients can sharply increase use of dermatology services, offering one potential way to increase access to medical specialists who are in short supply, according to a new RAND Corporation study.