Culture

SEATTLE -- Squatters who illegally occupy vacant homes or buildings are not always contributing to apathy or social disorder, says a new University of Michigan study that will be presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

It can actually be a good situation for a neighborhood to have these individuals move into abandoned homes, lessening the chance of them becoming sites for drug users or burned by arsonists, the study indicates.

SEATTLE -- After September 11, issues of immigration and terrorism merged, heightening surveillance and racializing Latino immigrants as a threat to national security, according to sociologists at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin).

A study performed by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) shows swimming is as effective as walking to relieve pain and improve quality of life for patients with fibromyalgia.

"Physical exercise is an essential component of any treatment for fibromyalgia, and plenty of studies have demonstrated that low-impact aerobic exercise offers the most benefits. However, not everyone likes or is able to do the same kind of physical activity, so our group decided to test alternatives," said Jamil Natour, a professor of rheumatology at UNIFESP.

WASHINGTON, August 19, 2016--Vertebroplasty is a safe and effective procedure to reduce acute pain and disability in patients who have experienced spinal fractures within a 6-week period, according to a new study published this week in The Lancet. In this procedure, a special cement is injected in the fractured vertebra to stabilize the fracture and relieve patients of pressure.

The study also found patients' hospital stays reduced by 5.5 days with vertebroplasty.

Highlight

DALLAS, Aug. 18, 2016 - A history of gallstone disease may increase your risk of coronary heart disease, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Gallstone disease is one of the most common and costly gastrointestinal disorders in the United States. Gallstone disease and coronary heart disease have similar risk factors, including diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and poor diet.

Chen Zhongwei, the retired Director of Oral Health at Guangdong General Hospital in China, was attacked this spring and killed by a patient whom he treated more than two decades earlier. The former patient, who claimed that he should receive compensation for a discolored tooth, followed the dentist home where he stabbed him over 30 times. This tragic story is the latest of a number of episodes in which Chinese patients kill health professionals.

In a paper published in Science this week, Philip M. Fearnside of Brazil's National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA) explains how the country's environmental licensing is under threat from a flurry of proposed laws and constitutional amendments. These have jumped into the forefront as anti-environment politicians rush to exploit the opportunity offered by Brazil's current political turmoil. Legislators are eager to help provide short-term stimulation to the country's flagging economy, as by removing social and environmental restrictions on proposed development projects.

LA JOLLA, CA - August 17, 2016 - The eye's lacrimal gland is small but mighty. This gland produces moisture needed to heal eye injuries and clear out harmful dust, bacteria and other invaders.

If the lacrimal gland is injured or damaged by aging, pollution or even certain pharmaceutical drugs, a person can experience a debilitating condition called aqueous deficiency dry eye (ADDE)--sometimes called "painful blindness."

WASHINGTON -- Today, patients with cataracts can choose from several types of artificial lenses, which are surgically implanted in the eye to replace cloudy lenses that obstruct vision. A new vision simulator could help these patients see how the world would look with each type of implanted artificial lens, before they have surgery.

Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are associated with vascular stiffening and the development of cardiovascular disease. Obese and diabetic premenopausal women are most at risk - even more than men of the same age who have similar health issues. A study by University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers found that a diabetes medication offered protection against arterial stiffness in overweight female mice, a finding that may have future implications for disease prevention in humans.

Ramucirumab (trade name: Cyramza) is a monoclonal antibody, which blocks a receptor, reducing the growth of blood vessels and so reducing blood supply to the tumours. This aims to slow the growth of the tumours. As a so-called orphan drug, i.e. a drug for the treatment of rare diseases, ramucirumab was initially exempt from proof of an added benefit. With several expansions of the therapeutic indication, it has lost this special status.

CHICAGO (August 18, 2016): Implementation of a telephone postoperative clinic at a Veterans Affairs facility significantly improved utilization of surgeon and facility resources while maintaining satisfactory patient outcomes, according to study results published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print publication.

The drug combination emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide is approved in combination with other antiviral agents for the treatment of adults and adolescents infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In an early benefit assessment, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now examined whether in these patients this combination offers advantages over the appropriate comparator therapy.

Brivaracetam (trade name: Briviact) has been approved since January 2016 as add-on therapy for adults and adolescents from 16 years of age with epileptic seizures. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) had already examined the drug in an early benefit assessment published in May. For several reasons, the indirect comparisons presented by the drug manufacturer were unsuitable to assess an added benefit in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy. Among other things, the manufacturer had not analysed all relevant outcomes.