Culture

WASHINGTON (March 27, 2014) — Vitamin D deficiency is an independent risk factor for heart disease with lower levels of vitamin D being associated with a higher presence and severity of coronary artery disease, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.

WASHINGTON (March 27, 2014) — The largest single-center study of patients implanted with a total artificial heart finds the device may help patients in severe heart failure survive until they can receive a heart transplant, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.

Four years ago, University of Iowa scientists discovered that mutations in the prickle gene in Drosophila were responsible for much more than merely altering the bristles on the fly's body to point them in the wrong direction.

Prompted by a colleague's finding that PRICKLE gene mutations were responsible for triggering a form of epilepsy in humans, John Manak, Ph.D., who led the fly research team, took a closer look at the Drosophila prickle mutants. (PRICKLE refers to the human gene, while prickle is the Drosophila form of the gene.)

On bmj.com today, Angela Coulter, Associate Professor at Oxford University and colleagues argue that this is "unethical" and call for a coordinated approach to use the information to help improve services.

Their views follow recent news of hospital trusts "helping" patients to write favourable reports of their experience of their services – and a report by Healthwatch England warning that the complaints system for the NHS in England is "hopelessly complicated" and needs an overhaul.

Armed with a ferocious pair of mandibles, male stag beetles appear well prepared to take on the world. 'Their jaws are not just for ornamentation, they really use them to fight', says Jana Goyens from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, adding that males grapple over the choicest patches of rotten wood for their mates to lay their eggs in. Describing a stag beetle battle, Goyens explains that one beetle grabs the other one around its body and then rears up in an attempt to hurl his opponent over his head and onto its back. 'It is clear which one is the loser', says Goyens.

RICHARDSON, Texas (March 26, 2014) — The legalization of medical marijuana has sparked debate across the nation for decades.

Some opponents have argued that medical marijuana's legalization will lead to higher crime rates, but according to a new study at UT Dallas, legalization of medical cannabis is not an indicator of increased crime.

It actually may be related to reductions in certain types of crime, said Dr. Robert Morris, associate professor of criminology and lead author of the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.

DALLAS – March 26, 2014 – "Today, we're going to make history," said 18-year-old Eric Ramos on the day UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors operated on his ailing heart. Eric, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is one of only three patients in the United States with the condition to receive a battery-operated left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to keep his weakening heart pumping blood through his body.

A smartphone application appears to help patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) reduce risky drinking days compared to patients who received usual care after leaving treatment in a residential program.

Alcohol dependence is a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis with relapse rates similar to other chronic illnesses. Continuing care for AUDs has been associated with better outcomes, but patients leaving treatment for AUDs typically are not offered aftercare.

Beverly, MA, March 26, 2014 – Surgical aortic valve replacement generally improves patients' symptoms and prolongs survival. However, the perceived risk of surgical aortic valve replacement in patients over 80 may result in surgery being denied or a recommendation for alternative therapy. Investigators at the Mayo Clinic challenge the way these patients have been managed. They report that repeat sternotomy in patients over 80 who have previously had coronary bypass graft surgery can be done with low risk.

Rochester, Minn. — Gout is on the rise among U.S. men and women, and this piercingly painful and most common form of inflammatory arthritis is turning out to be more complicated than had been thought. The standard way to check for gout is by drawing fluid or tissue from an affected joint and looking for uric acid crystals, a test known as a needle aspirate. That usually works, but not always: In a new Mayo Clinic study, X-rays known as dual-energy CT scans found gout in one-third of patients whose aspirates tested negative for the disease.

Strict guidelines for treating paracetamol overdoses – introduced 18 months ago – are costing the NHS millions of pounds a year, researchers claim.

The number of patients receiving hospital treatment for paracetamol poisoning in the UK each year has risen by almost 50 per cent since the guidelines were updated by the Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority, a study estimates.

Researchers have assessed the impact of the MHRA decision to revise the guidelines, which was taken following the death of a young girl from a paracetamol overdose.

Scientists of the Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management (IGM) and of the Institute of Epidemiology II (EPI II) at Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU), together with colleagues of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) in Düsseldorf, investigated the association between self-management behavior and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. HMGU and the DDZ are partners in the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD).

High self-management index – low mortality

The popular TV series "CSI" is fiction, but every day, real-life investigators and forensic scientists collect and analyze evidence to determine what happened at crime scenes. In a study published in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry, scientists say they have developed a more rapid and accurate method that could allow crime scene investigators to tell what kind of ammunition was shot from a gun based on the residue it left behind.

Despite the well-documented disadvantages of graduating from college during a recession, could graduates actually be happier with their jobs in the long run?

CINCINNATI – Septic shock is a severe systemic infection and major cause of death for the old and young alike. Unfortunately, researchers say testing new drug regimens to stop the infection is confounded because clinical trials include patients who are either too sick to be saved by experimental therapies or not sick enough to warrant the treatments.