Culture

ST. LOUIS – Opioid analgesics, or prescription-based narcotic pain killers, have long been known to reduce pain, but reports of adverse effects and addiction continue to surface. Now, a team of investigators led by a Saint Louis University researcher has discovered a link between chronic use of pain-relieving medication and increase in the risk of developing major depression.

DETROIT – More than half of chronic hepatitis C patients studied in a new research project led by Henry Ford Hospital were not treated for the potentially fatal disease, either because they couldn't withstand current therapies or because they, or their doctors, were waiting for new treatments.

In a second, related study, Henry Ford researchers found that while the disease is not yet curable, there is a significant "lost opportunity" for hepatitis C patients to achieve the current best result of treatment.

BOSTON – Contrary to popular myth, it is not the aging Baby Boomer or weekend warrior that is causing the unprecedented increase in knee replacement surgeries. Data gathered by more than 125 orthopedic surgeons from 22 states across the U.S. show a more mundane culprit: rising rates of obesity among those under the age of 65.

The risks of developing kidney failure and a calcium deficiency from the popular osteoporosis drug zoledronic acid are extremely rare, according to researchers at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). These findings were presented earlier this month at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's annual meeting.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 30, 2013 – A clinical trial shows that rapidly cooling patients who have suffered ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI, the most serious form of a heart attack) prior to restoring blood flow is safe and feasible. The findings of the CHILL-MI trial were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 31, 2013 --New research from the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for nonprofit hospitals to address obesity through community benefit activities. With obesity affecting more than one-third of adults and 17 percent of children in the United States, many communities are facing the challenge of how to address this epidemic. Nonprofit hospitals are uniquely positioned to help through their ongoing efforts to provide community benefit programs.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A new study supports the use of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), to simplify assessment and determine the severity of coronary artery disease. ADVISE II findings were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A new study shows that a conservative approach to revascularization for patients with intermediate coronary lesions determined by angiographic diameter stenosis is safe and non-inferior to an aggressive approach. Findings of the SMART-CASE trial were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

Viewing R-rated movies leads to decreased church attendance and lessens importance of faith among young people, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher published online in the Review of Religious Research.

But watching R-rated movies did not have any effect on whether they have doubts about their beliefs -- or whether they thought it was all right to "pick and choose" teachings without accepting the faith as a whole, said Phil Davignon, a doctoral candidate in sociology in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – The first clinical trial in the United States to study the use of drug coated balloons (DCB) for femoropopliteal artery disease found the procedure is promising for safety and efficacy at six months. Six month data of the LEVANT 2 trial was presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A clinical trial comparing the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) in treating in-stent restenosis (ISR) from bare metal stents found that both techniques yielded positive long term outcomes. Findings from the RIBS V trial were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – Oct. 30, 2013 – Doctors commonly tell patients that stress can be harmful to their health. Yet when it comes to reducing their own stress levels, physicians don't always heed their own advice.

In the years leading up to implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of Californians who received their health insurance through public programs continued to rise, likely in direct response to the loss of job-based coverage in the state, according to a new analysis by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 30, 2013 – A new clinical trial shows that a two-stent technique for treatment of bifurcation lesions with a large stenotic side branch was not associated with significant improved outcomes compared to a provisional stenting approach. The findings from the Nordic-Baltic Bifurcation IV study were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the millions of people suffering from the intensely red, horribly itchy skin condition known as eczema, the only thing more maddening than their disease is the lack of understanding of what causes it, or makes it flare up from time to time.

Now, a new finding made by University of Michigan Medical School researchers and their colleagues may bring that understanding closer – and could help lead to better treatments.