Gale Scott

Vampires may be on to something. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine's neurology and neurological sciences department and the Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair and Restoration at Veterans Affairs Pala Alto Healthcare System report "surprising regenerative activity in young blood."

Calling dermatology the study of the skin only begins to scratch the surface of the field. While environmental factors have been thoroughly looked at, advancements in technology are allowing doctors and researchers to look for deeper issues affecting their patients.

A new sub-analysis of data from the trial known as ROCKET-AF shows that rivaroxaban (Xarelto/Janssen) works as well in patients who have both non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) and diabetes as in AF patients without diabetes.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first cholesterol-lowering treatment in a new class of drugs known as proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors.

From working in the wilderness to waiting at the finish line of some of the most extreme races around the country doctors are going as far from the medical offices as their patients do in order to provide the best level of service possible.

Despite the hand-wringing over the difficulty of eliminating hepatitis C infection in hard-to-reach groups, the Eurasian nation of Georgia is doing just that, with the help of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It helped a lot that Gilead is donating the antivirals to wipe it out, the CDC says

Friday could be a big day for cardiologists. The FDA is due to rule July 24 on what could be the first available PCSK9 inhibitor, one of a new class of cholesterol-lowering agents meant to help patients who cannot get their LDL levels low enough with statins. New York City cardiologist David Vorchheimer, MD. talks about his hopes for the new drugs, and a few concerns

Heart failure may be one of the most common conditions a cardiologist sees on a daily basis but there are also many misconceptions about its treatment and diagnosis. Whether on the football field or running an endurance race there are also other issues doctors are working to address across the scope of the cardiology field.

The North Shore LIJ Health System treats a large number of patients in the New York metropolitan area and has dealt with a number of unique challenges including being on heightened alert during the recent Ebola outbreak. As they and others in the field navigate through the new healthcare landscape there are lessons to be learned and new factors that affect not only those in the medical profession but the patients they treat as well.

As female patients get older their needs from their healthcare professionals change drastically through the various life cycles. From their first experience with menstruation through bladder incontinence later in life there is a lot that doctors can do to help ease their patients through the transition.

There may be no such thing as a typical day in the emergency department of a hospital but as each new case comes in those involved have the chance to sharpen their skills and learn for the next big event.

Treating patients with obesity or diabetes is no easy task for doctors despite the large number of options available to them and their patients. Taking into account the demographics of the patient population as well as the overall health of their individual patient.

As hepatitis C becomes a curable condition and fatty liver disease becomes a growing problem hepatologists are being forced to shift their focus to help a new patient population without some of the tools they have become used to having at their disposal.

New antivirals that can cure hepatitis C infection have changed more than patients' prognoses. MD Magazine interviewed a liver transplant specialist, a transplant recipient, a patient cured by the new antivirals, and their physicians.

Like many urban centers in the Northeastern US, Philadelphia has a chronic shortage of donor livers. But the advent of new antivirals that eradicate hepatitis C infection is starting to change that picture. In a visit to Hahnemann University Hospital, MD Magazine spoke to specialists and patients who are seeing what a difference those drugs can make. Video interviews follow the article.

Boston researchers say they have found the direct cause and potential cure for neurodegeneration following traumatic brain injury.The culprit, they write, is a misshapen and toxic brain protein, one they say they can destroy with a targeted antibody.

Horrifying laceration? Unbelievably large tumor? It's all there for viewing on a free medical app called Figure 1. Its software lets hundreds of thousands of medical professionals post clinical photos, confer on diagnoses, and show their own innovative work. The site has more than 100 million archived photos, all sent in by users, most of them physicians.

Bacterial endocarditis increased the risk of stroke 4 months before and up to 5 months after the infection is diagnosed, a New York City research team reports.

The CDC put its full disease-detection arsenal to work to trace the source of multi-state Salmonella outbreaks. The agency blames chicken kissing.

Chicago-based pain specialist Scott Glaser, MD, is on a crusade. He wants his colleagues to stop using an injection technique that paralyzed his own patient.

Women with epilepsy have a 10-fold higher risk of dying in childbirth than women who do not have the disorder, a study in JAMA Neurology found.

Coming next from Medicare: the ICD-10 Obmudsman. Billing under the dreaded new International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) coding system will get a bit less onerous under a deal brokered between Medicare and the American Medical Association.

A novel virus from Peru and the Republic of Congo called enterovirus C105 is now suspected in last year's wave of mysterious cases of sudden childhood paralysis.

Most US states appear to be violating federal law by putting restrictions on which Medicaid recipients can get the newer hepatitis C antivirals, a Brown University study found.

California has joined Mississippi and West Virginia in barring religious and philosophical exemptions for childhood vaccinations.

Advanced lipid testing can be useful in predicting cardiac risk, but tests are often underutilized.

The medical world is eagerly awaiting the likely approval this summer of two new cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as PCSK9 inhibitors. But at a cost of $7,000 to $12,000 a year, they won't be for everyone.

Lipid management is a complex issue. Peter Jones, MD, a Houston, TX, internist who specializes in lipidology, offers advice to primary care physicians trying to sort out competing treatment guidelines.

The US Supreme Court has said residents of all 50 states are entitled to subsidies, regardless of whether they bought insurance through a federally run or state-run marketplace. The case centered on whether 2010's Affordable Care Act authorized subsidies to consumers who bought health insurance on non-state-run insurance marketplaces.

Smart phones used too close to implanted cardiac devices can result in shocks to patients, German researchers report.