Latest Conference Articles

The use of genetic testing in endocrinology may be new, but in the future it could prove to be a valuable tool as the medical community looks to move beyond gastric bypass and other treatments for obesity and other conditions.

Even though their hospital is close to an international airport identified as a likely entry point for travelers from West African countries with Ebola, physicians at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, NY, did not know as much as they should have about the virus, a study shows.

A Chicago team surveyed medical residents and found harrowing tales of mishaps and near-misses due to botched handoffs when patients are stepped down from ICU care.

Holding family meetings when patients are in intensive care can benefit patients, family, and caregivers. A research team reports on the electronic templates it is developing to keep records of what happens in those meetings.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a proven therapy for recurrent C. difficile infection. A team of researchers from OpenBiome outlined plans for a depository for frozen stool from screened donors. The goal is to have a consistent and safe product for use by clinicians who treat patients with this ailment.

Newer tests for Clostridium difficile can detect the infection in pediatric patients even when there is no blood in the stool.

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases are sometimes treated with immunosuppressive drugs, particularly if they have a significant co-morbidity. A Boston team of researchers found that when that co-morbidity is diabetes, patients are at greater risk of coming down with infections.

Critically ill patients benefit from sleep, but noise levels in intensive care units may interfere, a study from the Universitgy of Iowa shows.

The lack of biomarkers for some life-changing conditions makes diagnoses and treatments more challenging. A new study identified possible biological factors for certain painful diseases.

Competing theories have long been put forth to explain more about the cause of chronic pain, but a new study may finally have shed light on the mystery.

While maintaining high levels of physical activity may not appeal to many patients with fibromyalgia (FM), doing so may be the best way to help ease their pain.

In early testing the bionic pancreas has shown strong results for treating patients with type 1 diabetes. Over the next two years more work will go into streamlining the device and further testing in hopes of receiving FDA approval.

The final version of the bionic pancreas will be a more compact device but the first version is a combination mobile technology and existing glucose monitors and insulin pumps.

Patients with type 1 diabetes could get a powerful new treatment tool as work continues on the development of a bionic pancreas. The device is still undergoing testing and tweaking but initial results have shown promise from an early model.

Not only does poor sleep result in more pain for fibromyalgia patients, but it is also linked to a lower pain threshold.

Timothy Garvey, MD, FACE, Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Chair of the AACE Obesity Scientific Committee, provided an overview of the AACE Module and Tool Kit for Obesity Medicine at the 24th Annual Scientific & Clinical Congress in Nashville, TN.

Patients diagnosed with sinusitis can turn to a number of treatment options to improve their symptoms. For some, simply waiting out the condition can be effective while others may require some form of medication. In the more extreme cases there are surgical procedures which are being improved upon from options of the past.

When people think of issues affecting the tonsils most think about children having their tonsils out. For those who did not have the procedure in their youth, there may be more problems waiting for them down the road.

Over the course of the past year lesser known conditions like pertussis and more well known but not seen conditions like measles have made headlines. Work is continuing to keep both from becoming more significant health threats than they already are.

Georgios Grammatikos, MD, commented at The International Liver Congress 2015 in Vienna, Austria, "We do think in liver diseases we show the opening of this topic in chronic hepatopathy and we do believe mass spectrometric methods -- in order to identify the levels of single lipids-- as one method of the future."

It may be named after the mountains in Colorado, but the condition has very little do with its namesake and is more flu-like, affecting other parts of the country in a very serious way.

Whether a patient has Lyme Disease or another condition finding the right treatment option can have a strong impact on their quality of life.

There are many vector borne diseases which can affect patients around the world. For diseases like Lyme Disease there are many more questions than answers for patients, particularly after their initial diagnosis.

As the usage of fecal microbiota transplant becomes more common doctors are also seeing patients referred to them who may not be ideal candidates for the procedure. Work is also being done to find new ways to treat the condition.

What once was viewed to be an unscientific approach to help treat C-difficile, fecal microbiota transplant has become not only an accepted method of treatment, but also the preferred method in many patients.

C-Difficile may be a growing problem in the healthcare community, but there are also a number of very successful ways to treat the condition including medications and fecal microbiota transplant.

A growing concern in the field of gastroenterology has been the growing number of patients diagnosed with Clostridium Difficile. The condition, which can have a negative impact on a patient's quality of life can include symptoms like severe diarrhea.

Patients, especially young patients with some of the rarer forms of epilepsy may benefit from taking cannabidiol for their conditions. While based from marijuana plants the medication does not have many of the traits of other forms of medical marijuana.

A recent study conducted of patients with multiple sclerosis showed that a change could be coming in the field. Just as patients said they wanted to be more involved in their choice of treatment options, their healthcare professionals said they encouraged feedback from the patients.