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In the United States the availability of the latest technology can vary depending on geographic locations in some cases. This can be a greater problem for service members stationed around the world.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1beta), a cytokine that plays in important role in the body’s immune response, turns out to be part of the body’s early defense system for bacterial infections. Anti-inflammation treatments for autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often times inhibit IL-1beta to mitigate the inflammation that it initiates when infection is detected.

Cardiac CT scans can be important in diagnosing various conditions but may not be appropriate for all cardiologists to perform. As a result, with specialized training the results can be dramatically improved to help both civilian and military patients.

At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center there is an extra focus in ensuring tests are accurate for service members either before deploying or when they return home. As a result they have made a concerted effort to improve several tests including cardiac CT.

While it is clear the opioid abuse problem is not going away, those working in the field are still determined to ensure that the problems of the past do not interfere with success in the future.

Despite the arrival of direct acting antivirals, there are limit options for patients with genotypes 2 and 3 of HCV infection. A drug combo using interferon appears to work, a study finds.

Many studies have looked for a link between psoriatic arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Some have found it, while others haven’t.

As the field of pain medicine advances there is a considerable focus on helping patients get better as well as undoing the damage done by the opioid abuse epidemic. Both problems will likely require a long term approach to be successful.

For some patients, especially on a short term basis opioids may still be the best treatment option. Safely prescribing these medications is the focus of a field looking to help patients without causing problems in other areas.

As it is becoming clearer how dangerous opioids can be for some patients work is being done to find alternatives to help manage pain without as much fear of addiction.

A trial of 3 automated blood pressure cuffs indicates that two of the devices provide reasonably accurate readings for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

A new analysis of patient records published in Diabetes Care supports rapid treatment intensification when metformin monotherapy fails in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but finds that intensification is often delayed in practice.

Calcium supplements may seem to be a safe and effective method to manage osteoporosis, but regular consumption of these pills could increase the risk of dementia in women, specifically those who have experienced cerebrovascular diseases or poor blood flow to the brain, or have suffered a stroke.

Adults with atopic dermatitis are at greater risk of systemic infections.

Children are less likely to have atopic dermatitis when their mothers have higher levels of vitamin D.

An electronic alert system may lead physicians to put more Afib patients on anti-coagulants.

Beyond high cost, people with hepatitis C face several barriers to treatment, and those arise from various sources. Doctors, Medicaid, private health insurance companies, and intravenous drug use can all be obstacles, according to a university study out of Massachusetts that examined treatment approvals for two new drugs.

Typically, the creation of a new drug is a process of tweaking or combining existing drugs to alter outcomes and side effects. A recent collaboration between researchers from Germany and across the United States, however, takes a novel approach in the battle against opiate addiction: trying to build a new painkiller from scratch.

Previous research has concluded that acetaminophen (Tylenol) worsens disease activity in children with asthma; however, a new study refutes that finding in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Ginger ale has long been considered a non-medicinal option for soothing upset stomachs. Didier Merlin, MD, and colleagues from the Atlanta VA medical Center and Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, have taken this concept a step further, exploring the use of edible ginger-derived nanoparticles (GDNPs) to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

The list of effective drugs for the once incurable illness of hepatitis C infection keeps growing. But some physicians are frustrated. Here's why.

H. pylori, a bacterial infection of the stomach, may have expansive systemic effects, and clinicians need to raise the index of suspicion when patients report symptoms suggestive of this infection.

“In this current investigation, the two most statistically significant findings were that higher HbA2 levels correlated with higher RBC levels and prominently lesser MSSS [multiple sclerosis severity score].”

While some patients may need procedures like gastric bypass surgery to lose weight others may be able to achieve their goals by taking smaller steps.

After years of hearing they need to exercise and lose weight some patients can lose the purpose of the message and the potential benefits that come with it.

Research indicates that insulin has wound-healing properties, and this is the subject of a new study. Based on findings that insulin increases wound collagen, granulation tissue, wound tensile strength, and local production of insulin-like growth factors by fibroblasts, the researchers looked at its potential in pressure ulcers.

The connection between chronic pain and major depressive disorder (MDD) has been long studied in the medical world; and although the effort to identify precise drivers behind pain is still a work in progress, genetics and environmental factors have been in the forefront.

RNS60, a charge-stabilized nanostructure, shows potential as a beneficial therapy for demyelinating conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a recent study.

A key finding was a dramatic change in how prescribers used insulin. They tended to use more rapid-acting insulin.

Infants exposed to Zika virus in-utero aren't the only ones at risk of brain damage from the virus. Researchers at The Rockefeller University and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology believe the virus can "wreak havoc" in almost anyone's brain.