News

The MELD (Model for End-stage Liver Disease) scoring system was developed to decrease access disparity for patients who need a liver transplant. Despite its implementation, large geographic disparities exist in the likelihood of either being removed from the transplant list due to progressive disease or actually receiving a transplant.

Four trends—increased use of preoperative MRI, increased awareness of genetic predisposition, celebrities’ well-publicized mastectomy choices, and patient preference—have increased the likelihood that surgeons will perform contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a global initiative protocol to help patients recover as quickly as possible after major surgery.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, depression, stress, anxiety, and anger may compound their risk of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis patients may actually be in better physical condition than some tests conclude.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also have psychological symptoms like depression, anxiety, psychosis, or alcohol or drug abuse may be more likely to be admitted to the hospital with complications.

Buying energy drinks can be as easy as picking up a gallon of milk and people of all ages have been consuming them to get a bigger kick of caffeine than coffee alone provides. A recent study looked at possible health risks associated with these beverages.

A review of studies comparing the Beger and Frey procedures for duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection found that both operations produced similar rates of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency — and nearly every other outcome — in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis.

There is growing clinical evidence that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can have significant pulmonary manifestations and may be more effectively treated with a multi-specialty approach.

Ultra-brief pulse stimulation is nearly as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression, and it as fewer side effects.

Arthritis pain severity can be reduced with high-intensity training, such as cycling, according to a recent study.

Researchers have found that low and high doses of the experimental immunotherapy drug ozanimod achieve better results than placebo for patients with ulcerative colitis.

When a doctor prescribes any medication it is done so with the assumption that patients will follow the dosage given by the provider. This is considerably more important for medications like anticoagulants which can help prevent potentially fatal strokes from occurring.

With one in 5 children in the United States at risk of obesity a recent study looked at their chances of developing heart disease and what it can mean for the future of this patient population.

Sometimes health stories can be just downright strange, and even the most experienced physicians may scratch their heads from time to time. Whether it was strange ingredients to treat pain or foods that harmfully impact the body, there have been a fair share of wild occurrences in the past 12 months.

Researchers compared the B cells of patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy patients, specifically examining granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM CSF), in order to determine their role in interactions between other immune cells within MS.

Researchers will examine the effectiveness of educational efforts designed to prevent at-risk patients with type 1 diabetes from developing Celiac disease.

Researchers say they have discovered a new human virus confirmed from genetic screenings of blood samples that appears to be linked to hepatitis C but it is unknown whether it can cause disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause irreversible lung damage, but researchers have found pivotal discoveries to help the incurable condition over the past 12 months.

Between 1997 and 2014, the annual number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States increased by more than 274%. Plastic surgeons performed the vast majority of those procedures on women, although the number of men undergoing cosmetic procedures increased somewhat. This suggests that plastic surgeons could do a better job of advertising to male patients.

Many American associate plastic surgery with the procedures they see on reality television, and this perception may limit plastic surgeons’ scope of practice.

In the medical community there are many questions about the benefits of patients on a daily aspirin regimen and who should be considered for this treatment option. While these questions apply mainly to standard aspirin treatments currently available there is work being done to move the field in a new direction.

Part of an ongoing series that takes a high-level look at the positions of the leading nominees for President when it comes to political issues potentially impacting physicians, this installment focuses on Ben Carson.

Patients who have the hepatitis C virus are at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Restricting sodium can actually be detrimental to patients with heart failure, a new analysis found.

Over the past year, researchers have dug deeper into uncovering novel approaches to hepatitis C testing, treatment, and comorbidities and have made some great discoveries.

Study results suggest that lidocaine injection might be better than ischemic compression in treating chronic pelvic pain in women.

Researchers have established a novel foundation for an alternative antibiotic-free wound dressing to eliminate biofilms. The team has, for the first time, discovered how electrical stimulation can treat bacterial infections, offering a viable alternative to medicinal antibiotics.

Treating heart failure can be a delicate practice for doctors depending on the severity of the condition. Finding new ways to help these patients is moving from the clinical side of medicine into the laboratory to find more exacting treatment methods.

The pain threshold of arthritis patients can increase after their brain chemistry is altered.