News

Researchers report no effect of THC on MS progression, but find evidence of some benefit for patients at the lower end of the disability scale.

The delivery of fecal microflora from "normal" stool from healthy donors by jejunal tube or during colonic endoscopy to promote microflora growth in the recipient is becoming more common.

Research findings from a group of Midwest-based investigators suggest bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to different illness burdens in binge eaters compared to obese patients who do not experience compulsive episodes of uncontrollable overeating.

Though physicians are already aware that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) cause inflammation in joints, tendons, and surrounding muscle tissues, the effects of those chronic autoimmune disorders on stiffness, strength, and function of the patellar tendon have not yet been determined.

A pair of researchers based in Texas has gained valuable insight into the correlation between individual cell type in the tissues of gout patients and comorbidity factors of the chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder.

Researchers have identified gene expression patterns and DNA changes that can also be used as tumor markers if present in tumor biopsies.

Though recent reviews were unable to provide evidence of efficacy for several complementary treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a group of researchers decided to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of static electric field therapy by high voltage alternating current (EF-HVAC) in the chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder.

No studies had determined the genetic cause of early-onset gout cases until a group of Japanese researchers discovered a the same genomic dysfunction among the patients.

Though they conducted their analysis in China, four researchers have successfully demonstrated a link between babA2 gene and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in Helicobacter pylori-infected populations within countries located on the Western Hemisphere.

Transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFEI) have become a more common approach to relieving chronic lumbar radicular pain, but until now, no published clinical reports had directly compared morphine with tramadol for that indication.

Research findings underscore the importance of testing peptic ulcer patients for H. pylori status.

College students with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms experience higher levels of mental strain and chronic stress than their peers without IBS symptoms.

Recognizing frustrations stemming from "the contested nature of the diagnosis, ineffective treatments, and a mismatch between general practitioner (GP) and patient explanatory models" for irritable bowel syndrome, a team of British researchers examined the tensions between how physicians approach IBS and what's currently recommended for diagnosing and managing the functional gastrointestinal disorder.

Unique interactive resource from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University offers visual depiction of HIV prevalence data.

Following previous research that detected a greater risk of major depressive disorder development in HIV-infected patients, a new study examined the psychiatric condition's effect on adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

It may be possible to "reverse engineer" molecules that activate precursors of effective, neutralizing antibodies against the HIV virus.

As part of ongoing efforts to support the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the new initiative will direct Federal agencies to align and coordinate their efforts to maximize outcomes along the HIV care continuum.

Although substantial investments are made in health information technology (HIT) to improve practice efficiency and patient care, widespread adoption of electronic prescribing continues to lag throughout the US and Canada, which is why one team of researchers sought to determine what variables predict the technology's successful integration in primary care settings.

As part of a new pilot program, more than 300 US hospitals have begun to voluntarily report 30-day all-cause risk standardized readmission rates after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Although many US hospitals tout quality improvement in surgical outcomes, new research findings released at the national conference of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) show that taking cancer operation performance into account would deliver a more accurate hospital rating.

Depression patients monitored by physicians and care managers in a collaborative model have better antidepressant medication use and clinical outcomes than those treated in a traditional primary care setting, according to a comparison of the two delivery methods published in the May 2013 issue of Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health.

Primary care physicians rate more than 40 percent of hospitalizations resulting from ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) as avoidable with effective preventive care and disease management.

Although previous studies have already established that low serum sodium levels commonly occur in critically ill children who require hospitalization, a team of Polish researchers aimed to more closely evaluate the link between hyponatremia and the severity of a child's community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Two recently published case studies examine the diagnosis and treatment of hyponatremia in patients who are also suffering from comparatively rare comorbidities.

With strong clinical evidence and adverse event reports linking Daiichi Sankyo's high blood pressure medication Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) to the gastrointestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved changes for the drug's label to include a warning about that risk.

The federal government's Partnership for Patients Hospital Engagement Networks (HENs), which work to improve patient care through implementation and dissemination of best practices in clinical quality, have released checklists for 10 areas of patient care.

A study conducted by the Bronx Collaborative group of hospitals and health insurers found that personal contact with patients before and after hospital discharge resulted in significantly lower readmission rates.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that health care facilities take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to reduce the risk of failure due to cyber attack.

Studies show that treatment with multispecies probiotics stabilizes the gut microflora and relieves symptoms such as abdominal distension and pain in patients with IBS.

Researchers at the Hanyang University College of Medicine set the record straight on the association between IBS symptoms and methane and hydrogen gas produced by intestinal fermentation of lactulose and excreted in the breath during lactulose breath test.