News

A chemical often used to create plastic medical devices has been shown to impair heart function in rats, and may be why side affects like loss of taste and short-term memory problems occur after medical procedures that require blood to be circulated outside of the body in plastic tubing.

GINA is not a "who," but a "what": The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act.

Cardiogenic shock continues to be a major complication of acute myocardial infarction, with in-hospital mortality approaching 70% to 80% for patients who are managed medically.

Thyroid cancer taken as an entity is less "aggressive" than many other types of cancer.

The Archives of Internal Medicine published a study, in which the investigators wanted to demonstrate an increase quality of medical care given to a group of patient smokers using certified electronic health records.

A new study that examines the link between racial discrimination and mental health disorders shows that students who feel ridiculed because of their skin color are more likely to feel symptoms of mental disorders.

You may remember the story of Harvard Medical School grad and CIO of CareGroup John Halamka who was an huge advocate of using implantable radio-frequency identification chips to give patients the option of being a walking EMR. Halamka actually had one of these chips implanted in his arm in late 2004, and the PR frenzy began.

A new study has suggested that Hispanics, African-Americans and young people, especially young women under 40, are at a higher risk for different types of skin cancers.

The Pediatric Academic Societies wrapped up the annual meeting in Baltimore on Cinco de Mayo.

This year I was asked to speak at my hospital's annual thoracic nursing conference about what is new and upcoming in the treatment of lung cancer.

A continuation of last week's post, "Lobbying with a Conflict of Interest."

A new study has found that patients who suffer from IBS report, on average, a 50% quality of life score.

The Taipei Veterans General Hospital in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation evaluated the impact of rheumatoid arthritis on patients� lives and the aspect of their lives that may change as a result of the diagnosis.

Children with autism seem to be more likely to have an enlarged amygdala, which regulates the ability to process faces and emotions, a recent study has found.

In November 2008, Google launched a search tool to track influenza. In response to the swine flu outbreak, Google has re-calibrated its tool to more closely track the progress and spread of the swine flu in Mexico and the US.

A study of over 3000 workers, conducted in Finland, found that workers who reported stress and poor team spirit in their workplaces were 60% more likely to report being depressed and 50% more likely to take antidepressants.

A study has found that �women with a history of hypothyroidism face a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer.�

Study results demonstrated that a significant number of lesions not seen with mammography and sonography are detected with 3-T MRI, a new option for evaluating patients who are at high risk for developing breast cancer.

For a long time, many have held the strong opinion that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs might prevent Alzheimer's Disease.

An 82-year-old right-handed woman, a homemaker, was evaluated for mild left upper arm pain, weakness, and bruising that had lasted for 4 days. Although she reported no previous history of rotator cuff injury or trauma per se, she did recall a sensation of "giving way" in the left upper arm while manually rolling up the driver's-side window in her car at the time of the initial event. Several hours later, a significant bruise appeared that extended from the middle of her upper arm toward the elbow, along with a mid-arm bulge that was more prominent with flexion. She denied having experienced an initial audible "pop," local corticosteroid injection, use of anticoagulants, or long-term fluoroquinolone treatment.

Ultrasound may be a helpful tool for diagnosing and treating rheumatoid arthritis, a new study has found.

Until recently, relatively little was know about the lymphatic system, for reasons that include the clear appearance of lymphatic fluid�making it hard to see, making it hard to inject enough contrast agents for MRI or X-ray imaging, and the several minutes needed to acquire an image with nuclear techniques.

A genetic mutation that is commonly seen in individuals with schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder actually plays only a minor role in such disorders and is present among �healthy� people, new research has found.

A young woman presented with fevers, chills and a holosystolic murmur that radiated to her axilla, and became louder with handgrip maneuvers.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health have published guidelines for treating diarrhea and vomiting due to gastroenteritis in children younger than age five years.

A new study published in the April 15 issue of JAMA shows that hypoglycemic episodes that are �severe enough to require hospitalization are associated with a greater risk of dementia for older adults with type 2 diabetes.�

I have argued that the pharmaceutical industry has a legitimate role to play in healthcare and when they help practitioners achieve a better outcome for their patients, they should be garner a greater market share, price, and profit.

Check out photos taken at last week's Health 2.0 Conference held in Boston.

The newest version of Facebook for BlackBerry offers some major feature upgrades, including the ability to integrate e-mail inboxes.

Constipation is a very prevalent problem, affecting up to 20% of the US population.