Study looks at cost of high blood pressure therapy
...iption drug expenses," Stafford said. "The bottom line is that both physicians and patients need to be more aware of real data regarding the best use of both new and old drugs." Pharmaceutical companies' marketing to physicians, and television and print advertising aimed directly at patients, might influ...Tiny molecular motors shed light on cell function, say Stanford researchers
... of cellular organization, such as how chromosomes line up and separate during cell division. "Studies like this allow you to understand enough details of these motors to design small molecules to affect their function," said Spudich, who is also the Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascul...Nutrition education helps stretch meager food budgets
...are at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line (defined as an income of no more than $18,850 for a family of four in the continental United States); in New York state, 80 percent of EFNEP participants live at or below the poverty line. "However, in one of the few studies to evaluate the effects ...Northwestern Memorial researchers study role of botanicals in management of menopausal symptoms
...ace hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as the first line of treatment for the short-term relief of hot flashes," explains Cate Stika, M.D., chief of the division of obstetrics and gynecology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and associate professor of medicine, Northwestern University's Feinberg School of M...Complementary, alternative therapies for neurological disorders detailed in new book
...eurological disorders. The book "tries to draw the line between what's reasonable and what's not reasonable," Oken said. The book is divided into two sections. The first 12 chapters offer an overview of various CAM therapies, including botanicals, chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture and traditional...New index measures risk of death from blood clot
...cing conventional pulmonary angiography as a first line exam for detecting pulmonary emboli. Studies show CT to be more cost effective than the more invasive conventional angiography in the work-up of suspected lung blood clots. The researchers note that this is a preliminary study, and larger trials ne...International public health expert Jeffrey Koplan addresses emerging infectious diseases conference
...public health becomes dangerous only when a subtle line is crossed in which policy is dictated by ideology Every field of public health, including infectious diseases, must acknowledge that progress is related to the strength of other public health fields, including health education, epidemiology an...Targeted antiviral prophylaxis of flu case contacts could successfully contain pandemic influenza
...distribution strategy, could be an effective first line of defense while an adequate supply of vaccine is being produced to counter subsequent waves of infection," Dr. Longini explained. Scientists already know that antiviral drugs can be used prophylactically to help prevent infection after exposure, to...American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for March 2004 (first issue)
... is significantly higher. Peritonitis from staple line leak is a serious and life-threatening complication of bariatric surgery. Proper diagnosis is often very difficult. The authors point out that the obese body is characterized by a higher proportion of tissue water and lean body mass. He explained ...Study moves in on why astronauts suffer bone loss
...gs. With hindquarters suspended by a freely moving line tethered to the cage lid (much like the pole that ... to follow IGF-1 pathways, the team used a special line of dwarf laboratory rats that do not produce their own growth hormone. Half the animals in both the ...Cheap four-drug combo saves heart patients' lives
...in and reduced blood flow to the heart. The bottom line for patients, Mukherjee says, is that people who h... a lot of bang for your buck," he says. The bottom line for physicians is also clear, says U-M CVC clinical director and senior author Kim Eagle, M.D. "Get ...UVA researchers make cellular model of Parkinson's disease
...., Trimmer and her colleagues treated a human cell line (neuroblastoma) with a chemical that destroyed the DNA found in the cell's mitochondria, the cellular "power house" responsible for energy production. Previous research at U.Va., published in the Feb. 1997 issue of the Annals of Neurology, found...Gene therapy technique could aid islet transplants for diabetes, says Pittsburgh study
...ary 2004 issue of the journal Endocrinology and on line at http://endo.endojournals.org/ . "On the positive side, by using a rat model that closely mimics events occurring in human islet transplant recipients, we found that introducing a growth factor DNA to pancreatic islet beta cells (the cells that ...UCSF physicians publish groundbreaking book on medical mistakes
...ent who had a seizure and died when an intravenous line was inadvertently flushed with a dose of insulin rather than a blood thinner, and the heart attack patient mistakenly and fatally discharged from the emergency room. "Through these cases, we argue that faulty systems, rather than bad people, are resp...American Stroke Association's 29th International Stroke Conference
...e journal by mail. The abstracts are available on line at strokeconference.org. News conferences have been organized by subject to profile emerging research trends or topics of special importance to the public. Each 45-minute news conference offers brief presentations to the media by three to five spea...One dose of 'designer' gene therapy may target specific body area
... therapy targets vascular endothelial cells, which line the inside of blood vessels. "Vascular endothelial cells, which are in continuous contact with the bloodstream and integrally involved in cardiovascular abnormalities, are appropriate targets for gene therapy," Baker said. Baker said that AAV is impo...Study finds new antibiotic effective for diabetic foot infections
...or years the antibiotic vancomycin had been a last line of defense against infections caused by MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant "superbugs," but now vancomycin-resistant infections have been reported. Because of the growing problem of MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), new agents have b...Blood clot risk not treated preventively, study finds
...ine at Duke University Medical Center. "The bottom line is that every patient admitted to a hospital ought to be considered for preventive measures." Tapson and study first author Samuel Goldhaber, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, report their findings in the Jan. 15, 2004, issue of The American ...Phone counseling helps smokers quit
...quit and had access to a 24-hour automated support line maintained by the drug manufacturer. The more...ephone calls and had access to a toll-free support line for a year. All participants received printed self-help materials. Other materials went to the smoke...Whole-body PET/CT scan appears useful for determining tumor stage
...roduction of PET/CT or whole-body MRI as the first line of investigation would lead to significant changes in the management of patients with cancer. While these results are intriguing, additional studies are needed to establish the role of whole-body imaging for tumor staging in oncology practice," the e...