Suffering from fatigue, abdominal discomfort or bloody diarrhea?
...rted symptoms of patients with ulcerative colitis, rather than assessing patients with endoscopy each time symptoms flare," says Higgins. Adds co-author Ellen Zimmermann, M.D., associate professor of Internal Medicine at UMHS: "While endoscopy is still necessary to diagnose ulcerative colitis and to evaluat...Inflammatory cells highly promising target in NF 1
...s so large that many mutations occur spontaneously rather than being passed from parent to child. Everyone has two copies of the NF 1 gene, which produces a protein called neurofibromin that controls cell division. If both NF 1 genes are defective, not enough neurofibromin is produced, cell division takes ...Mayo Clinic researchers create 'obedient virus'; First step to use measles virus against cancer
... and then redirected the virus to attack diseased, rather than healthy cells. The work was done on laboratory animals implanted with two kinds of human cancer cells -- ovarian cancer and lymphoma -- and is probably still years away from use as a human therapy. But the concept has at last been proved in mice...AHA urges earlier diagnoses, referrals for PCI in women
...han their male counterparts. It is these factors, rather than gender, that contribute to a higher risk of death in women, and shouldn't preclude women from having these potentially life-saving treatments. "In fact, once women are referred for PCI, the rate of blood vessels being successfully re-opened is s...Treatment for brain tumor does not always follow recommendations
...ticularly when end points may be biological change rather than tumor reduction demonstrated on MRI. As oncology takes on increasingly specific, targeted approaches, it is inappropriate to continue rolling out new therapies indiscriminately and often conclude that they are not effective in 'malignant gliomas...Two studies find evidence that sunlight may have beneficial influence on cancer
...thing and sunburns was associated with a decrease, rather than an increase, in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Increased UV exposure was also associated, although more weakly, with a decreased risk of Hodgkin lymphoma. "[These] results suggest an inverse association between UV light exposure and non-Hodgk...Research guides medication choices for young Asthma patients
...arch builds on a trend to use scientific evidence, rather than trial-and-error, to customize medication choices for specific individuals. "We found that responses to these two medications varied considerably from child to child," said Stanley Szefler, M.D., lead author and Professor of Pediatrics at Nationa......reases in both permanent sickness and living alone rather than a major trend towards people living solo when they are sick.Malcolm Williams said: "Although men over 25 and permanently sick were always found more likely to live alone, this was not so for women. There was no evidence to suggest that living al...Study shows that diabetes increases risk of blood poisoning
...have bacteremia caused by urinary tract infection, rather than abdominal infection. Death after bacteremia also occurred more often in diabetics than in non-diabetics. So, with type 2 diabetes becoming increasingly common as Americans gain weight, the risk for serious infectious complications is a real one,...Disaster funding needs radical reform
...ef agencies to be funded by assessed contributions rather than having to appeal for money after each disaster. This would allow agencies to build reserve funds, to invest in training, and to act more quickly and save more lives. The system for tracking donations and spending should also be improved, and "di...US syphilis epidemics not driven by increases in unsafe sex say researchers
... the population cause periodic syphilis outbreaks, rather than changes in sexual behaviour, as was previousl... more likely to reflect change in sexual behaviour rather than the cyclical natural phenomenon seen with syphilis. Dr Grassly, a Royal Society University Rese...January/February Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
...should encourage health plans to provide for long- rather than short-term depression management. They note that primary care depression management results in comparable or greater cost-effectiveness than smoking cessation counseling, hypertension treatment, cholesterol treatment or chronic obstructive pulmo...Activity not out of the question for people with chronic pain
...d round-the-clock activity monitoring and analysis rather than relying on patients self-reporting their acti... based on information from evidence-based research rather than questionnaires. "Exercise and activity are essential to the well-being of people with fibromyal...Health initiatives can help peace building in the Middle East
...nting, as in this case. A focus on the individual, rather than the collective, might be inadequate, not only in terms of impact but also participation. Although a few people can certainly change the world, only a critical mass of committed doctors with a common agenda can stand a chance in the face of the p...Study links racial and ethnic gap in youth violence to social factors
...nd therefore amenable to intervention in community rather than individual settings," says Sampson, the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study, which was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National In...Study says 43% of US adults at risk of heart disease are not utilizing aspirin therapy
...t attack" and "stroke" were combined into one item rather than being asked about separately (e.g., a response choice for one question was worded as "preventing heart attack or stroke"). Therefore, it is not possible to determine how respondents would answer for each cardiovascular event separately....Obesity may affect accuracy of prostate screening
... in that they "may be caused by delayed detection" rather than biological differences in the tumor. The study implies that physicians may consider adjusting PSA values when screening for prostate cancer if men are overweight or obese....Vaginal hysterectomy leads to better outcomes than abdominal surgery
...ies concludes that surgeons should perform vaginal rather than abdominal hysterectomies whenever possible in...rily mean that the technique is being avoided, but rather underutilized, Johnson says, "perhaps because some gynecologists have had insufficient training in t...Pharmacist review does not keep older people out of hospital
...based medication review by a pharmacist increased, rather than decreased, emergency hospital admissions, say the authors. Indeed, the intervention seemed to increase admissions by 30% and home visits by general practitioners by 43%. It also seemed to worsen patients' quality of life compared with controls. ...Colonoscopy still most effective colorectal cancer screening method
...le sigmoidoscopy of the left portion of the colon, rather than the stool test alone. "It is generally preferable to undergo colonoscopy, which allows complete evaluation of the colon and also, at the same time, biopsy or removal of most cancers or polyps that are identified. If detected early as precancero...