Cancer patients do better with surgeons, hospitals that treat higher volume
...ximity to home, social and family support." Foster adds that rather than centralizing treatment, future studies should focus on determining which processes predict better outcomes for patients. "If we can identify those factors, we could spread the word and support smaller hospitals and physicians that se...New computer program uses brain scans to assess risk of Alzheimer's
... to include PET data from diverse patient groups," adds Dr. De Leon. "But we're confident this is a strong beginning, demonstrating accurate detection of early Alzheimer's disease. Now we have a better tool to examine disease progression, and we anticipate this might open some doors to prevention treatme...Women more afraid of dentists than men: University of Toronto study
...ely to admit to being afraid of the dentist." Yet, adds Haas, "It's the young, healthy males who are the ones who often faint in the dental office." Overall, 5.5 per cent of the 1,100 Canadians surveyed were very afraid of seeing a dentist, and about half of those had cancelled or avoided a dental appoint...Radiofrequency ablation is effective long-term treatment for kidney tumors
...ated brain tumor a year after treatment. McDougal adds that the MGH team now has used RFA to treat a total of 100 renal cell carcinomas in 85 patients with similar results successful tumor destruction in 100 percent of surface tumors and 78 percent of central tumors. "Right now, older patients with sma...Young drug abusers suffer brain damage similar to early Alzheimer's, says new research
... of two key proteins associated with brain damage" adds Professor Bell. "In a previous study we found out that drug abuse causes low grade inflammation in the brain. Taken together, the two studies suggest that intravenous opiate abuse may be linked to premature ageing of the brain." The 34 documented ...Researchers improve lung cancer survival rates
...nd no major long-term impacts on quality of life," adds Dr. Winton. Dr. Barbara Whylie, CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society, says "Canadian researchers are breaking through the barriers of what can be achieved in the treatment of lung cancer. Their leadership in this important area will have a significant ...Researchers link nursing injuries to staffing levels
...nursing injuries take on an increasing importance, adds Muntaner. They can be viewed as a warning sign. "If residents are treated by workers who are injured, the quality of care suffers, and there is also the problem of high turnover rates," Muntaner says. Muntaner believes the data have implications for ...Voice-to-voice translation machine perfects bedside manner
...y, chaotic environment (emergency room, ambulance) adds another level of difficulty. Extra-verbal communication: Humans speak not just with words, but also with intonations. A rising tone at the end of a sentence to express a question is one familiar example of this, one that is extraordinarily difficul...One-drug therapy works for bipolar disorder
...bly those who also exhibit anxiety and agitation," adds Dr. Calabrese. "We are not certain as to the mechanism of action in the brain, however we know the drug impacts neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. The most common side effect is fatigue, so it may not be the best initial approach in patients...Television in the bedroom may hurt child's school performance
...t bedroom TV sets caused the lower test scores, it adds to accumulating data that kids shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms. It also suggests that investing in a home computer for a child to use may be an additional strategy to help your child's test scores. The best combination was having both: no TV in ...The building blocks of schizophrenia and drug addiction
...nt of diagnostic tools, treatment and prevention," adds Flores. "Treatment provided to people suffering from mental illness is more likely to be successful when there's a good understanding of the causative mechanisms," says Gautrin. "Because of this, our government is proud to support the work of ...Potent spice works to block growth of melanoma in lab test
...e spice as an anti-cancer agent, Aggarwal says. He adds that another fact has generated further excitement: "The incidence of the top four cancers in the U.S. - colon, breast, prostate, and lung - is ten times lower in India," he says. This work is just the latest by M. D. Anderson researchers to show ho...Major heart failure quality of care variations found in US hospitals
...at is a 100-fold difference in conformity. Fonarow adds that the study compared variation in clinical outc...s consistent with the national guidelines. Fonarow adds that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now provides a website called "Hospital Compar...Strong magnetic fields aid severe depression
...tool which can't help in all cases of depression,' adds Michael Wagner, cautioning against excessively high expectations. There are only a few institutions in Germany where the effects of this relatively new therapy for severe depression are being investigated. However, new instruments are in the offing w...16-MDCT can efficiently scan ER patients; repositioning patients may improve image quality
...he study also found that repositioning the patient adds time to the examination, but may improve image quality. "In emergency situations, the patient's room time in the CT suite and the early diagnosis and initiation of treatment have an especially profound influence on the patient's outcome," said Jan Gr...Bone-protecting drugs reduce pain and fractures in metastatic breast cancer
...y and hormone therapy. There is "strong evidence," adds Pavlakis, that bisphosphonate use can "reduce the likelihood of new skeletal events, the rate of events and possibly bone pain." "Until recently, the management of symptomatic bone disease depended on analgesics, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, and...Benign breast disease an important breast cancer risk factor
... Minn. -- A study led by Mayo Clinic Cancer Center adds evidence to a growing body of knowledge that shows women with benign breast disease have a higher risk for breast cancer, and that certain types of breast disease may predict the near-term development of breast cancer. The findings will be published ...Efforts to improve hospital care
...de entities such as JCAHO and CMS."However, Romano adds that "these high levels of adherence may be somewhat illusory, since physicians and hospitals have become increasingly clever at documenting questionable contraindications to standard therapies, thereby excluding many patients who might have benefite...Scientists studying ways to help community college employees lose weight and keep it off
...crease access to healthy foods at work. The second adds a state-of-the-art Web-based weight-loss program to "Winners' Circle," and the third offers both, along with cash incentives for those who shed pounds and achieve a healthy weight....Nuclear weapons continue to pose a serious health risk in Europe
...aining these weapons eats in to national economies adds the author, leaving less funds for healthcare and other vital services. The threat posed by these weapons can only be tackled if European countries progress quickly towards a Europe free of nuclear weapons, and relevant countries - particularly Russi...