American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for April 2005 (first issue)
...h regimen of a combination of these drugs, which a recent randomized clinical trial has shown to be "distinctly inferior to the 6-month regimen with rifampin throughout." The article about the remarkable history of tuberculosis treatment appears in the first issue for April 2005 of the American Thoracic So...Study shows light therapy to effectively treat mood disorders, including SAD
...ng disorders and other behavioral problems. A more recent light therapy approach is "dawn simulation," which attempts to simulate an earlier dawn through exposure to artificial light. This follows the theory that SAD is triggered by the reduced period of bright daylight during winter. The method attempts t...Newer imaging techniques may lead to over-treatment
...ks to anticoagulant therapy," he said. In fact, "a recent study found a 10 times higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke in patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy when compared to the general population," Dr. Prologo said. It is imperative that "clinicians consider the risk-benefit ratio of therapy in pati...Angiogenesis factor may help tumors prepare the way for spread to lymph nodes
...promote the development of new blood vessels only, recent research at the MGH and elsewhere found that it also induced proliferation of lymphatic tissue and vessels in laboratory and animal models. As a result, the MGH team decided to investigate its possible role in tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis. Rese...ALLHAT study findings for racial sub-groups show diuretics work better for high blood pressure
... therapy for high blood pressure. While some other recent studies have evaluated newer therapies (including drug combinations), the weight of evidence, particularly in this multi-racial study, supports the diuretic recommendation," said Dr. Jeffrey Cutler, NHLBI Senior Analyst and study co-author. High bloo...Music improves sleep quality in older adults, researchers find
...etimes become difficult as humans get older. But a recent study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Taiwan shows that listening to soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer. The res...US service academies to collaborate with UNC, Andrews Air Force Base, Duke in knee injury study
...as well as information on their injury history and recent sports participation. In addition, participants will complete motion analysis, muscle strength tests and postural alignment assessments. The performance task used in the motion analysis protocol is a simple jump from a 12-inch box to the floor. Thi...Unchaperoned examinations risk misconduct allegations
...archers in a letter to this week's BMJ. However, a recent study found that nearly half of male general practitioners never and rarely used chaperones when intimately examining women, while another found only 37% of general practitioners had a chaperoning policy. The authors carried out a survey on patients'...Institute of Medicine news: Review of HIVNET 012 study
...alth. It also did not examine the impact of other recent studies of potential toxicity or resistance buildup associated with the use of nevirapine either in short- or long-term treatment of HIV-infected individuals. Because of inconsistencies in and challenges to previous audits, the committee undertook it...Fifteen-year hunt uncovers gene behind 'pseudothalidomide' syndrome
...m for more than a decade. But others are much more recent developments. For example, the researchers found important genetic changes in part by comparing different species' genetic sequences, most of which were published only within the last four years. "In 1989, we were collecting samples and characterizin...Two drugs combined more cost-effective safer for managing arthritis in high-risk patients
Amid the recent controversy and confusion over serious side effects from pain medications, a new UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System study demonstrates that for arthritis sufferers at high risk for gastrointestinal problems who traditiona...Case finds dental patients agreeable to tobacco interventions
...he issue with their medical provider on their most recent visit. What surprised the investigators was that nearly half (45%) of the respondent were not aware of community resources available to help them quit. According to the investigators, the study was conducted to see whether or not patients coming to t...Blood test can accurately diagnose heart failure in emergency patients
...iovascular disease has been the subject of intense recent study. In 2002, the newest generation of natriuretic peptide assays became available, and soon thereafter the current investigation called the PRIDE study was launched to determine the usefulness of a test for NT-proBNP in evaluating emergency pati...Tissue engineering experts discuss orthopaedics applications
...e in treating medical conditions was revealed at a recent Tissue Engineering Symposium at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The symposium, sponsored by Wake Forest Baptist and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, was part of the society's annu...New recommendation encourages more activist approach to lung cancer screening
...ich leads to unnecessary procedures. However, more recent analyses of the data from those clinical trials show that overdiagnosis of lung cancer was minimal. Moreover, the data demonstrate that virtually all long-term survivors following the diagnosis of lung cancer were those who had undergone complete sur...Exercise may not be good enough to reduce mild hypertension in older people, Hopkins experts say
... and this can lead to heart failure. According to recent statistics from the American Heart Association, in 2002, 65 million Americans have high blood pressure. Normal blood pressure was most recently defined in 2003 by a national advisory committee to the United States Department of Health and Human Serv...Nanotechnology's miniature answers to developing world's biggest problems
...ional, non-renewable contaminating fuels. As well, recent advances in the creation of synthetic nano-membranes embedded with proteins are capable of turning light into chemical energy. "These technologies will help people in developing countries avoid recurrent shortages and price fluctuations that come wi...Few women at risk for breast cancer willing to use drug to prevent the disease
... of reducing the risk of osteoporotic fractures. A recent metanalysis of existing trials calculated a dramatic 38 percent reduction in the incidence of breast cancer in women who used tamoxifen. However, the medication is not without significant side effects, including increased risk of endometrial cancer, ...Rats with migraines provide Jefferson scientists insights to improved drug strategy
...iladelphia, study how migraine treatments work. In recent experiments, the animals provided evidence showing that DHE, a standard drug currently used to treat acute migraine pain can also work against the onset of a phenomenon called "central sensitization," or "allodynia," which involves, as most migraine ...Heart valve ring reverses damage from congestive heart failure, easing symptoms
...m mitral valve repair ring comes on the heels of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine , which found that people who had severely leaky mitral heart valves but no symptoms were five times more likely to die of a heart problem, and six times more likely to have heart failure or som...