Cognitive therapy works as well as antidepressants, but with lasting effect after therapy ends
...debate on the relative merits of cognitive therapy versus medication for more severe forms of depression, is the largest trial yet undertaken on the topic; it involved 240 depressed patients. The patients were randomly placed into groups that received cognitive therapy, antidepressant medication or a placeb...Study examines effectiveness of anti-anemia drug in treatment of cancer patients
.... The trials had compared erythropoietin treatment versus no treatment in a total of 3,287 adult cancer patients. The likelihood of needing a blood transfusion was lower in patients who received erythropoietin treatment than in those who did not. Erythropoietin-treated patients with very low baseline hemogl...Less cognitive impairment seen in women taking drug for osteoporosis
...ia: about 1 percent per year for unimpaired people versus 10 to 15 percent for those with MCI. For this reason, says Yaffe, it is important that additional studies should be conducted on the potential of raloxifene and other selective estrogen receptor modulators to prevent cognitive impairment, particularl...Hormonal birth control, bacterial infections in women linked to increased shedding of type-2 herpes
...of contraceptive (such as oral birth control pills versus injectable Depo-Provera) affects shedding frequency. The novel finding that some vaginal bacterial infections are also linked to a higher frequency of HSV-2 shedding could be important in controlling the spread of HSV-2. "BV is an infection that is r...Study: Level I trauma centers boost head injury survival
...rural hospitals and transferred to level I centers versus those transferred to level II centers." The results of the study do not suggest that all patients should be transferred to level I centers instead of level II centers, or that level II centers need to be upgraded to level I centers, McConnell emphasi...Competition in health care may not result in better quality
...and evaluate the benefits and costs of competitive versus regulatory policies. "The health care environment is complicated and multi-layered, and perhaps the most effective change may require a mix of approaches involving competition and regulation to ensure patient safety and quality of care. For example, ...Institute of Medicine news: Review of HIVNET 012 study
...adverse events among patients receiving nevirapine versus those receiving zidovudine, a second AIDS drug that also was studied in HIVNET 012. The trial investigators' comparative findings on safety are valid, the committee said. Questions in previous audits about whether any adverse events had been missed ...Liver may be source of 'good' cholesterol
...sease in mice that cannot produce HDL in the liver versus mice that cannot produce it in the vessel walls," said Parks. Parks' colleagues on the current research are from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and the University of Maryland ...Data show cyclosporine inhalation solution improves long-term survival in lung-transplant patients
...yIS-treated patients remained significantly higher versus placebo-treated patients (log-rank p=.017). Estimated four-year survival was 84 percent in CyIS-treated subjects compared to 56 percent in placebo-treated subjects. The estimated hazard ratio (CyIS/placebo) of 0.31 corresponds with a 69 percent reduc...Certain weight control behaviors may precipitate obesity among adolescent girls
...n four times at risk for becoming obese themselves versus their peers who reported not having obese parents. This was the case for both biological and non-biological parents giving evidence that it may be a combination of genetics and environmental factors that predict obesity. Interestingly, the weight-con...ACHRI study finds CellCept improves survival in pediatric heart transplant patients
...se treated with CellCept (63% of CellCept patients versus 53% of AZA patients). The study also determined that the one-year survival rate was significantly better in CellCept patients (96%), compared to only 87% of the AZA patients. "It's reassuring to see that, based on this research, the benefits of thi...University of Kentucky physician publishes fibromyalgia study in Arthritis & Rheumatism journal
...ly greater proportion of patients receiving Lyrica versus placebo (48 percent versus 27 percent) experienced a clinically meaningful reduction of pain, as defined by a 30 percent or gre...Study challenges current treatment for mild asthma
... other and a placebo, but also tested intermittent versus continual medication, since those in the placebo group ended up taking the anti-inflammatory mediations only during flare ups. All three groups experienced about the same degree of relief, the researchers report. All those enrolled in the study were ...Alcohol magnifies the rewarding effects of smoking, even for light smokers
...king urge ratings were higher after consuming four versus two alcohol drinks, and increases were not observe...ar smokers. We will also look at responses in men versus women, to see if gender differences exist. Finally, we have plans this year to study actual smoking...Number and quality of kidney transplants much greater if national matching program adopted
...national optimized algorithm (14.1 percent matched versus 2.3 percent). Furthermore, the results show that optimization would dramatically reduce the number of pairs required to travel (2.9 percent vs. 18.4 percent). Another benefit of a national KPD model is that patients and doctors will be able to choos...The Cochrane Library newsletter, 2005, issue 2
...ng a choice." Review title: Robinson et al: Manual versus powered tooth brushing for oral health. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005 Issue 2....Combination chemotherapy shows small survival benefit in advanced stomach cancer
...l rates among 1,338 patients receiving combination versus single-drug care, they found that half the patient...ificant and consistent benefit for the combination versus single agent therapy in terms of over overall survival," the reviewers conclude. For those whom the ...No improvement in overall survival with lymph node removal in treatment of advanced ovarian cancer
...o longer in the lymphadenectomy group (29.4 months versus 22.4 months). However, the 5-year overall survival rate and the median overall survival duration were similar in both groups. In addition, compared with the group that did not have lymphadenectomy, women who were treated with lymphadenectomy had a lo...Data suggest bypass surgery free of long-term brain effects
... attributable to the use of cardiopulmonary bypass versus cognitive decline due to pre-existing vascular disease of the brain," said Selnes. "Just about everyone agrees that some patients do suffer cognitive decline after CABG, but almost nobody agrees on how serious this decline is, and how long it lasts."...American Academy of Neurology sums up scientific highlights from 57th annual meeting
...l cord injury. It reduced pain by about 25 percent versus placebo. Its effects were seen within one week, and lasted for the full 12 weeks of the study. [S49.001] Epilepsy Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is difficult to treat with standard medications. Researchers in Ma...