Thursday, December 31, 2009

Medical News

Medical News


Smoking and alcohol intake linked to severe psoriasis

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Smoking and alcohol intake are independently associated with severe forms of psoriasis, confirm researchers

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Medical News

Medical News


Psychosocial-spiritual factors linked to functional dyspepsia symptoms

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Patients with symptomatic functional dyspepsia are more likely than their asymptomatic counterparts to exhibit increased somatization, more stressful life events, less belief in religion, and less tea consumption, research indicates.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Medical News

Medical News


Risk of suicide persists in first-episode psychosis patients

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

First-episode psychosis (FEP) patients have a high risk for suicide attempt that remains prevalent for at least 7 years and is predicted by previous self-harm, Australian study findings indicate.

Recollection shows endophenotype potential in schizophrenia

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Schizophrenia patients show memory deficits in both familiarity and recollection whereas their parents have deficits only in recollection, the results of a Canadian study indicate.

Prefrontal dysfunction common to ADHD and pediatric bipolar disorder

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pediatric bipolar disorder patients exhibit prefrontal dysfunction, although it is more extensive in the former group, conclude US researchers.

Negative specific memory recall increased with hypomania risk

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Individuals at high risk for bipolar hypomania have increased access to negative specific memories, say UK researchers who suggest that encouraging positive memory recall may benefit bipolar disorder patients.

Schizophrenia gray matter reductions ‘in addition to genetic risk changes’

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Schizophrenia patients have reductions in gray matter volume that occur in addition to those associated with genetic risk for the disorder, say scientists who concede the reasons for the reductions are unclear.

Subthreshold bipolar disorder common in major depression

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Major depressive disorder is a heterogeneous disorder that contains a substantial proportion of patients with clinically significant subthreshold bipolar disorder, study results indicate.

Apathy linked to poor functioning in first-episode psychosis

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Poor functioning in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) is associated with the negative subsyndrome of apathy, say researchers who recommend including negative symptoms in early detection strategies.

Left amygdala response to facial emotion highlights bipolar depression

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Increased left amygdala activity in response to mild sad and neutral faces appears to be a marker for depression in bipolar disorder but not major depressive disorder (MDD), concludes a team of international scientists.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Medical News

Medical News


Pediatric psoriasis increases with increasing age

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

The incidence of pediatric psoriasis has increased over recent years, say researchers whose study also refutes the hypothesis that there is a dual peak in psoriasis incidence.

High-dose 3DCRT well tolerated by prostate cancer patients

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

A long-term follow-up study of prostate cancer patients in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9406 study found that tolerance to high-dose 3DCRT remained excellent for up to 12 years.

Claustrophobia hinders uptake of MR breast cancer screening by high risk women

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Claustrophobia is preventing a lot of women at high risk for breast cancer from undergoing supplemental magnetic resonance imaging, researchers report.

Radiation and surgery for prostate cancer result in similar QoL ‘utility’ scores

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy have similar quality of life utility scores 1 year after treatment as their peers receiving radiation therapy, despite having different symptom profiles, study findings show.

Novel risk stratification tool effective at selecting prostate cancer patients at risk for BM

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Italian researchers have used a novel risk stratification tool to successfully evaluate which newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients require bone scans to detect potential bone metastasis.

CY and DOX enhance bioactivity of GM-CSF–secreting breast tumor vaccine

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Low-dose cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin may augment vaccine-induced HER2-specific immunity in breast cancer patients, say researchers.

Biochemical response key to determining benefit of neoadjuvant ADT

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Biochemical response to neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy before radiotherapy is a more critical determinant of prostate cancer patient outcome than total duration of therapy, report researchers.

Being underweight increases breast cancer recurrence and death

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Underweight breast cancer patients are at increased risk for poor overall survival and shorter time to recurrence, report researchers.

Hypofractionated RT and adjuvant AST is well tolerated in prostate cancer patients

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

High-risk prostate cancer patients treated with large doses of intensity-modulated radiotherapy and androgen suppression therapy show no signs of long-term acute toxicity, researchers report.

CAPRA score and Stephenson nomogram superior for predicting biochemical recurrence

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Both the Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment score and Stephenson nomogram outperform the D'Amico risk stratification for predicting biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy, say researchers.

<i>ERCC4</i> SNP does not modify breast cancer risk in <i>BRCA1/2</i> mutation carriers

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Contrary to previous general population studies, a single nucleotide polymorphism in intron 1 of the ERCC4 gene does not reduce breast cancer risk in women carrying the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, report researchers.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Medical News

Medical News


Volumetric capnography no better than time-based methods for excluding PE

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Volume-based capnographic parameters do not appear to improve the performance of the more readily obtained alveolar deadspace fraction for exclusion of suspected pulmonary embolism in outpatients with positive D-dimer test results, research shows.

Neuroprotective effect of statins ‘negligible’

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Preoperative statin use among people undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery has little impact on the postoperative risk for stroke or encephalopathy, clinical research suggests.

Socioeconomic status linked to asthma control

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

People with a low socioeconomic status (SES), as measured according to education level, tend to have poorer asthma control than those with a higher SES, research shows.

COPD increases risk for subclinical LV dysfunction

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

The presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an increased risk for subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in vascular surgery patients, study results show.

Healthy diet counteracts air pollution effects in asthmatic children

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

closely to the Mediterranean diet helps protect the lung health of asthmatic children exposed to air pollution, research shows.

Prefrontal dysfunction common to ADHD and pediatric bipolar disorder

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pediatric bipolar disorder patients exhibit prefrontal dysfunction, although it is more extensive in the former group, conclude US researchers.

Risk of suicide persists in first-episode psychosis patients

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

First-episode psychosis (FEP) patients have a high risk for suicide attempt that remains prevalent for at least 7 years and is predicted by previous self-harm, Australian study findings indicate.

Recollection shows endophenotype potential in schizophrenia

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Schizophrenia patients show memory deficits in both familiarity and recollection whereas their parents have deficits only in recollection, the results of a Canadian study indicate.

Negative specific memory recall increased with hypomania risk

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Individuals at high risk for bipolar hypomania have increased access to negative specific memories, say UK researchers who suggest that encouraging positive memory recall may benefit bipolar disorder patients.

High-dose 3DCRT well tolerated by prostate cancer patients

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

A long-term follow-up study of prostate cancer patients in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9406 study found that tolerance to high-dose 3DCRT remained excellent for up to 12 years.

Claustrophobia hinders uptake of MR breast cancer screening by high risk women

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Claustrophobia is preventing a lot of women at high risk for breast cancer from undergoing supplemental magnetic resonance imaging, researchers report.

Large, rare chromosomal deletions linked to severe early-onset obesity

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Large, rare chromosomal deletions contribute significantly to the genetic element of severe obesity, say researchers.

CAS enhances statin effects on contralateral plaque stability in bilateral carotid stenosis

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Ipsilateral carotid artery stenting combined with intensive atorvastatin therapy is associated with enhanced contralateral plaque stability compared with atorvastatin therapy alone in patients with bilateral carotid stenosis, a Greek study has found.

Beta cell failure is main determinant of impaired glucose tolerance

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Progressive loss of beta cell function is the main determinant of progression from normal glucose tolerance to impaired glucose tolerance, a US study has found.

Stevioside inhibits artherosclerosis in obese insulin-resistant mice

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

A Belgian study has found that the natural sweetner stevioside reduces atherosclerosis in obese insulin-resistant mice.

Non-adherence partly explains clopidogrel ‘resistance’ in CAD, stroke

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Non-adherence to clopidogrel can be reliably assessed through measurement of its inactive carboxyl metabolite, say researchers who found this biomarker correlated with inhibition of platelet aggregation.

Combined exercise test improves CV mortality prediction

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Combined exercise assessment of heart rate recovery and T-wave alternans is a powerful predictor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a low-risk population, study results show.

CY and DOX enhance bioactivity of GM-CSF–secreting breast tumor vaccine

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Low-dose cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin may augment vaccine-induced HER2-specific immunity in breast cancer patients, say researchers.

Radiation and surgery for prostate cancer result in similar QoL ‘utility’ scores

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy have similar quality of life utility scores 1 year after treatment as their peers receiving radiation therapy, despite having different symptom profiles, study findings show.

Novel risk stratification tool effective at selecting prostate cancer patients at risk for BM

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Italian researchers have used a novel risk stratification tool to successfully evaluate which newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients require bone scans to detect potential bone metastasis.

Preliminary study supports vascular benefit of PDE5 inhibition

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Administration of the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil citrate is associated with a reduction in oxidative stress and increased serum levels of paraoxonase-1, Turkish researchers have shown.

Sirt1 promising new anti-obesity target

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Researchers have confirmed that the deacetylase Sirt1 plays an important role in regulating food intake and body weight in animals and could, therefore, be a novel anti-obesity target in humans.

Intravitreal corticosteroids show early promise for diabetic retinopathy

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Intravitreal injections of the corticosteroid triamcinolone may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy in people with macular edema, a clinical trial has found.

Diabetic retinopathy linked to visceral fat accumulation, insulin resistance

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Diabetic retinopathy is associated with visceral fat accumulation and insulin resistance in patients with Type 2 diabetes, study results show.

Blood pressure increases in normal range raise HF risk

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

An increase in systolic blood pressure within the clinically normal range can increase the risk for heart failure, say researchers who found a linear relationship between normotensive SBP and HF risk.

Annual coronary calcification questioned as end-point for CVD

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Annual change in coronary artery calcification does not appear to be a suitable surrogate end point for treatment trials in patients with cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease, results of a systematic review published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest.