Author: Marie Benz MD FAAD

05 Oct Calorific controversy for intensive care patients

Posted at 00:19h in General Medicine

Patients who are fed more calories while in intensive care have lower mortality rates than those who receive less of their daily-prescribed calories, according to a recent study of data from the largest critical care nutrition database in the world. “Our finding is significant as there have been a number of...

22 Sep Study reveals rise in prostate biopsy complications

Posted at 16:31h in Prostate Cancer

In a study of complication rates following prostate biopsy among Medicare beneficiaries, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a significant rise in serious complications requiring hospitalization. The researchers found that this common outpatient procedure, used to diagnose prostate cancer, was associated with a 6.9 percent rate of hospitalization within 30 days...

22 Sep Cellular origin of a rare form of breast cancer identified

Posted at 16:28h in Breast Cancer, Nature, PNAS

BOSTON (September 22, 2011) -- Identifying the cellular origins of breast cancer might lead to earlier diagnosis and more efficient management of the disease. New research led by Charlotte Kuperwasser of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) has determined that common forms of breast cancer originate from breast cells known...

21 Sep A gene for Lou Gehrig’s disease and frontotemporal dementia identified

Posted at 20:09h in ALS, Mayo Clinic, Neurological Disorders, UCSF

Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- two fatal neurodegenerative disease with distinct symptoms -- are triggered by a common mutation in many cases, according to researchers who say they have identified the mutated gene. In the study, reported in the September 21 online issue...

21 Sep Study finds genetic ‘overlap’ between schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Posted at 20:05h in Bipolar Disorder, Genetic Research, Mental Health Research, Nature, Schizophrenia

Knowledge about the biological origin of diseases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions is critical to improving diagnosis and treatment. In an effort to push the field forward, three UCLA researchers, along with scientists from more than 20 countries, have been taking part in one of the largest collaborative...

21 Sep Studying how to stop breast cancers from coming back

Posted at 19:49h in Breast Cancer

Medical researchers at the University of Leeds have come a step closer to understanding how to stop breast cancers from coming back. Their findings, published in the International Journal of Cancer, suggest that some novel drugs that are being developed to tackle other cancers should be considered as a future treatment...

19 Sep More immigrant women are getting mammograms now than a decade ago.

Posted at 20:38h in Breast Cancer, Mammograms, Medical Imaging

Fewer immigrant women receive mammograms than native-born American women, according to Penn State researchers, who note that more immigrant women are getting mammograms now than a decade ago. "Lack of access to health care persistently contributes to mammography screening disparities among immigrants," said Nengliang Aaron Yao, graduate student in health policy...

19 Sep New imaging technique visualizes cancer during surgery

Posted at 20:19h in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer that affect women. As tumors can initially grow unchecked in the abdomen without causing any major symptoms, patients are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and have to undergo surgery plus chemotherapy. During the operation, surgeons attempt to remove...

14 Sep Depression and pain increase fatigue in breast cancer survivors

Posted at 23:43h in Breast Cancer

In Spain, 5-year survival following breast cancer diagnosis is more than 83%. Around 66% suffer fatigue following treatment. A Spanish research establishes the factors associated with tiredness in cancer survivors to improve their quality of life and rehabilitation. "Cancer-related fatigue is the symptom that most limits quality of life and is...

13 Sep Study showed Flu vaccines for nursing home workers effective in reducing outbreaks

Posted at 00:21h in Flu - Influenza

Eurekalert Sept 12 2011 Higher flu vaccination rates for health care personnel can dramatically reduce the threat of flu outbreak among nursing home residents, according to a study published in the October issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The study, which...

13 Sep Study: Gene therapy causes breast cancer stem cells to self-destruct

Posted at 00:12h in Breast Cancer, MD Anderson

Targeted agent avoids healthy cells, blocks proteins that prevent cell death in tumors HOUSTON -- Gene therapy delivered directly to a particularly stubborn type of breast cancer cell causes the cells to self-destruct, lowers chance of recurrence and helps increase the effectiveness of some types of chemotherapy, researchers at The University...

09 Sep Genomic analysis of superbug provides clues to antibiotic resistance

Posted at 22:46h in Antibiotic Resistance, Baylor College of Medicine Houston

HOUSTON - (Sept. 7, 2011) - An analysis of the genome of a superbug has yielded crucial, novel information that could aid efforts to counteract the bacterium’s resistance to an antibiotic of last resort. The results of the research led by scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center...

08 Sep Study: Chemotherapy is as effective before breast cancer surgery as after

Posted at 23:49h in Breast Cancer

Approach may help some women avoid mastectomy San Francisco, CA - Whether chemotherapy is given before or after breast-conserving therapy (BCT) does not have an impact on long-term local-regional outcomes, suggesting treatment success is due more to biologic factors than chemotherapy timing, according to a study by researchers at The University...

08 Sep Inexpensive Infection Control Reduces Hospital Mortality and Costs

Posted at 14:36h in Hospital Acquired

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – At any given time, one of every 20 hospital patients has a hospital-acquired infection, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This leads to an estimated 99,000 deaths in the U.S. each year and up to $33 billion in preventable health...

08 Sep Study finds Insomnia affects 40% of Adult Canadians

Posted at 14:30h in Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders affect 40 percent of Canadians Quebec City, September 8, 2011—Sleep disorders affect 40% of adult Canadians according to a study conducted by Université Laval researchers under the supervision of Dr. Charles M. Morin. The work of Dr. Morin and his colleagues will be presented at the 4th World Congress...

08 Sep Intensive Medical Therapy vs Stent Angioplasty for Stoke : Which is Better?

Posted at 14:26h in AHA Journals, Stroke

Aggressive medical therapy could help prevent stroke To prevent a common type of stroke, intensive medical therapy could be better by itself than in combination with surgery that props open affected arteries. But it remains to be seen whether the apparent advantage will prove true over the long term. The findings, from...

08 Sep Aerobic exercise may reduce the risk of dementia

Posted at 10:56h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Exercise - Fitness, Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Any exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementia and slow the condition's progression once it starts, reported a Mayo Clinic study published this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers examined the role of aerobic exercise in preserving cognitive abilities and concluded that...

05 Sep Living with a smoker increases absenteeism in school children

Posted at 17:26h in Pediatrics, Smoking, Tobacco Research

Children who live in households where they are exposed to tobacco smoke miss more days of school than do children living in smoke-free homes, a new nationwide study confirms. The report from investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) – which finds these children have higher rates of respiratory illnesses that...

05 Sep Researchers report distinct features of Autistic brain in novel analysis of MRI scans

Posted at 17:21h in Autism, Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. - Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have used a novel method for analyzing brain-scan data to distinguish children with autism from typically developing children. Their discovery reveals that the gray matter in a network of brain regions known to affect...

05 Sep Gene that predisposes people to leukemia discovered

Posted at 17:13h in Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Nature

Those at risk because of family history may soon obtain tests to detect the genetic error before symptoms emerge A new genetic defect that predisposes people to acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia has been discovered. The mutations were found in the GATA2 gene. Among its several regulatory roles, the gene acts...

02 Sep Key function of mutation in BRCA1 gene discovered

Posted at 00:21h in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Ovarian Cancer

Richmond, Va. (September 1, 2011) –It is widely known that mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility 1 (BRCA1) gene significantly increase the chance of developing breast and ovarian cancers, but the mechanisms at play are not fully understood. Now, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have shown that...

27 Aug HIV Virus Infection Rates Are on the Rise

Posted at 19:13h in HIV, Infections

Since HIV infection rates began to rise again around 2000, researchers have been grasping for answers on what could be causing this change, especially in the homosexual community. The rising numbers are a stark contrast to the 1990's, when infection rates dropped due to increased awareness of the virus. A...

27 Aug Why Influenza B Virus Exclusively Infects Humans

Posted at 19:07h in Flu - Influenza

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Researchers at Rutgers University and the University of Texas at Austin have reported a discovery that could help scientists develop drugs to fight seasonal influenza epidemics caused by the common influenza B strain. Their discovery also helps explain how influenza B is limited to humans, and why...

19 Aug PET scans confirm effectiveness of estrogen-blocking drugs in breast cancer patients

Posted at 23:47h in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Radiology

SEATTLE – For the first time, researchers at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance have demonstrated the feasibility of using serial positron emission tomography (PET) scans, using a special estrogen-containing isotope, to confirm the relative effectiveness of estrogen-blocking and estrogen-depleting therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The results of the research...

16 Aug Pegloticase aids gout patients not helped by standard treatments

Posted at 23:09h in Gout, JAMA

Injections of pegloticase, a modified porcine enzyme, can produce significant and sustained clinical improvements in 2 out of 5 patients with chronic gout that is resistant to conventional therapies, researchers report in the August 17, 2011, issue of JAMA. In two controlled clinical trials, pegloticase rapidly lowered high levels of uric...

16 Aug Breast Feeding & Breast Cancer in African-American women

Posted at 22:47h in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research

Investigators from the Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have reported findings that may shed light on why African American women have a disproportionately higher risk of developing more aggressive and difficult-to-treat breast cancers, specifically estrogen and progesterone receptor negative (ER-/PR-) cancers. The study, which appears online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &...

16 Aug Vitamin D and protection against the Advance of Colon Cancer

Posted at 22:36h in Colon Cancer, PLoS, Vitamin D

A study conducted by VHIO researchers confirms that a lack of vitamin D increases the aggressiveness of colon cancer The indication that vitamin D and its derivatives have a protective effect against various types of cancer is not new. In the field of colon cancer, numerous experimental and epidemiological studies show...

16 Aug Zinc Lozenges and Common Cold Duration

Posted at 22:24h in Author Interviews

Depending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition of lozenges, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, says Dr. Harri Hemila from the University of Helsinki. For treating the common cold, zinc lozenges are dissolved slowly in the mouth. Interest in zinc...

11 Aug BI C. difficile strain found common in Chicago hospitals

Posted at 21:51h in C. difficile, Hospital Acquired

An outbreak strain of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, is common in Chicago-area acute care hospitals, an investigation published in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology suggests. In response to Illinois Department of Public Health reports of rising rates...

11 Aug Team reports genetic sequences most common bladder cancer

Posted at 21:45h in Cancer Research, Nature

August 11, 2011 (Aurora, CO)--In an article published online this week in Nature Genetics, a University of Colorado Cancer Center team in partnership with universities in China and Denmark. Recognizing the genetic mutations that make bladder cancer cells different than their healthy neighbors may allow early genetic screenings for cancer and...