http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Brigham and Women's Hospital Twenty percent of American males and 10 percent of American females will experience a kidney stone at some point in their lifetime. Often, these patients will be advised to drink more fluids as a way to prevent future stone formation. Now, new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital finds that some beverages may be more helpful than others when it comes to preventing recurrent kidney stones. In a study published online May 15, 2013 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), researchers report that the consumption of sugar sweetened soda and punch is associated with a higher risk of stone formation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-sugar-sweetened-beverages-kidney-stone.html Health Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:04 EST news287855961 A prospective study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) observed an association between risk of second primary cancer and history of non-melanoma skin cancer in white men and women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cancer-people-history-non-melanoma-skin.html Cancer Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:00:10 EST news285955079 More than three years after the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine mammogram screening for women between the ages of 40 and 49, a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that mammogram rates in the United States have not declined in that age group, or any other. The study results are published in the April 19, 2013 online edition of the journal Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mammogram-decline-controversial-uspstf.html Cancer Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:10:01 EST news285522510 Despite their well-documented benefits, statins, drugs used to lower cholesterol, are commonly discontinued in routine care. Statin discontinuation has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular events and death in patients with coronary artery disease; nevertheless, the reasons for discontinuation are only starting to be explored. In a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers examined the role adverse reactions play in statin discontinuation and found that more than 90 percent of the patients who stopped taking a statin due to an adverse reaction, were able to tolerate it when they tried again. This study is published in the April 2, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-role-adverse-reactions-statin-discontinuation.html Cardiology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:00:01 EST news284034188 Effective health screening and preventive care is known to reduce health care costs and improve health outcomes, yet new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) shows that restrictive Medicaid policies are associated with patients delaying needed medical care due to cost. States and counties with the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility criteria (where individuals must be far below the federal poverty level to qualify for Medicaid) have the highest rates of delayed care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-restrictive-medicaid-eligibility-criteria-higher.html Health Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:00:05 EST news283614939 Hospital readmissions are a costly problem for patients and for the United States health care system with studies showing nearly 20 percent of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge at an annual cost of $17 billion. Preventing avoidable readmissions could result in improved patient care and significant cost savings. In a new model developed at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers help clinicians identify which medical patients are at the greatest risk for potentially avoidable hospital readmissions so extra steps can be taken to keep those patients healthy and out of the hospital. The model is published in the March 25, 2013 online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hospital-readmission.html Health Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:07:02 EST news283450016 In new research published on March 21, 2013 in the online issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) demonstrate that some variants in our genes that contribute to a person's risk for inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, have been the target of natural selection over the course of human history. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-evolution-inflammatory-disease.html Genetics Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:33:24 EST news283095196 According to a new study, the last few meals before surgery might make a difference in recovery after surgery. Fat tissue is one of the most dominant components that make up the body, and fat tissue is always traumatized during major surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-surgery-affect-recovery.html Surgery Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:44:39 EST news283081349 Many middle age and older adults have disabling knee pain due to a tear in the meniscus, an important supporting structure in the knee that is often damaged in patients with underlying knee osteoarthritis. In the United States, more than 450,000 arthroscopic meniscal surgeries are performed each year to treat meniscal tears. However, there is little data available to clinicians who must decide with their patients whether it is best to treat tears with surgery or with physical therapy. Now, new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), suggests that physical therapy (PT) may prove just as effective as surgery for some patients. These findings are presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-surgery-option-meniscal-osteoarthritis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:50:01 EST news282886586 A new and experimental anti-clotting drug, cangrelor, proved better than the commonly used clopidogrel and was significantly more effective at preventing blood clots in a large trial of patients who underwent coronary stent procedures. These data, from the phase III CHAMPION PHOENIX study, were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-anti-clotting-drug-effective-current-treatment.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:21:55 EST news282216106 "Use it or lose it." The saying could apply especially to the brain when it comes to protecting against Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown that keeping the mind active, exercising and social interactions may help delay the onset of dementia in Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-illuminates-molecular-mechanism-environment-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:15 EST news281792627 Last month, the National Institutes of Health announced a new collaborative initiative that aims to accelerate the search for biomarkers—changes in the body that can be used to predict, diagnose or monitor a disease—in Parkinson's disease, in part by improving collaboration among researchers and helping patients get involved in clinical studies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-effort-parkinson-biomarkers.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:41:45 EST news281709697 Quality is a central component of any discussion around health care and one of the key dimensions and measurements of quality care is the patient experience. However, many healthcare organizations struggle to become 'patient focused' and fail to score well on patient satisfaction surveys. New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital, published in the March edition of British Medical Journal Quality and Safety, offers a potential explanation—insufficient support from hospital management to improve the patient experience by engaging physicians and nurses in the process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-patient-satisfaction-chasm.html Health Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:30:05 EST news281356161 Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital are on the brink of the next treatment advancement that may spell relief for the nearly nineteen million adults and seven million children in the United States suffering from asthma. The scientists discovered two new drug targets in the inflammatory response pathway responsible for asthma attacks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-molecule-duty-asthma.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:00:05 EST news281190194 Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm, affecting 2.5 million Americans. If left undetected or untreated, atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke. Determining who is at increased risk for atrial fibrillation has been difficult, especially among individuals without established heart disease. But now, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have devised and tested a simple atrial fibrillation risk prediction model, based on six easily obtained factors: a woman's age, height, weight, blood pressure, alcohol consumption and smoking history. The model is published in the online edition of the European Heart Journal on February 26, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-simple-method-atrial-fibrillation-women.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:00:02 EST news281105202