http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Free and equal access to medical treatment has been a staple of the Danish welfare state, but more and more Danes express the view that people treated for lifestyle diseases like smoker's lungs or obesity should pay for their own treatment – as these patients are thought to be responsible for their own medical conditions. The logic behind this view is, however, dubious, says PhD Martin Marchman Andersen from the University of Copenhagen. In a new thesis, he shows how difficult it is to defend the claim that people are responsible for their health and that it is very unclear what they should be held cost-responsible for. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-hard-personally-financially-responsible-health.html Health Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:22:12 EST news290773325 Data presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrate that indicators of depression are stronger predictors of work disability in early arthritis than disease activity or response to therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-depression-indicators-disabilty-disease-response.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:51:14 EST news290317867 Researchers from the Pasteur Institute, Lille, France have shown in a mouse model that interleukin-22 protects against bacterial superinfections that can arise following influenza. Their research is published in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Virology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-interleukin-post-influenza-bacterial-superinfection.html Medical research Thu, 30 May 2013 11:00:05 EST news289130388 (Medical Xpress)—Toddlers living in socially-deprived areas are at the greatest risk of suffering a scald in the home, researchers at The University of Nottingham have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-toddlers-socially-deprived-homes-scalds.html Health Thu, 09 May 2013 05:54:58 EST news287297690 Giving patients better access to primary health care could save nearly $4 billion a year in unnecessary emergency room visits for a single common complaint – urinary tract infections – according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-er-urinary-tract-infections-billion.html Health Mon, 06 May 2013 13:30:01 EST news287057228 A relatively common urinary tract disorder that can usually be managed in an outpatient setting is adding an estimated $238 million a year to the cost of emergency room visits in the U.S., according to two new studies from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-diagnosis-treatment-common-outpatient-disorder.html Health Sun, 05 May 2013 07:10:06 EST news286952417 A new report prepared in collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, is the first to describe in detail the epidemiology, burden, and treatment of osteoporosis in all 27 member states of the European Union (EU27). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-osteoporosis-eu-countries-billion-year.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:51:53 EST news285396706 The monetary cost of dementia in the United States ranges from $157 billion to $215 billion annually, making the disease more costly to the nation than either heart disease or cancer, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-dementia-heart-disease-cancer.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:00:07 EST news284226742 Home hot water heater temperatures are too high, warns a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Despite the adoption of voluntary standards by manufacturers to preset hot water heater temperature settings below the recommended safety standard of 120°F, temperatures remain dangerously high for a significant proportion of homes, presenting a scald hazard for young children and the elderly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-home-hot-temperatures-hazard-young.html Health Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:56:44 EST news283697707 If you, or someone close to you suffers from migraine, you'll know it is much more than your average headache – migraine is a debilitating disorder that can even affect your sight and speech. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-aremigraines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:10:13 EST news282470999 Antibiotic resistance "has the potential to undermine modern health systems," argue health economists Richard Smith and Joanna Coast on bmj.com today. They believe that an increase in resistant organisms coupled with a big fall in the number of new antimicrobial drugs "suggests an apocalyptic scenario may be looming." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-antibiotic-resistance-potential-undermine-modern.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:59:09 EST news282225543 (HealthDay)—The total cost of diabetes in the United States jumped from $174 billion in 2007 to $245 billion in 2012, a new report shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-diabetes-climbing.html Diabetes Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:50:01 EST news281804522 New studies revealed today by Latin American researchers and global health leaders suggest that the highest burden of deadly pneumococcal disease in Latin America may be shifting to adults as countries successfully immunize more infants with new vaccines. The experts called for increased disease monitoring and more surveillance to understand the full extent of pneumococcal disease in the Americas, including its economic impact, and to devise effective strategies to prevent it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-potential-shift-burden-pneumococcal-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:00:01 EST news281709953 People with disabilities are at a greater risk of being the victims of violence and of suffering mental ill health when victimized, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Hind Khalifeh and colleagues from University College London and King's College London. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-people-disabilities-greater-violence-subsequent.html Health Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:00:05 EST news280601722 Today, The Lancet Infectious Diseases published a new report that examines the global economic burden of Chagas disease. In the first study of its kind, researchers measured the health and economic impact of Chagas disease and found that the total economic burden of Chagas disease matches or exceeds that of many more well-known diseases such as rotavirus, Lyme disease and cervical cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-highlights-chagas-disease-health-socio-economic.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:30:03 EST news279472375 Researchers have identified a previously unknown critical role for a recently identified immune cell population in the progression of atopic dermatitis. The team found an accumulation of innate lymphoid cells in the active lesions of patients with atopic dermatitis, and in mice, they showed that ILCs contribute to disease progression. These studies suggest innate lymphoid cells may be a new therapeutic target in treating the development and severity of atopic dermatitis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-eczema-immune-cells-therapeutic.html Immunology Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:00:02 EST news278766291 Most strikingly, the study finds that in several countries in western Europe there are too few radiotherapy machines to ensure that cancer patients in need of radiotherapy receive treatment. For instance, in Italy around 16% of need is unmet, in Portugal 19%, Austria 20%, and the UK and Germany 21%. However, the authors caution that these apparent gaps in treatment supply may be compensated by more efficient organisation of radiotherapy provision. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-reveals-gaps-availability-radiotherapy-europe.html Cancer Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:30:03 EST news278184131 New research appearing online today in Clinical Chemistry, the journal of AACC, shows that a handheld mobile device can check patients' HIV status with just a finger prick, and synchronize the results in real time with electronic health records. This technology takes a step toward providing remote areas of the world with diagnostic services traditionally available only in centralized healthcare settings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-handheld-mobile-device-laboratory-quality-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:30:18 EST news277979366 A pioneering rehabilitation system has been developed, with the aim of improving the quality of life of those suffering from brain damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-victims.html Health Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:35:16 EST news277108509 (HealthDay)—The financial burden of caring for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) in the United Kingdom is twice that of caring for patients without CLBP, according to a study published in the Jan. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-pain-uk-substantial.html Health Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:50:01 EST news276442371 The study, published in PLOS Genetics on 20 December, adds to growing evidence that particular genes are involved in chronic pain and highlights this pathway as a potential target for more effective pain relief treatments for patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genetic-differences-sensitivity-pain.html Genetics Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:00:06 EST news275244800 The annual economic burden of pediatric caustic ingestion injuries was estimated at nearly $23 million with an estimated prevalence of injuries requiring hospitalization for 807 children in 2009, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-prevalence-pediatric-caustic-ingestion-injuries.html Surgery Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:00:05 EST news274966860 European researchers have published a study which analyses the health economics of increased dairy foods and related reduction in risk of osteoporotic fractures in the population aged over 50. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-health-economic-benefits-boosting-dietary-calcium.html Health Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:00:01 EST news271956063 The statistics show that efforts to reduce heart disease deaths are successful, with mortality now falling in most of the continent. At the same time, the report shows the huge burden CVD presents to Europe's health, and suggests that underlying factors may cause CVD to increase in the near future. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-world-heart-day-european-statistics.html Cardiology Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:34:41 EST news268115672 New studies that reveal for the first time the real economic and human costs of caring for cancer patients in Europe will be presented during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-true-cancer-europe-revealed.html Cancer Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:53:02 EST news268037575 (HealthDay)—For individuals with back and neck conditions, costs have increased in the last decade, with the main increase due to rising medical specialist costs, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-neck-conditions.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:40:02 EST news266600340 Hospitalizations for children with high blood pressure and related charges dramatically increased during 10 years ending in 2006, according to a study published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-hospitalizations-higher-kids-high-blood.html Cardiology Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:00:05 EST news259249500 Researchers at the European Congress of Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis in Bordeaux have presented new data* which shows that the economic burden of fragility fractures in the 27 member states of the European Union far exceeds previous estimates, with hip fractures accounting for around 55% of costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-quantifies-enormous-fragility-fractures-europe.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:28:57 EST news251717330 An extensive study of country-specific risk of hip fracture and 10-year probability of a major fragility fracture has revealed a remarkably large geographic variation in fracture risk. Even accounting for possible errors or limitations in the source data, there was an astonishing 10-fold variation in hip fracture risk and fracture probability between countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-vast-geographic-variation-hip-fracture.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:25:09 EST news251540660 Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and his wife are to give $220 million over five years to the non-profit biotech firm Aeras to develop vaccines to fight tuberculosis, a company statement said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gates-foundation-mln-tb.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:20:01 EST news251006904