http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a study, presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), researchers obtained and compared the hospital purchasing records from 45 academic medical centers on the unit costs and volume of spinal products – pedicle screws (PS), anterior cervical plates (ACP) and posterior interbody cages – purchased from a total of seven vendors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-highlights-variations-spinal-component.html Surgery Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:00:02 EST news283106856 (HealthDay)—Adults with high out-of-pocket health care expenditures experience considerable anxiety and debt problems, as well as disruption in their medical care, according to research published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-benefit-liability-anxiety-debt.html Health Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:10:01 EST news277994508 (HealthDay)—Some research has suggested that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil can help prevent an irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation. However, a new study finds these supplements have little effect on the condition once it develops. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fish-oil-supplements-wont-irregular.html Cardiology Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:40:01 EST news275290717 A national study of older Americans shows those who have limited mobility and low physical activity – scientifically categorized as "frail" – are five times more likely to report that they often don't have enough to eat, defined as "food insufficiency," than older adults who were not frail. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-older-adults-frail-food-insufficient.html Health Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:31:34 EST news271355486 The aging of the U.S. population will have broad economic consequences for the country, particularly for federal programs that support the elderly, and its long-term effects on all generations will be mediated by how—and how quickly—the nation responds, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. The unprecedented demographic shift in which people over age 65 make up an increasingly large percentage of the population is not a temporary phenomenon associated with the aging of the baby boom generation, but a pervasive trend that is here to stay. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-population-aging-long-term-implications-economy.html Health Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:11:49 EST news267804692 A study suggests bariatric surgery to treat obesity was not associated with reduced health care expenditures three years after the procedure in a group of predominantly older men, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-health-care-expenditures-bariatric-surgery.html Surgery Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:00:17 EST news261673112 The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) today unveiled a high value, cost-conscious care curriculum to help train internal medicine residents about how to avoid overuse and misuse of tests and treatments that do not improve outcomes and may cause harms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-curriculum-internal-medicine-residents-high.html Health Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:51:59 EST news261157910 In an analysis of three different types of radiation therapy used to treat localized prostate cancer, compared with conformal radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) was associated with fewer diagnoses of gastrointestinal adverse effects, hip fractures, and receipt of additional cancer treatments but more erectile dysfunction, while proton therapy was associated with more gastrointestinal adverse effects than IMRT, according to a study in the April 18 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on comparative effectiveness research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-adverse-effects-therapies-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:48:19 EST news253878493 A new data network that integrates emerging research on the molecular makeup of diseases with clinical data on individual patients could drive the development of a more accurate classification of disease and ultimately enhance diagnosis and treatment, says a new report from the National Research Council. The "new taxonomy" that emerges would define diseases by their underlying molecular causes and other factors in addition to their traditional physical signs and symptoms. The report adds that the new data network could also improve biomedical research by enabling scientists to access patients' information during treatment while still protecting their rights. This would allow the marriage of molecular research and clinical data at the point of care, as opposed to research information continuing to reside primarily in academia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-creation-biomedical-patient-network-accurate.html Other Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:49:19 EST news239449749