http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study shows a mind-body class elective for medical students helps increase their self-compassion and ability to manage thoughts and tasks more effectively. The study, published in Medical Education Online, also discusses how this innovative course may help medical students better manage stress and feel more empowered to use mind-body skills with their patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-positive-impact-mind-body-well-being-medical.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 01 May 2013 16:20:01 EST news286643246 Nearly half of all pregnant women in Australia consult a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner for pregnancy-related health conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-pregnant-women-alternative.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:13:10 EST news277715514 Cancer and stress go hand-in-hand, and high stress levels can lead to poorer health outcomes in cancer patients. The Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine combined creative art therapy with a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for women with breast cancer and showed changes in brain activity associated with lower stress and anxiety after the eight-week program. Their new study appears in the December issue of the journal Stress and Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-art-therapy-brain-anxiety.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:25:18 EST news273432311 Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium's hand. The new research revealed intriguing findings of decreased brain activity during mediumistic dissociative state which generated complex written content. Their findings will appear in the November 16th edition of the online journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-brazilian-mediums-brain-trance-state.html Neuroscience Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:00:01 EST news272274780 Individuals who do not obtain recommended intake levels of calcium through dietary sources can safely utilize calcium supplements to achieve optimal bone health, an expert panel concludes. These findings appear in the November online edition of Advances in Nutrition, a journal that highlights the significance of recent research in nutrition and illustrates the central role of nutrition in the promotion of health and prevention of disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-calcium-supplements-valuable-tool-bone.html Health Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:36:59 EST news272198206 Healing touch combined with guided imagery (HT+GI) provides significant clinical reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for combat-exposed active duty military, according to a study released in the September issue of Military Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-ptsd-symptoms-combat-exposed-military-medicine.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:37:48 EST news267698257 Compounds in cocoa may help to reduce blood pressure, according to a new systematic review in The Cochrane Library. The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-cocoa-compounds-blood-pressure.html Health Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:00:04 EST news264166490 According to a small clinical trial reported by investigators from Japan, acupuncture appears to be associated with improvement of dyspnea (labored breathing) on exertion, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-acupuncture-linked-patients-chronic-obstructive.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:04 EST news256209098 A recent study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has found that female cancer survivors receiving screening mammography have "worse health behaviors" than women receiving mammography screening and who had never had cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-female-cancer-survivors-worse-health.html Cancer Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:10:23 EST news248537415 Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used to ease pain, treat disease, boost fertility, and prevent miscarriage. Known in the Western medical community by its acronym TCM, these traditional remedies include herbal preparations and acupuncture. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that a combination of TCM therapy and intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a winning solution for hopeful mommies who are having trouble conceiving. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-traditional-chinese-medicine-fertility-treatments.html Other Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:57:54 EST news245336069 Soy has recently been reviewed and supported for introduction into general medical practice as a treatment for distressing vasomotor symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, but its use in other medical areas, such as heart health, requires further research, according to a new report reviewing the risks and benefits of soy protein, isoflavones and metabolites in menopausal health from The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)/Wulf H. Utian Translational Science Symposium, published in the July Menopause, the peer-reviewed NAMS journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-role-soy-menopausal-health.html Other Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:33:35 EST news233922786 More than a third of Americans use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and that number continues to rise attributed mostly to increases in the use of mind-body therapies (MBT) like yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-health-care-nontraditional-medicine.html Medications Mon, 09 May 2011 16:29:47 EST news224177363