http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. With rates and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) at historically high levels, many hospitals have taken extra steps to reduce these infections. New research finds that a dedicated daily cleaning crew who adequately clean and disinfect rooms contaminated by C. difficile using a standardized process can be more effective than other disinfection interventions. The study is published in the May issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), in a special topic issue focused on the role of the environment in infection prevention. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-dedicated-staff-shown-difficile-contamination.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:31:17 EST news284722113 Infant mortality has fallen by half, and the number of women who died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth by three-quarters. This is the result of a four-year health care project in one of India's poorest districts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-health-india-mothers-children.html Health Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:44:48 EST news271071879 Adolescent girls participating in a sexual risk reduction (SRR) intervention study were more likely to practice abstinence and, if sexually active, showed substantial decreases in unprotected sex, number of partners, and unintended pregnancies, reports a research team led by principal investigator Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida. Results of the study demonstrate the value of risk-reduction interventions tailored to girls, who are at a greater risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than boys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-intervention-sexual-behavior-unintended-preganancies.html Health Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:40:14 EST news268997967 (Medical Xpress)— A regular exercise regimen will increase life expectancy in the elderly, new research has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-physical-life-span.html Health Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:27:37 EST news267431240 (Medical Xpress)—A new analysis of the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study shows that despite considerably greater and sustained weight loss than conventionally treated controls, patients treated with bariatric surgery continued to use just as much inpatient and non-primary outpatient care than the controls during a 20 year follow-up period. However, cost savings in the surgery group were seen for medications that treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease between year 7 and 20, resulting in lower overall drug costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-drug-years-bariatric-surgery.html Health Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:42:49 EST news267266562 A non-invasive imaging strategy which integrates non-invasive CT angiography (CTA) and CT myocardial perfusion imaging (CTP) has robust diagnostic accuracy for identifying patients with flow-limiting coronary artery disease in need of myocardial revascularisation, according to results of the CORE320 study presented here today by Dr Joao AC Lima from Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, USA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-ct-angiography-perfusion-coronary-artery.html Cardiology Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:03:55 EST news265370627 (Medical Xpress) -- More than half of factory workers who thought they had excellent or good hearing actually suffered hearing loss and didn't even recognize the problem, a new study shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-fine.html Health Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:10:07 EST news261216599 A University of Illinois study shows that dietary fiber promotes a shift in the gut toward different types of beneficial bacteria. And the microbes that live in the gut, scientists now believe, can support a healthy gastrointestinal tract as well as affect our susceptibility to conditions as varied as type 2 diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-dietary-fiber-gut-bacteria-gastrointestinal.html Health Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:38:14 EST news260037484 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered that long-term insulin use does not harm people with diabetes or pre-diabetes or put them at risk of heart attacks, strokes or cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-debunks-belief-insulin-people-diabetes.html Diabetes Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:54:59 EST news258648870 Chocolate, considered by some to be the "food of the gods," has been part of the human diet for at least 4,000 years; its origin thought to be in the region surrounding the Amazon basin. Introduced to the Western world by Christopher Columbus after his fourth voyage to the New World in 1502, chocolate is now enjoyed worldwide. Researchers estimate that the typical American consumes over 10 pounds of chocolate annually, with those living on the west coast eating the most. Wouldn't it be great if only chocolate were considered healthy? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-apples-day-dark-chocolate-doctor.html Health Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:18:00 EST news254506596 Researchers from the Nutritional Epidemiology Joint Research Unit have just published a study showing that, in men with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies, supplementation with B vitamins and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids did not significantly increase the occurrence of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-vitamin-omega-supplementation-cancer.html Health Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:21:13 EST news248700038 A UCLA study has found that a new parent-training program is effective in reducing the risk of low-income, preschool-age Latino children being overweight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-parent-training-intervention-curbs-pediatric-obesity.html Health Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:56:59 EST news248547413 If you want to change how teenagers view bullying, go to the straight to the source of most school trends: the most connected crowd. According to new intervention research, targeting the most influential students in a school could be a key factor in reducing harassment and bullying. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-people-behavior-bullying-scientists.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:56:36 EST news246880562 In a summer with unprecedented weather events, from tornados, floods, fires and hurricanes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that physiological changes associated with aging and the presence of chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness or injury, even death, during a disaster. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-elderly-long-term-residents-cognitively-disasters.html Health Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:04:03 EST news238410235 Strong leadership, communication and teamwork are essential to successful organizations, especially health care facilities. However, how those organizations achieve improvement is not clearly understood, says a University of Missouri researcher. Amy Vogelsmeier, assistant professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing, found that leadership is critical to supporting open communication and relationship building to generate improvement, such as enhanced safety practices and new technology adoption, in health care organizations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-strong-leadership-sophisticated-aging-population.html Health Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:51:31 EST news235134473 In patients with glaucoma, frequent visual field testing may be associated with earlier detection of the condition's progression, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-frequent-visual-field-earlier-glaucoma.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:10:22 EST news232030819