http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Prostate screening tests detect prostate cancer early, but questions about whether the tests do more harm than good have made them one of the most hotly debated areas of medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-doctors-differ-prostate-screening.html Cancer Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:40:02 EST news289823966 National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) investigators also conclude that the 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) versus chest X-ray (CXR) screening previously reported in the NLST primary paper is achievable at experienced screening centers in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ct-lung-cancers-x-ray-screening.html Cancer Wed, 22 May 2013 17:04:17 EST news288461036 Siemens has presented the world's first ultrasound system with wireless transducers. The system's transducers, which can be easily operated with one hand, transmit ultrasound images via radio waves to the screen on the base console. The elimination of cables is particularly helpful in operations or during invasive procedures in which the needle visualization needs to be monitored using ultrasound technology. That's because transducer cables can obstruct the people who operate the machines, and despite their sterile protective coverings, the cables can pose a risk in terms of infections. The wireless Acuson Freestyle system transducers function reliably up to three meters from the console and are equipped with remote control buttons for adjusting the image settings. To make wireless data transmission possible, Siemens engineers sharply reduced the amount of data that must be transferred between the transducer and the console. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-wireless-ultrasound-transducers-physicians.html Other Mon, 20 May 2013 08:00:01 EST news288252886 Zebrafish are probably not the first creatures that come to mind when it comes to animals that are valuable for medical research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-animals-zebrafish.html Medical research Fri, 10 May 2013 09:10:01 EST news287394648 Alternative therapies such as aerobic exercise, resistance or strength training, and isometric hand grip exercises may help reduce your blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-alternative-therapies-blood-pressure-aha.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:00:03 EST news285850085 Men with a common condition that causes frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom can get relief with a minimally invasive treatment that shrinks the prostate, suggests a study being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. The early findings hail from the first prospective U.S. trial of prostatic artery embolization (PAE), which reduces blood flow to the prostate, thus shrinking it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-nonsurgical-treatment-clock-enlarged-prostate.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:00:03 EST news285143710 The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has just released an important new Policy Statement on "Noninvasive Prenatal Screening for Fetal Aneuploidy." The Statement can be found in the Publications section of the ACMG website at http://www.acmg.net and will soon be published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Genetics in Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-acmg-statement-noninvasive-prenatal-screening.html Other Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:43:38 EST news284643812 (AP)—Health officials on Thursday urged an Oklahoma oral surgeon's patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions behind his office's tidy facade posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hiv-urged-dental-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:21:55 EST news283717306 Nerve mapping technology allows surgeons to determine whether surgery has been effective for relieving pressure from compressed nerves, which often function poorly and cause sciatica or pain and weakness in muscles supplied by the nerve. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nerve-technology-surgery-compressed-nerves.html Medical research Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:38:49 EST news283192711 (HealthDay)—For specific types of surgery, minimally invasive procedures correlate with significantly lower health plan spending and fewer days of absence from work, compared with standard surgery, according to a study published online March 20 in JAMA Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-impact-minimally-invasive-surgery.html Surgery Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:30:01 EST news283095583 The presence of microscopic hematuria – blood found in urine that can't be seen by the naked eye – does not necessarily indicate the presence of cancer, according to a Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The study suggests that tests routinely done on patients with this condition could be avoided and has led to the creation of a screening tool to better diagnose certain types of cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-routine-patients-microscopic-blood-urine.html Cancer Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:05 EST news276953774 (Medical Xpress)—Heart disease is a leading cause of death throughout the world. Doctors say that it is important to detect heart disease early before it becomes too serious. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a way that they believe could help detect heart disease before it progresses too far as well as identify patients who are at risk for strokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-micro-bubbles-artery-inflammation.html Cardiology Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:55:01 EST news274542892 (Medical Xpress)—New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing reports that parents present during a child's more invasive procedures reported higher levels of comfort, more procedural understanding and less emotional distress – while clinicians reported parent presence did not affect their technical performance, therapeutic decision-making, or ability to teach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-clinicians-parents-invasive-procedures.html Health Tue, 04 Dec 2012 09:03:39 EST news273834208 A team of researchers at the University Department of Orthopaedics at the MedUni Vienna / Vienna General Hospital has for the first time investigated the durability of Zweymüller hip prostheses, which were developed at the end of the 1970s, over a period of 20 years. The result: the stem of the endoprosthesis, which was named after the Professor of Orthopaedics at the Vienna General Hospital and developed over 30 years ago, lasts for at least 20 years. "This shows that the fear over hip prostheses is unfounded. It is better to live with a prosthesis and without pain than to live without one and be in pain," says Reinhard Windhager, Head of Orthopaedics at the MedUni Vienna / Vienna General Hospital. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-news-hip-surgeries-prosthesis-years.html Surgery Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:00:10 EST news273746046 According to an article in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, a medical imaging facility in San Diego, Imaging Healthcare Specialists, has implemented a successful radiation dose reduction program, reducing radiation exposure by up to 90 percent in some patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-imaging-facility-successful-dose-reduction.html Cancer Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:33:49 EST news271355623 (Medical Xpress)—Efforts to improve preparation for heart surgery are the focus of a collaboration of Arizona State University biomedical engineering researchers and physicians at Phoenix Children's Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-d-technology-boosts-aid-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:35:46 EST news269591738 Early signs of lung cancer could be diagnosed using a simple blood test following a new discovery by scientists at the University of York. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-closer-lung-cancer-blood.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:00:17 EST news269518514 While scientific evidence suggests that less is typically more when it comes to diagnosing and treating low-back pain in the U.S., the number of expensive imaging exams and surgeries done on patients continues to rise, researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-radiologists-evidence-based-guidelines-physicians-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:54:29 EST news268278863 There's a novel way to remove a gallbladder: Use a surgical robot to take it out through the navel. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-surgeons-procedures-belly-button.html Surgery Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:20:01 EST news267631736 New research published in the third Article in The Lancet surgery-themed issue suggests that the millions of intravenous catheters used each year can be safely changed only when clinically necessary, overturning 40 years of accepted practice involving routine replacement every 3 days. Introducing such a policy would not only prevent unnecessary painful procedures in one fifth of patients but also dramatically reduce equipment and staff costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-intravenous-catheters-clinically-safe.html Surgery Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:30:03 EST news267383142 Mathematical modeling being tested by researchers at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the IU School of Medicine has the potential to impact the knowledge and treatment of several diseases that continue to challenge scientists across the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-disease.html Medical research Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:26:27 EST news267366381 A pilot study, published in the October 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, showed that breath testing could be used to discriminate between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. The study looked at 74 patients who were under investigation for pulmonary nodules and attended a referral clinic in Colorado between March 2009 and May 2010. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-analysis-pulmonary-nodules.html Cancer Sun, 16 Sep 2012 07:06:33 EST news266997356 Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) can occur due to sneezing, coughing, exercising or even laughing and happens because the pelvic floor muscles are too weak causing leakage when the bladder is put under pressure. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that a new technique, using stem cells isolated from amniotic fluid, can regenerate damaged urethral sphincter muscles and prevent pressure incontinence in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-stem-cell-therapy-stress-urinary.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:00:01 EST news264694337 A new prenatal test for Down's syndrome hit the market in Germany and several other European countries Monday, the manufacturer said, amid a controversy over whether it could lead to more abortions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-syndrome-european.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:21:17 EST news264694865 Advances in diagnostic imaging have benefited children with otolaryngologic disease, allowing shorter hospital stays, fewer invasive procedures, more targeted surgical procedures, and earlier and more precise diagnoses. However, despite improved technology, concerns about exposure of children to ionizing radiation have recently come to the forefront, according to a commentary in the July 2012 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-safer-radiologic-imaging-otolaryngologic-disease.html Surgery Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:07:00 EST news260446012 Preliminary findings from the EVINCI study show that the prevalence of "significant" coronary artery disease in patients with chest pain symptoms is lower than expected in Europe. In as much as 75% of this population an accurate non-invasive screening could avoid unnecessary and costly invasive procedures. The three year multicentre European trial will define the most cost effective strategy for diagnosing patients with suspected coronary artery disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-evinci-results-percent-reduction-invasive.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Jun 2012 07:03:12 EST news259912980 UCLA stem cell scientists purified a subset of stem cells found in fat tissue and made from them bone that was formed faster and was of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods, a finding that may one day eliminate the need for painful bone grafts that use material taken from the patient during invasive procedures. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-bone-fresh-purified-fat-stem.html Medical research Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:47:22 EST news258626795 Hospitals that perform expensive, invasive cardiovascular procedures on a disproportionate number of patients are more costly for all heart failure patients, including those treated with noninvasive methods, according to a new Yale study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hospitals-expensive-heart-procedures-costly.html Cardiology Thu, 10 May 2012 11:24:17 EST news255867852 Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) have high rates of diagnostic and invasive breast procedures after treatment with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) according to a study published April 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-diagnostic-invasive-procedures-common-women.html Cancer Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:00:01 EST news252860257 Adam Levine, M.D., an emergency medicine physician with Rhode Island Hospital and a volunteer physician with International Medical Corps, was deployed to a field hospital near Misurata, Libya, during the conflict there. He and his colleagues cared for over 1,300 patients from both sides of the conflict between June and August 2011. In a paper now available online in advance of print in the African Journal of Emergency Medicine, Levine describes his experience and the lessons he learned that he hopes will aid in future humanitarian efforts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-rhode-island-hospital-physician-front-line.html Other Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:07:04 EST news249224814