http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a study designed to see if doctors who are told the exact price of expensive medical tests like MRIs in advance would order fewer of them, Johns Hopkins researchers got their answer: No. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-transparent-pricing-doesnt-curb-doctors.html Health Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:47:10 EST news278160422 New York's governor declared a public health emergency Saturday for the state because of the severity of the flu season, as officials across the U.S. grapple with the worst flu outbreak in several years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-flu-emergency-declared-ny-20k.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:45:51 EST news277235136 The prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment (not due to need for glasses) in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years, which may be partly related to a higher prevalence of diabetes, an associated risk factor, according to a study in the December 12 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-prevalence-visual-impairment.html Ophthalmology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:00:01 EST news274462229 Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the joints. A rapid suppression of inflammation is important for a good prognosis. Marloes Vermeer, a PhD student at the University of Twente, investigated the effects of a "Treat-to-Target treatment strategy". Ms Vermeer explains that "The new treatment appears to be feasible in daily clinical practice. Even after a period of three years, disease activity is more effectively suppressed than with conventional treatment." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rheumatoid-arthritis-treatment-shown-effective.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:28:43 EST news274436906 Several drugs companies have ineffectively tried to produce antibodies that bind to the IGF-1 receptor on the cell surface, which has a critical part to play in the development of cancer. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now ascertained how these antibodies work, and can explain why only some cancer patients are helped by IGF-1 blockers during clinical tests. The researchers also present a means by which drugs of this kind could help more cancer patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-setback-dogged-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:54:16 EST news273167641 An outbreak of Marburg haemorrhagic fever in a remote region in western Uganda has so far killed four people, the health ministry said in a statement. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-marburg-fever-uganda-ministry.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:38:48 EST news269865505 Scientists are reporting development of a new malaria drug that, in laboratory tests, has been twice as effective as the best current medicine against this global scourge and may fight off the disease with one dose, instead of the multiple doses that people often fail to take. A report on the drug appears in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-malaria-drug-requires-dose-effective.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:10:01 EST news269701073 (Medical Xpress)—RMIT University researchers have designed a peptide that imitates a melanoma-killing virus, in a biomedical engineering advance that could lead to the development of a cream to target and treat Australia's "national cancer". http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-advances-cancer-killing-cream-melanoma.html Cancer Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:15:58 EST news269075751 (Medical Xpress)—New insights into sperms' swimming skills shed light on male infertility, which affects one in 20 men, and could provide a new avenue to the development of a male contraceptive pill. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-closer-male-contraceptive-pill.html Genetics Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:26:35 EST news268903578 (Medical Xpress)—A systematic review by UNSW Medicine researchers has found up to 62 per cent of laboratory tests and up to 36 per cent of radiology reports were not being followed up by doctors, for patients attending GPs, clinics or hospital outpatient departments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-doctors-results.html Health Thu, 27 Sep 2012 09:58:31 EST news267958705 (HealthDay)—Local allergic rhinitis (LAR) is prevalent among patients with rhinitis, affecting about one in four, and is often associated with childhood onset and persistent, severe conjunctivitis and/or asthma, according to a study published in the October issue of Allergy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-prevalence-local-allergic-rhinitis.html Immunology Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:40:01 EST news267799955 An outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever has claimed possibly as many as 31 lives in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo since May, Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said Thurday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-ebola-deaths-dr-congo-minister.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:08:40 EST news266760509 In an advance toward development of a nasal spray that protects against infection with influenza and spread of the disease, scientists are reporting identification of a substance that activates the first-line defense system against infection inside the nose. They describe effects of a synthetic form of a natural substance found in bacterial cell walls in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-advance-flu-fighting-nasal.html Medications Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:12:17 EST news266667129 Has your memory failed you today, such as struggling to recall a word that's "on the tip of your tongue?" If so, you're not alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-isnt-tongue-older-adults.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:45:55 EST news259004667 (Medical Xpress) -- A new report issued today by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and developed in collaboration with 10 other leading professional societies provides detailed criteria to help clinicians maximize the appropriate use of certain noninvasive vascular tests when caring for patients with suspected or known non-coronary arterial disorders. Emile R. Mohler, MD, professor of Medicine and director of Vascular Medicine at Penn Medicine, chaired the national committee producing the criteria. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-national-optimal-vascular-laboratory-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 05:27:04 EST news258697610 (HealthDay) -- A counterfeit version of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall, sold online, contains the wrong active ingredients, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-fda-fake-version-adhd-drug.html Attention deficit disorders Wed, 30 May 2012 11:20:01 EST news257591167 A change in the formulation of tenofovir gel, an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use, may make it safer to use in the rectum, suggests a study published online this week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. In laboratory tests of rectal tissue, researchers from the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) found that the reformulated gel was less harmful to the lining of the rectum than the original vaginal formulation, and just as effective in protecting cells against HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-glycerin-tenofovir-vaginal-gel-safe.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 17 May 2012 04:55:17 EST news256449177 A novel mechanism for anxiety behaviors, including a previously unrecognized inhibitory brain signal, may inspire new strategies for treating psychiatric disorders, University of Chicago researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mystery-gene-reveals-mechanism-anxiety.html Genetics Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news256299869 Africa's deadliest malaria parasite has shown resistance in lab tests to one of the most powerful drugs on the market -- a warning of possible resistance to follow in patients, scientists said Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-malaria-drug-resistance-africa.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:00:01 EST news254720222 University of California, San Diego scientists have used powerful computational tools and laboratory tests to discover new support for a once-marginalized theory about the underlying cause of Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-uncover-strong-once-marginalized-theory.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:54:38 EST news254573644 An HIV prevention trial that pre-dates the shift to antiretroviral (ARV)-based approaches is nonetheless helping to answer some of the most relevant and topical questions the field is facing today. More than three years after reporting the primary results of HPTN 035, one of the last trials of the so-called first generation microbicides, researchers from the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) reported two new sets of findings gleaned from the study's trove of statistical data and laboratory specimens. The results of both analyses were presented at the International Microbicides Conference (M2012). The meeting, which started Sunday, April 15 and ends tomorrow, April 18, is being held in Sydney. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-microbicide-trials-network-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:15:51 EST news253876530 (Medical Xpress) -- Research to restore sight to the clinically blind has reached a critical stage, with testing underway of the prototype microchips that will power the bionic eye. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-microchip-success-bionic-eye.html Ophthalmology Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:00:01 EST news252661058 A simple test to identify MRSA in wounds could identify the superbug quickly and help prevent infection from spreading. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-tiny-electrical-sensors-faster-mrsa.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:45:07 EST news252236696 Powerful new cells created by Cardiff University scientists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-key-immune-disease-cheek.html Ophthalmology Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:16:42 EST news251547394 (AP) -- Polish health authorities have ordered the withdrawal from the market of more than 230,000 kilograms (500,000 pounds) of pickles, bread and other food suspected of containing industrial salt, the latest development in a scandal raising fears about food safety. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-poland-food-road-salt.html Health Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:35:33 EST news250504510 (HealthDay) -- For office-based physicians, electronic access to patient imaging and laboratory test results does not decrease -- and may actually increase -- the number of diagnostic tests ordered, according to research published in the March issue of Health Affairs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-electronic-result-access.html Health Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:10:01 EST news250262874 A 12-year-old boy on the Indonesian resort island of Bali has died from bird flu, the fourth human death from the virus this year, an official said Saturday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-indonesia-fourth-bird-flu-death.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:08:37 EST news249397706 Scientists have developed a unique compound that in laboratory tests blocks inflammation-causing molecules in blood cells known to fuel ailments like cancer and cardiovascular disease without causing harmful toxicity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-class-compounds-disease-fueling-inflammation-lab.html Medical research Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:56:05 EST news249224158 In the world of bioinformatics, the rush is on to extract gold from a data mine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-ucsf-leaders-explore-bioinformatics-patient.html Other Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:23:57 EST news247314230 In a study to the genetic variance of human metabolism, researchers have identified thirty one regions of the genome that were associated with levels of circulating metabolites, i.e., small molecules that take part in various chemical reactions of human body. Many of the studied metabolites are biomarkers for cardiovascular disease or related disorders, thus the loci uncovered may provide valuable insight into the biological processes leading to common diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-genetic-metabolomic-biomarkers-paths.html Diabetes Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:00:14 EST news247034984