http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Children with obstructive sleep apnea who had a common surgery to remove their tonsils and adenoids showed notable improvements in behavior, quality of life and other symptoms compared to those treated with "watchful waiting" and supportive care, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-behavior-tonsiladenoid-surgery-kids.html Sleep apnea Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:01 EST news288357036 A new Canadian study shows that operating without interrupting warfarin treatment at the time of cardiac device surgery is safe and markedly reduces the incidence of clinically significant hematomas compared to the current standard of care. The new findings were released today at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34th Annual Scientific Sessions, and will be published online today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-warfarin-cardiac-device-surgery.html Cardiology Thu, 09 May 2013 11:00:02 EST news287305686 A new, multinational randomized clinical trial has found that patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa will not only stick with treatments but also make significant improvements with just a slight modification of the standard goals and methods of treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-rethinking-treatment-goals-results-persistent.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 08 May 2013 09:30:07 EST news287223288 In a comparison of the effect of different dosages of vitamin D supplementation in breastfed infants, no dosage raised and maintained plasma concentrations within a range recommended by some pediatric societies. However, all dosages raised and maintained plasma concentrations within a lower range recommended by the Institute of Medicine, according to a study in the May 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-optimal-vitamin-d-dosage-infants.html Health Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:56 EST news286534833 HIV-infected women in sub-Saharan Africa who fed their babies exclusively with breast milk for more than the first four months of life had the lowest risk of transmitting the virus to their babies through breast milk, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Women who stopped breast feeding earlier than four months had the highest concentrations of HIV in their breast milk, and those who continued to breastfeed, but not exclusively, had concentration levels in-between the two practices. The findings are online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hiv-infected-moms-breastfeed-exclusively-virus.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:02 EST news285423153 Researchers from the universities of Granada and Murcia have confirmed the effectiveness of a spray containing 1% malic acid, which greatly improves xerostomy, or dry mouth, caused by anti-depressant drugs. This product, combined with xylitol and fluorides, in a spray format, stimulates saliva production in patients with this illness, thus improving their quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effectiveness-greatly-mouth-sensation-anti-depressants.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:51:31 EST news284205063 (HealthDay)—Laparoscopic incisional hernia repair has recurrence rates comparable with open repair, according to a study published in the March issue of JAMA Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-laparoscopic-incisional-hernia-effective-choice.html Surgery Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:31:19 EST news283429873 The new Sapien XT aortic valve showed a non-significantly lower rate of death and strokes at 30 days than the original model, and both valves demonstrated notably better short-term outcomes than seen with the Sapien system in PARTNER I, according to the first results from the PARTNER II study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-early-results-redesigned-sapien-valve.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:13:28 EST news282215602 Researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid have found that regular and supervised exercise by experts during pregnancy can reduce the rate of instrumental and cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-c-section.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:10:01 EST news281691937 (Medical Xpress)—Patients with advanced, recurrent, or persistent cervical cancer that was not curable with standard treatment who received the drug bevacizumab (Avastin) lived 3.7 months longer than patients who did not receive the drug, according to an interim analysis of a large, randomized clinical trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-bevacizumab-significantly-survival-patients-recurrent.html Cancer Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:50:01 EST news279531567 (HealthDay)—Early palliative care (PC) clinic visits, integrated with standard oncologic care for patients with metastatic lung cancer, emphasize symptom management, coping, and psychosocial aspects of illness, according to research published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-early-palliative-lung-ca-focuses.html Health Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:23:47 EST news278781819 (Medical Xpress)—In a surprise finding, Yale researchers report that adding cognitive behavioral therapy to the most commonly used drug treatment for opioid dependence does not further reduce illicit drug use by patients. The study, which could change how such dependence is viewed and treated in the U.S. healthcare system, appears online in the American Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-drug-treatment.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:50:35 EST news276504624 (HealthDay)—For patients with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy, a robotic approach seems to have the same oncologic efficacy as an open approach and demonstrates potential perioperative benefits, according to a pilot study published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-similar-oncologic-efficacy-robotic-cystectomy.html Cancer Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:30:02 EST news275317820 Using a mobile app that tracks eating and activity helped people lose an average of 15 pounds and keep it off for at least a year, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mobile-app-boosts-weight-loss.html Health Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:00:06 EST news274369562 Although approved for use for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) in nearly 60 countries, use of citicoline in a randomized trial that included more than 1,200 participants with TBI did not result in improvement in functional and cognitive status, according to a study appearing in the November 21 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-citicoline-functional-cognitive-status-patients.html Neuroscience Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:00:03 EST news272647438 A randomized, double-blind clinical trial by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery has revealed that corticosteroids are more effective than the more expensive treatment, hylan G-F 20 (Synvisc One, Genzyme Biosurgery), in providing pain relief to patients with thumb arthritis. The study also showed that both of these commonly used treatments provided clinically meaningful pain relief, but so did a placebo injection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-expensive-arthritis-treatment-steroid-therapy.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Sun, 11 Nov 2012 08:19:39 EST news271844364 Physical exercise, including treadmill, stretching and resistance exercises, appears to improve gait speed, muscle strength and fitness for patients with Parkinson disease (PD), according to a report of a randomized clinical trial published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-physical-gait-muscle-strength-patients.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:06 EST news271337584 A clinical trial indicates that using an investigational medical device to close a PFO, or "hole in the heart," may be superior to medical management alone in the prevention of a repeated stroke. Results of the RESPECT trial were presented at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-results-respect-trial-tct.html Cardiology Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:49:32 EST news270391744 A new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study conducted at Baruch College and published in Obesity found that overweight and obese adults who participated in three different weight loss treatments, all involving intensive, multi-component counseling delivered in groups, lost significant weight after 48 weeks whether the treatment was led by a health professional or by someone who had previous weight loss success. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-group-based-weight-loss-treatment-effective.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:20:01 EST news268914078 A blistering sunburn during childhood or adolescence more than doubles the adult risk of skin cancer. The accumulation of long-term sun exposure may be equally dangerous. A study from the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado Cancer Center recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows one way to reduce this exposure: a double-blind randomized clinical trial of mailed sun protection packets led to higher frequency of sun protective behaviors including the use of long clothing, hats, shade, sunscreen, and midday sun avoidance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-three-year-child-trial-effectiveness-low-cost.html Health Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:34:11 EST news267705240 Renal denervation leads to significant and sustained blood pressure reduction for up to 18 months in patients with treatment resistant hypertension, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012. The new clinical data from the Symplicity HTN-2 randomized clinical trial were presented by principal investigator Dr Murray Esler at the scientific session, associate director of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute of Melbourne, Australia and by Prof Böhm for the ESC Press Conference. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-renal-denervation-significant-sustained-blood.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:50:19 EST news265279811 Treatment with growth hormone-releasing hormone appears to be associated with favorable cognitive effects among both adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults, according to a randomized clinical trial published Online First by Archives of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-effects-growth-hormone-releasing-hormone-cognitive.html Neuroscience Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:18:28 EST news263488630 Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show additional benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV clinical outcomes. Expanded analysis of HPTN 052 study data, presented today at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., demonstrated that early versus delayed ART showed a trend toward delaying the time to both AIDS and non-AIDS primary events and significantly delayed the time to AIDS events, death and tuberculosis. The overall incidence of clinical events was significantly lower in participants treated in the early therapy arm. The new findings show that immediate ART significantly decreased the incidence of clinical events likely due to reversal of immune suppression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hptn-results-reveal-additional-benefits.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:46:28 EST news262539978 (HealthDay) -- For patients with lumbar spinal stenosis the Oswestry Disability Index, Modified Swiss Spinal Stenosis Scale (SSS), and Patient Specific Functional Scale have been shown to possess adequate psychometric properties for use in assessment of outcome, according to a study published online July 2 in The Spine Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-idd-outcome-spinal-stenosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 12 Jul 2012 06:50:01 EST news261287375 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequently sustained arrhythmia of the heart. It affects several million people in Europe. AF causes a loss of contraction in the atria and gives rise to heart failure. Moreover, it is associated with a high risk of stroke. One in five strokes is due to AF. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-atrial-fibrillation-flec-sl-trial-efficacy.html Cardiology Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:02:06 EST news259232516 (HealthDay) -- Intravesical sodium chondroitin sulfate is not recommended for the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) in women as it produces only minor improvements in symptoms and pain, according to research published in the June issue of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-intravesical-chondroitin-sulfate-benefit-cystitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:00:05 EST news258207935 A new medication proved effective in slowing the spread of metastatic prostate cancer, while helping to maintain the quality of life, in patients with advanced disease. The phase 3 study was unblinded midway, allowing patients receiving the placebo to instead take the drug because of the favorable results. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-advanced-prostate-cancer-drug-disease.html Cancer Sat, 02 Jun 2012 04:11:31 EST news257829076 For some patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, treatment may begin before they undergo cystectomy, or surgical removal of the bladder. They may be advised by oncologists to receive chemotherapy before surgery. A large randomized clinical trial published in 2003 demonstrated a survival benefit for neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin) using a standard dose and schedule. However, in an effort to improve toxicity, standard MVAC has been essentially abandoned in favor of other regimens. All current standard neoadjuvant regimens require 12 weeks of chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-chemotherapy-surgery-benefits-patients-muscle-invasive.html Cancer Thu, 17 May 2012 09:46:56 EST news256466808 A technique that removes additional toxins during dialysis does not improve kidney failure patients' survival or heart health, but intense treatments may provide a benefit, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings suggest that the potential of the technique, called hemodiafiltration, deserves more study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-technique-additional-toxins-benefit-dialysis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:00:04 EST news254672807 Patients for whom colonoscopy was recommended were less likely to complete colorectal cancer screening than those patients for whom fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) was recommended or those patients who were given a choice between FOBT or colonoscopy, according to a study published in the April 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-adherence-colorectal-cancer-screening.html Cancer Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:03 EST news253189465