http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In the eyes of young college men, it's more unethical to use steroids to get an edge in sports than it is to use prescription stimulants to enhance one's grades, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-college-men-steroids-game-ethical.html Addiction Tue, 08 May 2012 11:16:54 EST news255694588 For most people with asthma, a couple of puffs from an inhaler filled with steroids makes breathing easy. But if their lungs become resistant to the calming effect of that medicine, they live in fear of severe asthma attacks that could send them to the hospital – or worse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-cell-key-role-treatment-resistant.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 07 May 2012 13:19:21 EST news255615553 A large-scale study of medical claims data shows that introducing sophisticated biologic therapies early in the course of treatment for Crohn's disease improves response to medication and reduces the need for surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-introduction-biologic-therapy-crohn.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:14:32 EST news253887260 Dr. Roger Zemek, Director of Emergency Research at the CHEO Research Institute and ED physician, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, has overseen the creation and implementation of a Medical Directive that now empowers nurses to administer an oral steroid treatment, which has reduced wait time and improved patient care. This research is published today in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-asthma-treatment-patient-emergency.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:06:04 EST news252659144 (Medical Xpress) -- Immunity experts at the University of Birmingham have found biological evidence to suggest that bereavement lowers physical immunity, putting older people at risk of life-threatening infections.. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-die-broken-heart-bereavement-weaken.html Immunology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:46:57 EST news252135993 Glucocorticoids are a type of steroid hormone that are used to treat everything from asthma to arthritis, but the impact of these powerful anti-inflammatory drugs – particularly in prolonged, low-doses – remains to be fully understood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-double-edge-sword-steroids.html Medical research Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:48:30 EST news251621301 (HealthDay) -- Nurse initiation of oral corticosteroids before physician assessment of pediatric patients with asthma improves quality and efficiency of care provided in the pediatric emergency department, according to a study published online March 19 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-nurse-initiated-steroids-pediatric-asthma.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:50:01 EST news251465928 (Medical Xpress) -- Working-age adults who take combinations of prescription medication may be doubling their risk of serious falls at home according to research from The University of Auckland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-multiple-medicines-fall-young-middle.html Medications Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:34:42 EST news246526473 About 200 million people around the world use illicit drugs, according to a study published on Friday in The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-million-illegal-drugs-lancet.html Health Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:50:02 EST news245050850 Hay fever (runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes) is caused by an allergy to pollen, and most commonly to grass pollen. These tiny grains bring misery to sufferers through spring and summer and pollen levels are often included as part of weather reports to help sufferers prepare. However new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Clinical and Translational Allergy shows that, regardless of medication and other allergies, for the same grass pollen levels, hay fever symptoms are worse in the first half of the season than later on. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ready-hay-fever-worse.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:27:40 EST news243664037 (Medical Xpress) -- Johns Hopkins-led research suggests that routine MRI imaging does nothing to improve the treatment of patients who need injections of steroids into their spinal columns to relieve pain. Moreover, MRI plays only a small role in a doctor’s decision to give these epidural steroid injections (ESIs), the most common procedure performed at pain clinics in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-costly-diagnostic-mri-unnecessary-pain.html Other Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:29:12 EST news243246531 Young football players may be at higher risk for stroke, according to a new study released in Journal of Child Neurology (JCN). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-football-contribute-adolescents.html Health Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:05:14 EST news242575499 (Medical Xpress) -- Pediatricians often treat young children who have frequent bouts of wheezing with a daily dose of an inhaled steroid to keep asthma symptoms at bay. But results of a recent study are likely to change that. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-daily-wheezing-treatment-intermittent-toddlers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:50:01 EST news241345863 A new class of anti-inflammatory drugs may one day serve as an alternative to steroid medications and possibly help avoid the serious side effects of steroids, based on research findings at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-anti-inflammatory-drugs-side-effects-steroids.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:56:54 EST news238758997 People taking oral steroids are twice as likely as the general population to have severe vitamin D deficiency, according to a study of more than 31,000 children and adults by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings, in the September 28 online edition of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, suggest that physicians should more diligently monitor vitamin D levels in patients being treated with oral steroids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-oral-steroids-linked-severe-vitamin.html Health Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:30:25 EST news236518216 People with asthma who are admitted to hospital with pandemic influenza H1N1 (swine flu) are half as likely to die or require intensive care than those without asthma, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-people-hospitalized-asthma-die-swine.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:28:25 EST news236230023 Adding a common antibiotic to the usual daily treatment regimen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can reduce the occurrence of acute exacerbations and improve quality of life, reports new results from a clinical trial funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-commonly-antibiotic-acute-copd.html Medications Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:56:34 EST news233427204 A study of seven patients examined use of a pressure device worn overnight to supplement other therapy for auricular keloids (scar tissue buildup of the ear), as reported in an article published Online First today by Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-pressure-device-worn-ear-night.html Other Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:35:13 EST news232648491 Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting roughly 10% of Canadians. This degradation of the joints is painful and crippling, especially when it affects the knee. Although there are viable OA treatment options, they are short-lived and can have serious side-effects. According to Lawson Health Research Institute's Dr. Robert Petrella, principal investigator in the COR1.0 study, the next generation of OA treatment has arrived. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-lawson-scientist-joint-pain-treatment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:00:07 EST news232103212 Could a simple vitamin D pill better control people's asthma symptoms when taken with regularly inhaled steroids than the steroids alone? Northwestern Medicine researchers are testing that concept with a new trial for adults who have been diagnosed with asthma and are non-smokers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-trial-vitamin-d-pill-asthma.html Health Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:50:01 EST news232097653 Loss of muscle mass is not only associated with disease, such as HIV and cancer, but also with the normal aging process. Anabolic steroids are sometimes used to reverse loss of lean muscle tissue but they can have unwanted side effects. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Immunity and Aging, shows that nine proteins, isolated from blood, alter with age and that the profile of some of these proteins can be reversed by testosterone treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-proteins-aging.html Medical research Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:00:03 EST news227707608 A multicenter pilot study of etanercept for treatment of dermatomyositis found no major safety concerns and many patients treated with the drug were successfully weaned from steroid therapy. These results are encouraging, but larger studies are needed to further investigate the safety and efficacy of etanercept. Results of this clinical trial are available in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-etanercept-dermatomyositis.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:53:54 EST news227501620 Most people associate steroid use with oiled-up bodybuilders or professional athletes, but for some college-age men, steroids seem like the only way to measure up to the muscle-bound men in fitness magazines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-pressure-muscular-men-steroids.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:51:11 EST news226299055 Treating idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss with injections of steroids directly into the ear appears to result in recovery of hearing that is not less than recovery obtained with the standard therapy of oral corticosteroids and may be a preferable treatment for some patients to avoid the potential adverse effects of oral steroids, according to a study in the May 25 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-therapy-sudden-loss-disorder-suitable.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 25 May 2011 02:50:01 EST news225474378 A relatively new treatment for sudden hearing loss that involves injecting steroids into the middle ear appears to work just as well as the current standard of oral steroids, a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins and other institutions suggests. The findings, published in the May 25 Journal of the American Medical Association, could lead to more options for the 1 in 20,000 people who suffer from this often baffling and disabling condition each year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-treatments-sudden-loss.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 24 May 2011 16:39:42 EST news225473965 For patients with eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), steroids administered by a nasal spray may be ineffective, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-nasal-steroid-dysfunction-ear-eustachian.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 May 2011 17:07:15 EST news224784424 Eight genes which control levels of the main steroid produced by the adrenal gland, believed to play a role in ageing and longevity, have been uncovered by an international consortium of scientists, co-led by King's College London. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-genes-aging-steroid.html Genetics Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:30:08 EST news222020990