http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Results of a study published online in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy today (Thursday), demonstrate that computer models can predict how HIV patients whose drug therapy is failing will respond to a new treatment. Crucially for patients in poorer countries, the models do not require the results of expensive drug resistance tests to make their predictions. The study also showed that the models were able to identify alternative drug combinations that were predicted to work in cases where the treatment used in the clinic had failed, suggesting that their use could avoid treatment failure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-patients-hiv-drugs.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:10:01 EST news282421952 As Kenyan citizens negotiated the tensions following the March 4 nationwide elections, memories of the violence that followed the December 2007 vote weighed heavily for many reasons. Among those in any nation with an HIV epidemic, argue authors of a new paper in AIDS Reviews, should be the long-term damage that political conflict can do to public health by disrupting treatment and thereby promoting resistance to antiretroviral drugs and treatment failure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-political-strife-undermines-hiv-treatment.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:49:31 EST news282322105 In a recent study, scientists have concluded that the cure rates of Miltefosine, the only oral drug for visceral leishmaniasis available, have significantly decreased. Miltefosine was introduced in the Indian subcontinent a decade ago. Despite adhering to the treatment, only 3 out of 4 patients treated with Miltefosine in Nepal today are being cured. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-kala-azar-treatment-nepal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:47:40 EST news281357253 Replacing the combination of brand-name, antiretroviral drugs currently recommended for control of HIV infection with soon-to-be-available generic medications could save the U.S. health care system almost $1 billion a year but may diminish the effectiveness of HIV treatment. A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, appearing in the January 15 Annals of Internal Medicine, examines the potential impact of such a change. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hiv-treatment-strategy-billion-annually.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:01 EST news277381002 In an examination of the effectiveness of cefixime, the only oral cephalosporin antimicrobial recommended for treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea) infections, researchers found a clinical treatment failure rate of nearly 7 percent for patients treated at a clinic in Toronto, according to a preliminary study published in the January 9 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-documents-failure-antibiotic-treatment-gonorrhea.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:00:08 EST news276874549 (HealthDay)—The R.E.N.A.L. (radius, exophytic/endophytic, nearness to collecting system or sinus, anterior/posterior and location relative to polar lines) nephrometry scoring system predicts the efficacy of treatment and major complications that occur after percutaneous renal ablation for treatment of tumors, according to research published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-renal-nephrometry-score-treatment-efficacy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:30:06 EST news275838764 Implementing measures to ensure radiation therapy protocols are followed not only decreases deviations, but it can also improve overall survival in cancer patients, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital researchers suggest in a first-of-its kind study presented during a plenary session at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 54th Annual Meeting in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-deviating-protocols-treatment-failure-death.html Cancer Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:50:01 EST news270830403 Research presented at IDWeek 2012 concludes that despite advances in electronic medical records, mistakes are still commonly made in the prescription of antiretroviral medications for hospitalized HIV-positive patients. At the same time, a trio of studies suggests however, that electronic records in combination with increased clinical education can help to greatly decrease medical errors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-high-hiv-medication-errors-hospitalized.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:29:55 EST news269868584 (HealthDay)—An initial watch-and-wait strategy does not have a detrimental effect on the freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) or overall survival rate in selected patients with low-tumor burden follicular lymphoma compared with patients initially treated with rituximab-containing regimens, according to research published online Sept. 24 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-watch-and-wait-low-tumor-burden-follicular-lymphoma.html Cancer Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:30:02 EST news267851052 Early treatment response is a powerful predictor of long-term outcome for young patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The information can help physicians decide whether a more intensive approach is needed. Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators has identified the best test for measuring that response and guiding therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-diagnostic-benefits-children-acute-myeloid.html Cancer Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:50:48 EST news266514612 The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) has published practical guidelines to assist clinicians in assessing treatment efficacy in patients who experience a fracture while on medication for osteoporosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-osteoporosis-treatment-fracture.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:28:23 EST news265631294 A new once-daily pill combining three antiretrovirals and a booster molecule is a safe and effective alternative to two widely used drug regimens for newly diagnosed HIV-positive adults who have had no previous treatment. The findings of two large international randomized trials published in this week's Lancet also indicate that the new "Quad" pill is faster acting, doesn't have the neuropsychiatric side effects associated with other combinations, and could improve compliance with treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-once-daily-quad-pill-hiv-safe.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:30:01 EST news260123746 A simple, cheap dose of zinc helps the recovery of newborns suffering from bacterial infections such as pneumonia and meningitis, according to an Indian study reported on Thursday in The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-dose-zinc-boosts-recovery-chances.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 31 May 2012 04:40:01 EST news257657226 A further analysis of a previously published National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funded study of children with mild persistent asthma reports the relative benefits of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment varies among children with differing demographic and clinical characteristics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-baseline-characteristics-children-mild-persistent.html Immunology Tue, 22 May 2012 10:30:07 EST news256899910 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 A study published Online First by The Lancet has found that patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (a cancer affecting lymph tissue) can be treated more effectively with lower doses of chemotherapy. The study is by Dr Andreas Engert, University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, and colleagues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-intense-chemotherapy-effective-toxic-patients.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:30:02 EST news252689507 Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have demonstrated for the first time that the metabolic biomarker MCT4 directly links clinical outcomes with a new model of tumor metabolism that has patients "feeding" their cancer cells. Their findings were published online March 15 in Cell Cycle. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-paradigm-shift-biomarker-links.html Cancer Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:33:38 EST news251051606 Urinary tract infections are common conditions that occur when bacteria from the intestines enter the urinary tract. New research, however, suggests that the bacteria causing these infections may come from contaminated food - especially chickens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-urinary-tract-infections-linked-contaminated.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:10:45 EST news248962227 A UT Southwestern Medical Center study using a sophisticated "glass mouse" research model has found that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is more likely caused in patients by speedy drug metabolism rather than inconsistent doses, as is widely believed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-effectiveness-tb-treatment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:17:38 EST news244289845 Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Kyushu University Medical School say a novel combination of a specific sugar molecule with a pair of cell-killing drugs prompts a wide variety of cancer cell types to kill themselves, a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-drug-combo-multiple-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:54:22 EST news240681255 Antibiotics may not be the only risk factor associated with community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection, indicating that other undefined causes of the potentially life-threatening infection may exist and could also predict whether or not a patient will require hospitalization, according to the results of the study, "Predictors of Hospitalization in Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection," unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-antibiotics-community-acquired-clostridium-difficile-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:40:18 EST news239276411 Recent studies have suggested that C-11 choline positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans can be utilized as a staging and potentially therapeutic tool in prostate cancer. The results of three studies, released today during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association, validate findings in Europe and expand the potential use of C-11 choline PET scans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-trio-petct-scans-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:21:57 EST news238436506 Patients with a high degree of African ancestry had a greater incidence of high-risk neuroblastoma and poorer outcomes, according to preliminary results presented here at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-common-genetic-variants-high-risk-neuroblastoma.html Cancer Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:47:16 EST news235669616 In an evaluation of contemporary antireflux therapies for chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), most patients who received treatment with either the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole or laparoscopic antireflux surgery achieved and remained in disease remission for 5 years, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-modern-treatments-gerd-effective-long-term.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 17 May 2011 16:49:43 EST news224869760