http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring hospital admission, a 5-day glucocorticoid treatment course was non-inferior (not worse than) to a 14-day course with regard to re-exacerbation during 6 months of follow-up, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society international conference. The authors write that these findings support a shorter-course glucocorticoid treatment regimen, which would reduce glucocorticoid exposure and the risk of possible adverse effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-shorter-duration-steroid-therapy-similar.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 15:18:08 EST news288368280 The increasing cost of treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the United States has reached unsustainably high levels and may be leaving many patients under- or untreated because they cannot afford care, according to a Blood Forum article supported by nearly 120 CML experts from more than 15 countries on five continents and published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Blood Forum articles are a new feature in the journal that present well documented opinions on controversial topics and provide a sounding board for current subjects of importance to the science and practice of hematology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-leukemia-experts-high-treatment-patients.html Cancer Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:07:31 EST news286106843 In a small study of 39 primary care doctors and 208 of their patients, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that physicians built much less of an emotional rapport with their overweight and obese patients than with their patients of normal weight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-physicians-bond-overweight-patients.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:05:05 EST news285869099 A new multi-site study reveals patients with drug-resistant HIV can safely achieve viral suppression – the primary goal of HIV therapy – without incorporating the traditional class of HIV medications into their treatment regimen. Karen Tashima, M.D., director of the HIV Clinical Trials Program at The Miriam Hospital, served as study chair. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hiv-therapy-easier-drugs-treatment-experienced.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:42:10 EST news281878922 Examining the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) - data that characterises about 10% of the UK population - a team of researchers from Cardiff University's School of Medicine looked at the risk of death for patients taking insulin compared with other treatments designed to lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-insulin-diabetes-expose-patients-greater.html Diabetes Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:42:27 EST news279196938 (HealthDay)—People with a common heart rhythm problem may be able to decrease their symptoms by adding gentle yoga to their treatment regimen, a small study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-yoga-common-heart-rhythm-disorder.html Cardiology Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:27:09 EST news278789221 Severely malnourished children are far more likely to recover and survive when given antibiotics along with a therapeutic peanut-based food than children who are simply treated with the therapeutic food alone, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-antibiotics-death-malnourished-children.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:06:05 EST news278787949 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 Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue), sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon-based treatment was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with patients without SVR, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-sustained-virological-response-linked-survival.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:00:02 EST news275576845 Young patients with an aggressive form of leukemia who are likely to relapse after chemotherapy treatment can significantly reduce those odds by receiving additional courses of chemotherapy, suggest the findings of a clinical trial led by investigators at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-chemotherapy-children-high-leukemia.html Cancer Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:00:01 EST news274381663 Just 20 percent of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) begin the recommended treatment regimen and less than 5 percent go on to successfully overcome the virus, according to a new review in General Hospital Psychiatry. This is despite the availability of highly effective anti-viral drugs that clear hepatitis C virus in about 80 percent of patients participating in clinical trials. Major barriers to recommended care are substance abuse and depression in HCV patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-people-hepatitis-untreated-effective-drugs.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Dec 2012 08:40:01 EST news274349852 New research suggests that the presence of a specific genetic marker, known as WT1 SNP rs16754, may be associated with reduced toxicity from chemotherapy in African-American and Asian children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genotype-treatment-mortality-trm-african-american.html Cancer Sun, 09 Dec 2012 03:10:02 EST news274244165 Adding the drug trastuzumab to chemotherapy prevents cancer recurrence and improves survival in a large number of women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. But trastuzumab does not stop tumors from returning in about 25 percent of patients—and oncologists haven't been able to identify these women before treatment. This situation may soon change, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mayo-clinic-ids-genes-trastuzumab.html Cancer Sat, 08 Dec 2012 02:40:01 EST news274155750 Elderly women with early-stage breast cancer live longer with radiation therapy and surgery compared with surgery alone, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found. The researchers, who collected data on almost 30,000 women, ages 70 to 84, with early, highly treatable breast cancer enrolled in a nationwide cancer registry, are reporting their findings at the 54th annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-treatment-surgery-survival-elderly-women.html Cancer Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:24:31 EST news270818644 (HealthDay)—A handheld nonablative fractional laser is safe and seems effective for home use for treating periorbital wrinkles, according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-safety-efficacy-at-home-laser-periobital.html Cancer Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:40:02 EST news270313592 When tested in patients hospitalized with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) unresponsive to previous treatment, linezolid, an antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections, proved largely effective when added to the patients' ongoing TB treatment regimen. Also, few patients developed resistance to the drug. These promising findings were tempered, however, by the fact that 82 percent of the patients who received linezolid experienced significant adverse events that may have been related to the drug. Findings from the study appear in the October 18th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-antibiotic-extensively-drug-resistant-tuberculosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:59:45 EST news269773167 Most patients with chronic kidney disease who undergo hemodialysis put up with a grueling treatment regimen that involves going into a clinic several days a week and sitting through a three-to-four hour dialysis session at each visit. Home hemodialysis is more accessible than ever, though, with the advent of newer systems that are easier for patients to learn, use, and maintain, according to a review appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The authors offer suggestions for how to overcome barriers and establish a successful home hemodialysis program. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-homefor-dialysis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:00:01 EST news268587422 Results from an observational study evaluating a new anti-TB drug have found that the treatment can improve outcomes and reduce mortality among patients with both MDR-TB and XDR-TB. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-tb-drug-mortality-mdr-tb-xdr-tb.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:00:01 EST news267895349 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 The use of newer drugs, a greater number of effective drugs, and a longer treatment regimen may be associated with improved survival of patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TR), according to a large study by a team of international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-treatment-options-multidrug-resistant-tb.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:00:02 EST news265374341 After the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) outbreak in 2003, academia experts in immunology and molecular biology joined forces with industrial vaccine production experts in order to develop preventive and therapeutic measures for SARS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-sars.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:20:58 EST news265364451 (HealthDay)—A treatment regimen that is effective in preventing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease leads to worsening disease in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published online June 20 in Diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-experimental-combo-treatment-worsens-diabetes.html Diabetes Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:00:02 EST news265027635 (HealthDay) -- Chronic use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) in young monkeys has no significant effect on growth or the dopamine system, or the likelihood of becoming addicted to cocaine, according to a study published online July 18 in Neuropsychopharmacology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-animal-long-term-ritalin-doesnt-impact.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:30:02 EST news262008331 Intensive early treatment of type 2 diabetes slows down progression of the disease by preserving the body's insulin-producing capacity, a UT Southwestern study has shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-diabetes-early-intensively-strategy.html Diabetes Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:16:10 EST news260072154 Investigators at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, have reported on a new approach to treating previously inoperable complex pancreatic adenocarcinoma that has significantly increased long-term survival for some patients. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most devastating forms of pancreatic cancer with survival rates of only 5 percent at five years. Surgical removal of these tumors offers a chance for cure, but it is estimated that only about 20 percent of patients can undergo this treatment. The tumor in the pancreas often grows into adjacent vital blood vessels, and this is the most common reason a surgeon will consider pancreatic cancer to be inoperable and incurable. However, the MD Anderson investigators have achieved an important milestone in the surgical treatment of the disease in terms of improving prognosis for patients who meet the criteria for a newly developed protocol. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-treatment-protocol-survival-cases-inoperable.html Surgery Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:00:01 EST news259948199 Growth factors shown to cure Alzheimer's disease in a mouse model and administered to cancer patients as part of their treatment regimen were linked to significant improvements in the patients' cognitive function following stem cell transplantation, a preliminary clinical study reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-gmcsf-treatment-cognition-cancer-patients.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:48:27 EST news259577239 The addition of high doses of erlotinib to the treatment regimen of bevacizumab and capecitabine with radiotherapy seems to benefit patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, according to results of a phase I study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, held here June 18-21. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-adding-erlotinib-bevacizumabchemoradiotherapy-regimen-pancreatic.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:30:17 EST news259332674 New long-lasting weekly injections of fertility hormones are as safe and effective as standard daily injections, according to Cochrane researchers. The researchers compared weekly and daily hormone injections in a Cochrane systematic review and found no difference in pregnancies or serious side effects between the two regimens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-weekly-fertility-daily.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:00:06 EST news258745420 South African researchers said Friday they were conducting medical trials to shorten the duration of tuberculosis treatment to make it easier for patients to complete the full regimen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-safrica-trials-shorter-tb-treatment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:38:14 EST news252319081 A global health alliance Monday unveiled plans for the first clinical tests of a new treatment regimen for tuberculosis, including for patients with resistance to existing multidrug programs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-trial-drug-resistant-tb-treatment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:55:05 EST news251384097