Treatment guidelines may be revised
USA Today Oct 27, 08 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
New research challenges one of the basic assumptions about treating HIV—that patients should begin treatment only when levels of a type of white blood cell fall below a certain mark. New studies show that patients treated under current guidelines are 70% more likely to die than those treated sooner. Early treatment, however, is dependent on early diagnosis, and fewer than 4 of 10 US adults have been tested for HIV.
More »
Variation on obesity procedure has led to remission
Washington Post May 4, 08 10:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Intestinal bypass surgery—a variation on the gastric surgery used to combat obesity—is showing surprising and promising results in treating diabetes, the Washington Post reports. Cutting out some of the intestine but sparing the stomach, the procedure is producing full remission in a high percentage of cases, allowing patients to go off all medication.
More »
Computer network is alternative to
expensive, hard-to-get therapists
Seattle Post-Intelligencer May 1, 08 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
A Seattle software company is offering new hope to parents of autistic children who struggle to get, and afford, behavioral therapy, which can cost upward of $30,000 a year and isn't usually covered by insurance. Jigsaw Learning has created a game-like computer network, called TeachTown, that provides some aspects of the therapy, the Post-Intelligencer reports.
More »
UPDATED
Veep okay, will
return to work
tomorrow
Associated Press Nov 26, 07 7:59 PM CST
(Newser)
-
Dick Cheney returned home today after doctors shocked his heart back to a normal rhythm, the AP reports. He arrived at George Washington University Hospital at around 5 pm. and left 2 1/2 hours later. "The procedure went smoothly and without complication," a spokeswoman said. "The vice president will resume his normal schedule tomorrow at the White House."
More »
Always seek out a second opinion after these tricky diagnoses
CNN Sep 7, 07 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
When diagnosis is difficult, the procedure is risky, or less-invasive alternatives are available, a second opinion is essential. CNN lists five diagnoses that should send up red flags: Heart-bypass surgery: Alternatives may be better for some patients. Hysterectomy: The uterus isn't always the problem, and when it is, less dramatic alternatives are available.
More »
Study explains why breast cancer is
more fatal in black women
Associated Press Sep 6, 07 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Doctors have long known that breast cancer is more deadly in black women; new research suggests why: They are more likely to suffer from treatment-resistant tumors, a major study at the University of Michigan concludes. Analysis of data from nearly 100,000 women with later-stage breast cancer shows that black patients have higher incidence of tumors that don't respond to hormone-blocking drugs that inhibit growth.
More »
Antibiotics useless against toxin causing lung infection
Reuters Aug 23, 07 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Many pneumonia patients die despite receiving treatment, and a new study finds that an infectious toxin unaffected by antibiotics can cause the deaths. One of the researchers involved in the study, published in the journal Immunity , tells Reuters that scientists are working to find a treatment for sometimes-fatal bleeding in the lungs that current drugs might in fact exacerbate.
More »
Bones produce a hormone that controls blood sugar
Boston Globe Aug 13, 07 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
A substance produced by the skeleton may help to treat diabetes, a new study suggests. A hormone called osteocalcin regulates blood sugar; type 2 diabetics have a lower level of the hormone than other people. In the study, mice with lower levels of osteocalcin develop symptoms of diabetes, which go away when they are injected with the hormone.
More »
Lohan, Spears 'waltzing' in and out of treatment sends wrong message
Reuters Jul 26, 07 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The debauched lifestyles of celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are turning substance-abuse rehab into a punch line, making light of a process that helps thousands of people each year, say experts. Lohan was arrested on suspicion of DUI this week just days after finishing rehab; in February, Spears checked into rehab three times—in one week.
More »
Drug spares digits, study says
Los Angeles Times Jun 19, 07 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
A clot-busting drug is remarkably effective in treating frostbite patients, according to new research from the University of Utah health center, reports the Los Angeles Times . Patients whose treatment included tissue plasmingoen activator (tPA) kept 90% of affected fingers and toes; patients treated before the drug was in use had 41% amputated.
More »
Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island
International Herald Tribune Jun 6, 07 7:24 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance to develop and and eliminating the best treatment option.
More »
Nexavar, already approved for kidney cancer, shows promise in liver patients
New York Times Jun 4, 07 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
An impressive clinical trial has produced what could be the first effective drug treatment for liver cancer, the New York Times reports. Nexavar, which blocks both the blood supply to the tumor and proteins that spur tumor growth, extended the lives of patients in the trial by almost three months, or 44%
More »
Atlanta lawyer's father-in-law is a CDC researcher
CNN May 31, 07 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The quarantined tuberculosis patient is an Atlanta lawyer who recently married the daughter of a CDC TB researcher, CNN reports. Andrew Speaker, 31, took a private plane to Denver today to be treated for extremely drug-resistant TB, or XDR TB. Microbiologist Robert Cooksey says he knew of his son-in-law's infection and offered "fatherly advice" but no official counsel.
More »
Antibodies from survivors have been effective in curing infected mice
Guardian (UK) May 29, 07 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
In the first break in the deadly bird flu epidemic, an international team of researchers using antibodies from survivors of the Vietnamese strain of the disease were able to prevent it from developing in mice, and to neutralize those already infected.
More »
Biggest breakthrough in a decade may advance prevention, treatment
Guardian (UK) May 28, 07 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Four newly discovered genes can increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer by as much as 60%, say scientists who hail the isolation of the genes as the biggest advance in the field since 1994. The breakthrough raises hopes for more advanced treatment and even prevention of breast cancer and for better understanding of other cancers in the future.
More »