In the largest analysis of its kind, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients with diabetes who require surgery for ankle fractures have significantly higher rates of complications and higher hospital costs compared to non-diabetic patients. Specifically, the researchers found that diabetics experienced one additional day of hospitalization (an average of 4.7 vs. 3.6 days) with costs approximately 20 percent higher ($12,898 vs. $10,794). Additionally, diabetics had h
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have traced the biochemical pathway by which plants build a compound that compromises the quality of corn and soybeans as an animal feed. Their studies indicate that it is feasible to engineer such plants to significantly improve their quality as animal feeds — a potentially important boon to the hog and poultry industries, said the researchers
The researchers, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator John York, published their
Definitive evidence to explain how the drug nitroglycerin relieves chest pain has resulted from a new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators at Duke University Medical Center. Nitroglycerin relaxes blood vessels to boost blood flow, yet the mechanism by which the drug works has remained a matter of scientific controversy.
The findings bolster earlier indications that the drug may be ineffective for certain patients, and may place others at risk, the researchers sai
For people with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis, combined treatment with the new “biologic” drug adalimumab and methotrexate is about five times more effective than methotrexate alone, according to a new systematic review of studies.
In six randomized controlled trials, comprising 2381 people with at least 10 years of the disease, the authors report that adalimumab (Humira) plus methotrexate decreased pain and swelling in patients who fail to respond to standard treatment.
If you binged for two weeks while on vacation and gained 5 pounds, would you be biologically primed to eat less to compensate and shake off the excess weight? No, suggests a new Cornell University study.
When a group of 12 normal-weight men and women, average age 31, agreed to overeat by 35 percent for two weeks, they gained an average of 5 pounds, half of it body fat. When they were permitted to return to their normal eating behavior, they did not spontaneously cut back on th
The effort required to correctly hear and identify words may diminish the resources needed to memorize them
In a new study, Brandeis University researchers conclude that older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss may expend so much cognitive energy on hearing accurately that their ability to remember spoken language suffers as a result.
The study, published in the latest issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, showed that even when older adults c
Gender gap in computer science due to pervasive stereotypes, too much choice too early
University diplomas in computer science are overwhelmingly earned by males, according to a new study of 21 nations, but significant country-to-country differences in the gender gap imply that much more than genetics is at work.
Coauthored by Maria Charles, professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego, with Karen Bradley of Western Washington University, the study
Men with early stage prostate cancer who make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of their illness, according to a new study.
The research is the first randomized, controlled trial showing that lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of cancer. Study findings are published in the September issue of the Journal of Urology.
The study was directed by Dean Ornish, MD, clinical professor, and Peter Carro
Results from the first long-term study of online videogame playing may be surprising. Contrary to popular opinion and most previous research, the new study found that players’ “robust exposure” to a highly violent online game did not cause any substantial real-world aggression.
After an average playtime of 56 hours over the course of a month with “Asheron’s Call 2,” a popular MMRPG, or “massively multi-layer online role-playing game,” researchers found “no strong effects
Penn State College of Medicine researchers have found a signal that could lead to earlier detection and treatment of ovarian cancer.
The Penn State team of scientists led by principal investigator Kathleen M. Mulder, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, and working in conjunction with a researcher from the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., studied “km23,” a protein that helps to direct protein traffic in the cell. Mulder’s team has fou
Is one man’s Mozart another man’s migraine? It might be, if culture plays the dominant role in music perception, as has been alleged by many 20th century composers. Thus far, such matters have been the province of armchair debates, but now two MIT students have designed an experiment to measure just how different-or similar-perceptions of music are across cultures.
The students are conducting a web-based Music Universals Study to measure the perception of music in people
A new study from Minnesota finds the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer increasing among men and women under the age of 40, according to an article in the August 10 issue of JAMA.
The overall incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer, consisting of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), is increasing, according to background information in the article. This increasing incidence is most likely due to a combination of factors, including increased exposure to UV
Scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research have developed a technique which will markedly help in predicting the behaviour of prostate cancer.
At present, prostate cancer tests – needle biopsies, blood and urine samples – are unable to accurately predict how aggressive the cancer is and whether it is likely to progress, resulting in thousands of men undergoing radical preventative surgery which may be unnecessary.
A study – published online today in the British Jo
Summers are getting sunnier in Oregon, according to evidence presented today by University of Oregon physicists during the 2005 Solar World Congress in Orlando. The study is a first step toward testing and refining regional climate models for the Pacific Northwest that will help track global warming.
In sharp contrast to reports of increased global dimming, the study’s researchers reported a 10 to 15 percent increase in solar radiation at sites in Burns, Hermiston and Eugene
The latest information coming from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
With an aging population, and with people living longer, experts say bone fractures will become a bigger and more costly problem unless more is done to prevent them. Osteoporosis (reduced bone mineral density) is most common in older adults, particularly women. It is a major risk factor for bone fractures, which can cause significant suffering while carrying high economic cost
Cost matters, but new VA / U-M study suggests lack of trust in doctors, depression play a big role too
Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to stick to their prescription medicines, even if they face high out-of-pocket costs, a new study finds. But patients who have lower levels of trust in their physicians, or who have depression-like symptoms, are much more likely to skip doses or refills when costs become a problem for them.
Those findings, from a new study of 9
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