Patients taking a high number of prescription medications who are then unexpectedly admitted to hospital face a medication error rate of more than 50 per cent with their existing medications, one-third of which could result in more serious complications, says a new study by University of Toronto researchers.
Senior author Dr. Edward Etchells says he wasn’t surprised by the high proportion of unintended medication errors. “In that kind of situation – where a patient is tak
Hormone now commercially available in small doses
A new study by MIT scientists and colleagues confirms that melatonin is an effective sleep aid for older insomniacs and others. Misuse of the hormone had led some to question its efficacy, but the latest work (published in the February issue of Sleep Medicine Reviews) could jump-start interest in the dietary supplement and help more people get a good night’s sleep.
In earlier research, scientists led by Professor R
Measuring a biological chemical called hyaluronan found naturally in joints and the fluid that lubricates cartilage might enable doctors to diagnose osteoarthritis of the knee and hip earlier or more accurately, a new study concludes. Improving diagnosis of the painful inflammatory disorder should become increasingly important as baby boomer age, doctors say.
The research, conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in Johnston County, N.C., revealed that leve
Adding a new HIV screening method, called nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT), to standard HIV testing, researchers were able to uncover six percent more cases of HIV infection in urban STD and drug treatment clinics and HIV testing sites in Atlanta than with standard HIV antibody tests alone. The research will be presented at the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston on February 25, 2005 by Frances Priddy, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory Univer
A pilot study gathers baseline information on subway workers’ exposure
by Jennifer Freeman
Working in the subway several hours each day, subway workers and transit police breathe more subway air than the typical commuter. Subway air has been shown to contain more steel dust than outdoor or other indoor air in New York City. But do transit workers’ bodies harbor elevated levels of these metals? And does this translate into a health concern for the workers?
In a new
A new analysis shows the drug finasteride will save lives if given to men to prevent prostate cancer. Published in the April 1, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the new analysis of data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), says that any possible increase in the incidence of higher-grade tumors would be more than offset by an overall reduction in the number of prostate cancer cases in the general population.
The recent resul
The degree to which city people walk or ride bicycles for their daily transportation needs depends largely on how much green space there is, says a new study that examines the role of urban design in physical fitness.
“Because engaging in moderate physical activity such as walking or bicycling can improve health outcomes, understanding strategies that increase these behaviors has become a public health priority,” says Amy Zlot, an epidemiologist with the Oregon Department of Hu
A genetic analysis of viral RNA from 10 heterosexual couples, in which one partner has sexually transmitted HIV to the other, provides the first documentation of some differences in how the virus infects males and females. According to the Hopkins researchers who led the study, this initial research is essential to understanding why these differences occur and for future development of a vaccine or other preventive methods that could stop sexual transmission of HIV-1.
The couples in the
Researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have been awarded a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health to study disease management technologies in patients with heart failure, and patients with both heart failure and diabetes. The principal investigator for the two-site trial is Lee Goldberg, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Heart-Lung Transplant Program.
Women who need treatment for osteoporosis–thinning of the bones–may not be receiving it because their history of fractures is not being considered by physicians, according to a study done in part at the University of Alberta.
Previous fractures indicate that bones are weaker than normal, but the information isn’t being taken into account when treating for osteoporosis, said Dr. Kerry Siminoski, professor of radiology and diagnostic imaging at the University of Alberta.
Findings help explain how cancer cells develop resistance to gefitinib
A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) identifies a second mutation in a gene associated with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a discovery that helps to explain why NSCLC tumors become resistant to treatment with the cancer therapy gefitinib (Iressa).
The findings, which are reported in the February 24, 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NE
Study in New England Journal of Medicine finds treatment significantly reduces bleeding in brain, decreases mortality by nearly 40% and reduces long-term disability for most deadly, least treatable form of stroke
A new multi-center, international study led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia shows that recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) has the potential to be a significant advance in treating bleeding stroke (acute in
Increased physical activity may be positive side effect of state program
A state program designed to make children’s routes to school safer may actually be encouraging kids to walk or bike to school more often – something that’s good for their health.
The UC Irvine study examining the effectiveness of the California Safe Routes to Schools program is the first to evaluate whether changes to the built environment can increase pedestrian travel to school. The study looks at el
Eager buyers who get swept up in the excitement of an auction and end up regretting it can take some comfort in knowing why: bidding frenzy, a condition uncovered by University of Alberta researchers.
The more intense the bidding is at an auction, the more likely it is that a buyer will be gripped by bidding frenzy, said Dr. Peter Popkowski Leszczyc, a marketing professor at the University of Alberta School of Business. “It is a mental state characterized by a high level of aro
A new UCLA study shows that people drink less alcohol as they age–but drinking among those who were born in earlier years showed a faster decline than among people born more recently.
For instance, people born in 1925 decreased their drinking an average of 11 percent for each decade of aging while those born in 1935 reduced their drinking about 9 percent each decade. The study, “Longitudinal Patterns and Predictors of Alcohol Consumption in the United States,” is published in the
Health insurance that pays the full cost of smoking-cessation treatments can increase quit rates, compared to benefit plans that pick up only part of the tab or that offer no cessation benefits at all, according to a new review of studies.
Smokers receiving full benefits were one-and-a-half times more likely to quit successfully and nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to try quitting than those receiving no benefit, according to review authors Janneke Kaper of Maastricht Univ
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