Peginterferon and ribavirin treatment produce significantly better viral control
Since the introduction of highly active combination drug therapy for HIV, liver failure attributable to infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become a leading cause of death among those infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Now a multi-center study has found that the newest treatment for patients infected with HCV alone also helps those infected with both pathogens by significantly impro
Brush, then squash. Remember those three words and that technique the next time you catch a mosquito dining on your arm or leg, and you’ll go a long way to protecting yourself from a potentially lethal parasitic micro-organism that may be in the mosquito, and is especially dangerous to those with weakened immune systems.
A study by Rutgers-Newark biology professor Ann Cali and others published in the New England Journal of Medicine in July indicates that microsporidia, a group of op
’Selective approval’ would require follow up studies to identify most appropriate patients
One of the most promising new strategies for cancer treatment is the development of drugs that directly target molecular abnormalities that lead to the growth of tumors. Several such drugs have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in recent years, but some have been controversial because the data on which they were approved did not clearly define which patients will most bene
Children who have severe allergic reactions when stung by bees, wasps and other insects should receive venom immunotherapy, or allergy shots, to reduce the chance of future life-threatening reactions if a repeat sting should occur, said an allergist at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
In an editorial published in today’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Rebecca Gruchalla, chief of the allergy division of internal medicine and associate professor of pedi
Boys exposed to persistent levels of cocaine in the womb are more likely to have behavioral problems like hyperactivity in their early school years, new research suggests.
But girls who had prenatal exposure to similar amounts of cocaine were not more likely to suffer from the same problems, Virginia Delaney-Black, M.D., of Children’s Hospital of Michigan and colleagues found. The study results are published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
While
Hospital patients increasingly face tenacious bacterial infections because microbes found in hospitals acquire resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics. A recent strategy alternating the most commonly used antibiotics has sparked hope of stopping the spread of antibiotic resistance.
But a new model shows that the practice of cycling – alternating between two or more classes of antibiotics as often as every few months – probably will not work. It is an unexpected finding at a
People who have heart attacks or other heart conditions who do not experience chest pain are commonly overlooked and undertreated at the hospital, often resulting in greater fatality rates in this group of patients. A new study in the August issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that cardiac patients presenting to the hospital without chest pain have triple the death rate of other cardiac patients and are less likely to receive medications to slo
A computer-based simulation model suggests that short-term hormone therapy (HT) is associated with increases in quality of life for women with menopausal symptoms, but may shorten life expectancy, according to an article in the August 9/23 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
According to information in the article, decisions concerning menopausal hormone therapy (HT) are difficult due to the complexity of balancing the risks and benefits of
Findings by a Saint Louis University research team led by the scientist who discovered Sly Syndrome 32 years ago point to a new direction for research into the rare genetic disorder that can cause bone deformities, vision and hearing loss, mental retardation and death in children.
The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition the week of Aug. 9.
“The importance of this research goes far beyond this rare disorder,” said
A new implantable device that could send an early-warning signal to your doctor before heart rhythm problems arise, may now be possible thanks to research described in the latest issue of the Institute of Physics journal, Physiological Measurement.
More than five million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the heart disorder atrial fibrillation (AF). In AF, the upper chambers of the heart, the atria, quiver and beat rapidly: a condition that can often lead to heart failure
A student has invented a revolutionary evacuation wheelchair that could save lives in emergencies because it has the capability to go down stairs without someone else pushing it.
Health and safety legislation and the Fire Brigade recommend that people do not use lifts to exit buildings during emergencies. However, for people with mobility problems this raises a serious issue as they become dependent on their friends and colleagues to assist their safe escape.
Simon Kingston
A retrospective study and two case studies provide new information regarding the safety of a popular dental product.
Only one in ten diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (oral cancer) is younger than 45 years. Many young adults lack the traditional risk factors for oral cancer, namely, long term tobacco and/or alcohol use. As a result, investigation of other factors which may contribute to the development of cancer in these patients is difficult because of the re
Lack of access to care and socioeconomic factors are linked to advanced head and neck cancer in Alabama’s Black Belt, so labeled because of its rich black soil and once thriving agricultural trade. The region is now a target of efforts to enhance early identification and treatment for head and neck cancer.
Now known for its massive poverty (nearly one in three residents live below the poverty level), lack of education (more than 40 percent of adults have not completed high school), a
Researchers find that laryngeal cancer patients treated with chemo-radiation have a similar survival rate and better speech after treatment than those who had their voice box removed.
This finding could be important for the 10,000 patients who will be diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2004. Many treatment options exist: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, chemo-radiotherapy (chemo-radiation), or a combination thereof. Depending on the extent of disease, surgery may involve removal o
Researchers have investigated the associations between ammonia, air pollution, socioeconomic status, and access to medical care with incidence and mortality rates of salivary cancer in the South Carolina population. The findings from this study revealed that an association was found between emissions of ammonia and mortality rates of salivary gland cancer in Caucasian men.
Nearly 2,900 new cases of salivary gland cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2004, an increasing
A surgical incision between the trachea and esophagus (tracheo-esophageal puncture) following removal of the tongue and voice box provides effective speech communication for select head and neck cancer patients who otherwise would not be able to speak.
Most treatments for tongue and voice box cancer allow patients to retain those organs and maintain speech communication. For those few patients whose cancers do not respond to organ-sparing techniques, surgical removal of the tong
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