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Clinicians have often referred to ultrasound technology as the “stethoscope of the future,” predicting that as the equipment shrinks in size, it will one day be as common at the bedside as that trusty tool around every physician’s neck. According to…

AURORA, Colo. (Feb. 18, 2011) — When the body is deprived of oxygen during a major surgery, the kidneys, heart muscles or lungs can be injured as a result. The problem is that lack of oxygen can lead to inflammation.
Yet some athletes d…

A readily available, inexpensive drug therapy showed a significant benefit in treating premature infants with the worst and historically most difficult-to-treat cases of retinopathy of prematurity.
The results of a multicenter clinical trial…

DALLAS — Dec. 29, 2010 — Patients with diabetes, kidney disease and anemia who don’t respond to treatment with an anti-anemia drug have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have foun…

Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and publish…

Babies born into the world addicted to drugs because of their mother’s dependence on pain medication, or opioids, may be weaned off the substance more comfortably, with a shorter hospital stay and at a reduced cost, if the mother receives a new …

From hotel-style room service to massage therapy to magnificent views, hospitals are increasingly touting their luxury services in a bid to gain market share, especially those in competitive urban markets. An important new article, published today i…

(San Francisco, CA) — In a finding with the potential to fundamentally change strategies to slow the global HIV epidemic, a new study called iPrEx shows that individuals at high risk for HIV infection who took a single daily tablet containing two …

ARLINGTON, VA– NOVEMBER 23, 2010 – - CONRAD is pleased to join in congratulating the Global iPrEx study team for their successful trial of oral tenofovir (TDF) with emtricitabine (FTC) for HIV prevention. Results of the National Institutes of He…

Chicago, November 23, 2010 — Results of the world’s first efficacy trial of an HIV-prevention approach called oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, were released online in the New England Journal of Medicine today. Data from this trial, called i…

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 23, 2010 — In a significant advance for HIV prevention research, a clinical trial confirms that the same drugs used for treating HIV can also help prevent HIV infection in the first place.
The study, known as iPrEx, is important …

DALLAS — Oct. 7, 2010 — Keeping blood pressure at a low level in African-Americans with kidney disease may slow the progression of the condition in patients with proteinuria, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a national study p…

As a patient safety best practice and endorsement of evidence-based medicine, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Directors approved and released a clinical practice guideline, which found a strong recommendation against a popular procedure called vertebroplasty as a way to treat fractures in the spine. Clinical practice guidelines are one avenue the [...]

A new study suggests that lead may be harmful even at very low blood concentrations. The study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, will appear in the April 17 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. The five-year study found that children who have blood lead concentration lower than 10 micrograms per deciliter suffer intellectual impairment from the exposure.

In the event of a significant threat to their buildings and facilities, hospitals can successfully evacuate patients and staff without relying on outside assistance, a UC Irvine study found. The study, which appears in the April 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggests that in the aftermath of a severely damaging earthquake or similarly devastating terrorist event, the biggest risk to hospitals isn’t structural integrity, but non-structural damage like water leaks and electrical outages. The findings include basic steps for responding to a bioterrorist attack on a medical facility.

A drug that quashes the activity of a key brain chemical is the first effective treatment for patients in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of a large multi-center clinical study published in the April 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The drug, memantine, slows the mental and physical deterioration of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, according to Barry Reisberg, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine, who led the study. “These patients seem to be declining much less, about half as much as ordinarily expected, over a six-month period,” says Dr. Reisberg. “This medication will slow down the otherwise inexorable progress of this disease, and it is remarkably free of side effects. These are very impressive results. It looks like this drug really will have an impact on this disease,” he says.

A drug that blocks a heart-harming hormone can significantly reduce the risk of death and hospitalization in heart attack patients who have heart failure, with minimal side effects, a new international study released today shows. The life-saving effect began soon after patients begin taking the drug, called eplerenone, following their heart attacks. The effect was especially strong if patients were also on other heart medications, according to the results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 6,632 patients in 37 countries.

In the process of figuring out why an anti-cancer drug is effective in treating patients with a rare blood disorder known as hypereosinophilic syndrome, or HES, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that the condition may in fact be a form of cancer.

Drugs commonly prescribed to osteoporosis and cancer patients may also cause serious ocular side effects in some cases. That’s the conclusion of a study published today by scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute. This research is expected to alert physicians to monitor patients for eye problems not previously associated with the drug. The announcement may also help physicians identify problems earlier, therefore preventing long-term sight damage. Finally, this finding may prompt drug companies to update their product labeling, forewarning physicians and users.

Taking a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin does not improve the quality of life for women who are free of menopause-related symptoms, but does expose them to a slightly higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and breast cancer, a new multi-center national study concludes. For that reason, medical scientists now recommend against the combined therapy in the absence of such symptoms.