Culture

PHILADELPHIA – Patients with more severe psoriasis are also more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension, according to new research by a team at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Through a cross-sectional study using information collected from a medical records database, the results provide further evidence of a strong link between psoriasis and hypertension. Full results are now available in JAMA Dermatology.

Bottom Line: Patients with moderate and severe psoriasis have the greatest likelihood of uncontrolled hypertension compared to patients without psoriasis.

Author: Junko Takeshita, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, and colleagues.

New York, NY, October 16, 2014 – Evidence-based guidelines play an increasing role in setting standards for medical practice and quality but are seldom systematically evaluated in the practice setting. Investigators evaluated the rate of physician adherence to the American Urological Association's (AUA) guidelines on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms (BPH/LUTS) to establish a benchmark for future research. Their findings are published in The Journal of Urology®.

An investigation into how patient outcomes are assessed in clinical trials has revealed a worrying lack of consistency, raising concerns about funding being wasted on the acquisition of poor quality data.

Information collected through clinical trials plays a crucial role in improving the standard of patient care. Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) inform our understanding of how certain treatments and interventions work by evaluating their effectiveness, and any potential side effects, from the patient perspective.

October 15, 2014 – A recently concluded demonstration project made meaningful progress toward introducing a "patient-centered medical home" approach at "safety net" practices serving vulnerable and underserved populations. Lessons learned in the course of developing and implementing the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative (SNMHI) are featured in a special November supplement to Medical Care.

Coordinating product placement with advertising in the same television program can reduce audience loss over commercial breaks by 10%, according to a new study in the Articles in Advance section of Marketing Science, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

DARIEN, IL – A study of hospitalized cardiac patients is the first to show that effective treatment with positive airway pressure therapy reduces 30-day hospital readmission rates and emergency department visits in patients with both heart disease and sleep apnea. The results underscore the importance of the "Stop the Snore" campaign of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society and other partners.

A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield researcher has shown that tiny tweaks to the soundtrack can make TV adverts much more memorable, increasing their commercial impact.

The necessary adjustments are imperceptible to the ear and eye. But Andy Rogers – in the last stages of his PhD project at the University – has proved that there are considerable perceptual improvements if the synchronisation between the music and the visual content of the commercial is altered by just tenths of a second.

Napa, California—October 15, 2014—Although recent trends show a decline in anesthesia-related deaths, a study published today by the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management concludes that risks are evolving and both physicians and patients can take steps to reduce injuries.

ITHACA, N.Y. – Have you ever noticed you find your candidate for political office more attractive than the opponent? New research from Cornell University shows you're not the only one.

Obtaining access to private outpatient psychiatric care in the Boston, Chicago and Houston metropolitan areas is difficult, even for those with private insurance or those willing to pay out of pocket, a new study by Harvard researchers shows.

The researchers, who posed on the phone as patients seeking appointments with individual psychiatrists, encountered numerous obstacles, including unreturned calls, wrong numbers and providers who were no longer taking new patients. They met with success in only one-quarter of their attempts, even after two tries.

Risk factors for sexual assault, including young age and alcohol consumption, must be addressed when considering preventative strategies, suggests a new study, published today (15 October) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

The Danish study used data from all women attending the specialised centre for victims of sexual assault (CVSA) in Copenhagen for sexual assault or attempted sexual assault between March 2001 and December 2010. A total of 2541 women were included in the sample.

New research published in The Lancet provides the first evidence of the medium-term to long-term safety and tolerability of transplanting human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in humans.

hESC transplants used to treat severe vision loss in 18 patients with different forms of macular degeneration appeared safe up to 3 years post-transplant, and the technology restored some sight in more than half of the patients.

Slow-healing or non-healing bone fractures in otherwise healthy people may be caused by gene variants that are common in the population, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

"We found associations between certain gene polymorphisms and delayed fracture healing in a sample of patients," said J. Spence Reid, professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation. "Our study was preliminary but it demonstrated the feasibility of a larger one, which we're now working to set up."

HOUSTON – (Oct. 13, 2014) – New research from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy found that states with a large minority population tend to incarcerate more people.