Culture | Page 1721 | Science Codex

UTMB study shows pulmonary rehabilitation underutilized by physicians and COPD patients

A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston investigating trends on the use of pulmonary rehabilitation therapy among older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease found that this therapy was underutilized, despite its health benefits and cost effectiveness.

The UTMB study is the first to describe use of PR among COPD patients in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. patients. The findings are currently available in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention.

Blood test can help predict RA treatment response

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that the presence of an antibody (anti-CPP ) in the bloodstream of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) correlates with response to different drug treatments. This finding is another important step towards the introduction of personalised medicine in rheumatology, which is already having a major impact in cancer treatment.

Diabetes more frequent in children with chronic rheumatic disease

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a study involving more than 9,000 patients, presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that Type 1 diabetes occurs significantly more frequently in patients with Juvenile Inflammatory Arthritis (JIA) than in the general population. A better understanding of this link between diabetes and JIA may lead to new preventative and therapeutic interventions in both these diseases.

New comorbidity tool predicts risk of hospitalisation and death in psoriatic arthriti

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that a newly developed method of evaluating the impact of different comorbidities in patients with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) can be used to prospectively identify those PsA patients at greater risk of hospitalisation and premature death. In addition to helping predict the future use of resources and identify targets to reduce costs, application of this new PsA-comorbidity index may ultimately improve outcomes for PsA patients.

Heart monitor implant could save lives in patients with serious immune disease

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that use of an easy to insert heart monitor in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and no known heart disease enables early detection and treatment of potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. The findings support the need to identify SSc patients at risk of heart problems that would benefit from this implanted recorder.

Stanford study finds support across ethnicities for physician-assisted death

Physician-assisted death was supported by a majority of California and Hawaii residents, regardless of their ethnicity, who responded to an online survey, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Yuck factor may boost hand hygiene compliance

DETROIT - The yuck factor may be an effective tool for boosting hand hygiene compliance among health care workers, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Infection Prevention and Control specialists observed that showing magnified images of bacteria found on things common in the health care environment like a mouse pad or work station, even a person's hand, swayed workers in four patient care units to do a better job of cleaning their hands. Compliance rates improved on average by nearly 24 percent.

The Lancet: Most antidepressant drugs ineffective for children and teens, according to study

Most available antidepressants are ineffective, and some may be unsafe, for children and teenagers with major depression, according to the most comprehensive comparison of commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs so far, published in The Lancet.

The findings indicate that out of 14 antidepressant drugs [1], only fluoxetine was more effective at relieving the symptoms of depression than placebo, whilst taking venlafaxine was linked with an increased risk of engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts compared with placebo and five other antidepressants.

Most people don't sleep any worse when taking medicines with sleep disturbance warnings

Medicines that carry warnings about sleep disturbances do not seem to contribute to the amount of sleep disturbances in the general population, according to new 'real world' research. The findings, which are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology suggest that investigators may need to provide more careful reporting of side effects in clinical trials, and emphasizes the value of research into the safety of medicines once they are being taken by the general population.

Fishing prohibitions produce more sharks along with problems for fishing communities

Scientists working for Murdoch University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, and other groups have good news about fishing closures established in Indonesia's shark sanctuary: It's good for sharks and other fish, all of which are more abundant within zones with fishing restrictions.

Research finds offender risk assessment tools in US Are promising, but questions remain

The criminal justice system in the United States uses a variety of tools to assess the behavior of criminal offenders, and those risk assessments can have a significant impact on an offender's fate. A new meta-analysis of the research conducted in the U.S. on these tools shows that -- while promising -- it is still unclear whether these tools reduce bias against offenders based on race or other factors.

Anti-epileptic drug linked to birth defects when taken with other drugs

In an analysis of pregnancies in Australia from 1999 to 2014 in which women were taking anti-epileptic drugs, fetal malformation rates fell over time in pregnancies where only one drug was taken, but rates increased in pregnancies where multiple drugs were taken.

How 4-D simulation can help construction projects come in on time -- and on budget

Montreal, June 7, 2016 -- Massive public transportation infrastructure projects are notorious for exceeding both budgets and deadlines. Think Boston's Big Dig, finally completed eight years late and billions of dollars over budget.

Luckily, projects like Montreal's Turcot Interchange don't need to suffer the same fate, thanks to a new modelling method developed by researchers at Concordia University in Montreal, and described in a recent study in Automation in Construction.

The method is designed to help those projects come in on time and on budget.

Electronic anti-theft systems remain a threat to cardiac device patients

Nice, France - 8 June 2016: Electronic anti-theft systems still post a threat to cardiac device patients, according to research presented today at CARDIOSTIM - EHRA EUROPACE 2016 by Professor Robert Stevenson, senior scientist at Greatbatch Medical in Santa Clarita, California, US.1

Old World metals traded on Alaska coast hundreds of years before contact with Europeans

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Two leaded bronze artifacts found in northwestern Alaska are the first evidence that metal from Asia reached prehistoric North America prior to contact with Europeans, according to new Purdue University research.