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Boston, MA – Electronic medical records (EMRs) have been in use for more than 30 years, but have only increased in utilization in recent years, due in part to research supporting the benefits of EMRs and federal legislation. As EMRs have become a standard in medical care, there is a need for additional research of how the system and usage can be refined. A group of researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have done just that, and discovered that one way false information can make its way into EMRs is due to users' reliance on copying and pasting material within the patient's record.

PASADENA, Calif.—There's a wealth of health information hiding in the human immune system. Accessing it, however, can be very challenging, as the many and complex roles that the immune system plays can mask the critical information that is relevant to addressing specific health issues.

DALLAS – May 24, 2011 – A gynecologist and a molecular biologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center have collaborated to show for the first time that pelvic organ prolapse – a condition in which the uterus, bladder or vagina protrude from the body – is caused by a combination of a loss of elasticity and a breakdown of proteins in the vaginal wall.

Pelvic organ prolapse affects many women older than 50 years of age. Besides creating pelvic pressure, prolapse can lead to other pelvic-floor disorders such as urinary and fecal incontinence, and can affect sexual function.

Men who visit art galleries, museums, and the theatre regularly tend to enjoy better health and are more satisfied with life, reveals a study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The study found that both men and women who play musical instruments, paint or visit the theatre or museums felt in better health, enjoyed life more, and were less likely to be anxious or depressed then people who do not participate in cultural activities.

The number of children taken to emergency care departments with common medical problems has risen sharply over the past decade, reveals a study published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

During the past 10 years, the way that the NHS provides care at night and at weekends for common medical problems has changed.

The family doctor is no longer responsible for providing that care and advice to worried parents, with large private companies now generally contracted to provide this instead.

More than four fifths of children who turn up at emergency departments with head injuries in the UK are seen in hospitals which would have to transfer them if the injury was serious, reveals a study published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

Around 210,000 children attend hospital every year with a head injury and around 34,500 are admitted. A few children with serious head injuries will require emergency surgery and intensive care, and delays to the provision of this can prove fatal or result in severe disability.

OAKLAND, Calif., May 23, 2011 – Compared with women whose weight remained stable, body mass index gains between the first and second pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in the second pregnancy. But losing weight between the first and second pregnancies appeared to reduce GDM risk in a second pregnancy, particularly for women who were overweight or obese to begin with, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Scientists have long known that people who have a close relative with alcohol problems themselves run an increased risk of starting to abuse alcohol. The reason for this has not been known, but a new study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides part of the answer. The study shows that people who have a close relative who is an alcoholic react more positively to alcohol than other people.

PHILADELPHIA -- A physician panel in the primary care specialty of internal medicine has identified common clinical activities where changes in practice could lead to higher quality care and better use of finite clinical resources.

The study identifying the Top 5 list of internal medicine activities appears online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Often, the goal of science is to show that things are not what they seem to be. But now, in an article which will be published in an upcoming issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, a veteran cognitive psychologist exhorts his colleagues in memory research to consult the truth of their own experience.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – African-Americans who have multiple sclerosis (MS) have lower vitamin D levels than African-Americans who don't have the disease, according to a study published in the May 24, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. However, most of the difference in vitamin D levels was due to differences in climate and geography.

Men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are treated with inhaled anticholinergic drugs appear to have an increased risk of developing urinary retention (inability to urinate), according to a report in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series.

Limiting antibiotic prescribing for certain respiratory infections, avoiding imaging for low back pain and osteoporosis screening for certain patients, and not ordering cardiac screening tests in low-risk patients are among the suggestions to make primary care more affordable and efficient, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the August 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series.

ATLANTA – May 23, 2011 – A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds use of 30 tablets a month or more of acetaminophen for five or more years was associated with an estimated 38% lower risk of prostate cancer. The study appears in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention and is one of only two studies of prostate cancer to date that have examined the association with acetaminophen use that was both long-term and regular.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have devised a new technique, which helps couples that are affected by or are carriers of genetic diseases have in vitro fertilized babies free of both the disease in question and other chromosomal abnormalities. The results were reported in the April issue of Fertility and Sterility.