Culture

Results of a Chinese study showed that the HPV vaccine did not have significant effects on the number of disease flares or antibody measures in patients with inactive SLE receiving stable doses of medications after administration, and therefore was determined safe to use to prevent HPV in this group of patients.

The results of a Dutch study of 300 patients demonstrated that 22% of patients with Sjögren's syndrome were classified as clinically 'alexithymic' (experiencing difficulty identifying and describing emotions) compared to 12% of healthy controls. Subsequent results of the study showed that higher levels of alexithymia were moderately correlated with worse mental wellbeing in both groups (Pearson's correlation* (r) ≥ 0.32, p< 0.001), showing that there is a proven link between the two.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A woman's risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy can be identified up to seven years before she becomes pregnant based on routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In the largest stroke rehabilitation study ever conducted in the United States, stroke patients who had physical therapy at home improved their ability to walk just as well as those who were treated in a training program that requires the use of a body-weight supported treadmill device followed by walking practice.

Coral Gables, Fla. – May 25, 2011 – Economic recessions are weaker, expansions are stronger, and economic recovery is faster in U.S. states where people are more optimistic says a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration. Further, the effects are stronger in states where people are older, less educated and less socially connected.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — As the use of oral chemotherapy continues to rise, researchers from Michigan State University have discovered many patients fail to properly take the cancer-fighting medication, a significant clinical problem that can result in complications and premature death.

That lack of adherence needs to be addressed by the health care community, said College of Nursing researcher Barbara Given, who led the study that is published in the May edition of Seminars in Oncology Nursing.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — With legislation to diminish private- and public-sector collective bargaining rights already in the books in Wisconsin and Ohio, should more labor unions steal a page from the playbook of the NFL Players Association and decertify? Although there are parallels between the pros and regular Joes (and Janes), union decertification is not a viable strategy for ordinary workers to use when bargaining for better wages and working conditions, says a University of Illinois law and labor expert.

The Medicare program adjusts its baseline payments to hospitals and individual health care practitioners based on regional variations in expenses beyond providers' control, such as rents, wages, and liability premiums. The goal is to ensure that payments are accurate and fair, but many providers and policymakers have expressed doubts about the accuracy of these adjustments. Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payments, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, assesses the methodology and data sources used to calculate payment adjustments and recommends ways to improve their accuracy.

STANFORD, Calif. — A widely used combination of two common medications may cause unexpected increases in blood glucose levels, according to a study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University and Harvard Medical School. Researchers were surprised at the finding because neither of the two drugs — one, an antidepressant marketed as Paxil, and the other, a cholesterol-lowering medication called Pravachol — has a similar effect alone.

Research led by the University of Warwick's Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy has found that not only did the events of 9/11 produce an immediate shift in favour of the Republican party among new young US voters but that shift persisted into later years. The research shows that party strategists should focus on winning over voters when they are young.

For many patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment. Discussion of this timely topic is now available in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – By the age of 20, most people have reached skeletal maturity and do not grow any taller. Until recently it was assumed that skeletal enlargement elsewhere in the body also stopped by age 20.

But a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found evidence that, even though you're not getting taller anymore, the pelvis ("hipbones") does continue to widen as people advance in age from 20 years to 79 years.

Data presented today at the EULAR 2011 Annual Congress demonstrated that initial treatment with adalimumab (Humira, ADA) plus methotrexate in early RA patients can provide high levels of disease control in many patients, and may also offer the opportunity to change future treatment options for some.

Results of a Phase III study presented today at the EULAR 2011 Annual Congress show that at 6 months, 58.3 percent of patients who had previously not responded to treatment with DMARDs, achieved ACR20 response (a 20 percent improvement in symptoms) when treated with the novel oral Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib at 10mg BID compared to 31.2 percent in the placebo group. Significant improvements were also observed in the 5 mg BID dose.

Most adverse events were mild and no new safety signals were reported, according to study authors.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Primary care doctors have long been on the front lines of depression treatment. Depression is listed as a diagnosis for 1 in 10 office visits and primary care doctors prescribe more than half of all antidepressants.

Now doctors at the University of Michigan Health System have developed a new tool that may help family physicians better evaluate the extent to which a patient's depression has improved.