Culture

OAK BROOK, Ill. – May 10, 2012 – Researchers report that unsedated transnasal endoscopy is a feasible, safe, and well-tolerated method to screen for esophageal disease in a primary care population. This study is the largest reported experience with transnasal endoscopy in the United States. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

ICDs are used to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in patients with advanced heart disease, but many patients' devices are never triggered. New research suggests that imaging the loss of nerve function in the heart may identify those patients at greatest risk of developing a life-threatening arrhythmia.

Hospitals that perform expensive, invasive cardiovascular procedures on a disproportionate number of patients are more costly for all heart failure patients, including those treated with noninvasive methods, according to a new Yale study.

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2012 – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that physicians should reassess patients with osteoporosis who are being treated with a class of drugs called bisphosphonates after three to five years of therapy to determine whether they should continue treatment. Bisphosphonates are a widely prescribed class of drugs that are proven to be effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis and at high risk of fractures.

Continuing a popular but controversial treatment for osteoporosis could reduce spine fracture risk for a particular group of patients, but others could see little to no change if they discontinue it. Based on available evidence, a UCSF researcher reevaluated his 2006 finding from a randomized 10-year study of alendronate, a type of bisphosphonate – a class of drugs that prevent loss of bone mass.

DETROIT – A traditional treatment for heart failure appears to be equally protective in preventing death or hospitalization among African-American patients, as compared to white patients, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Musicians execute their performances better when the non-verbal sensorimotor communication between conductor and musician is maximized, according to research published May 9 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

PORTLAND, Ore. — It is relatively common for doctors to diagnose someone with multiple sclerosis when the patient doesn't have the disease — a misdiagnosis that not only causes patients potential harm but costs the U.S. health care system untold millions of dollars a year, according to a study published online today in the journal Neurology.

NEW YORK— Markle Connecting for Health today released a wide-ranging compendium of resources designed to further support the interoperable, private, and secure sharing of health information.

Cardiac catheterization – an invasive diagnostic procedure that allows doctors to see the vessels and arteries leading to the heart and its chambers – is performed thousands of times in the United States each year and, in some cases, can be the best method to diagnose heart problems. Still, the procedure is costly and may pose risks to certain patients, so determining when the benefits of performing the procedure outweigh the risks is essential.

Women with high family support and limited pressure to achieve the 'thin and beautiful' ideal have a more positive body image. That's according to a new study looking at five factors that may help young women to be more positive about their bodies, in the context of a society where discontent with appearance is common among women. The work by Dr. Shannon Snapp, from the University of Arizona in the US, and colleagues is published online in Springer's journal, Sex Roles.

Washington—The American College of Physicians (ACP) today applauded Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) for their bipartisan introduction of the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2012 this morning.

Older women who have been diagnosed with an irregular heart beat are at higher risk of stroke than men. A new study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) shows that warfarin, the most common anticoagulant therapy used to prevent stroke in patients with Atrial fibrillation (AF) may not be as effective in women, 75 years or older, as in men. The results of the study are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Many diners cringe at the thought of waiting for a table in a crowded restaurant, while restaurant managers hope they do not lose customers due to long waits. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has studied restaurant design and has recommendations for how restaurateurs can design waiting areas to be more comfortable, thus increasing diners' willingness to wait for a table.

ANN ARBOR, MI (May 9, 2012): Newly published results from a clinical study of the Diabetes Insulin Guidance System (DIGS™), under development by Hygieia, Inc., demonstrate DIGS' potential to improve blood glucose control for insulin-using patients with type 2 or type 1 diabetes. DIGS automatically adjusted insulin dosage based on each individual's reported blood glucose results. Over the 12-week intervention period of the study, investigators observed: