A longer, less intense course of radiotherapy provides better value for the money than a shorter, more intense regimen when given to ease pain and other complaints in patients with late-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study in the December 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A study of settlement decisions in workers’ compensation claims for low back pain has found almost no relationship between the rating of the disability’s severity when the claim was settlement and reported pain and disability 21 months later.
Right now there’s no rapid way to diagnose sepsis, a fast-moving blood infection that is a leading cause of death in hospital intensive care units. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that doctors one day could quickly distinguish sepsis from widespread non-infectious inflammation based on genetic profiles of patients’ blood.
How a potentially deadly bacterium that could be used as a bioterrorist tool eludes being killed by the human immune system is now better understood, researchers report in the December issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
The herbal supplement black cohosh does not relieve hot flashes among women going through menopause. In this double-blinded randomized controlled trial of 351 women, researchers found no significant difference between the numbers of hot flashes in women taking various forms of black cohosh compared to women taking a placebo. Hormone therapy, on the other hand, significantly reduced the frequency of hot flashes.
Children who received light therapy (phototherapy) for jaundice as infants appear to have an increased risk of developing skin moles in childhood, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Some types of moles are risk factors for developing the skin cancer melanoma.
HIV-infected patients undergoing surgical procedures may be more likely to develop pneumonia after surgery and to die within 12 months than those without HIV, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, HIV patients with a preoperative viral load (number of copies of the virus in the blood) greater than 30,000 per milliliter appear to have increased risk of surgical complications.
Agalsidease-beta therapy for Fabry disease slowed progression of kidney, heart and nervous system complications and death compared to placebo, a new study found.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), vigorously objects to the characterization of company practices in a New York Times article based upon selective documents illegally leaked by plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has identified a safety problem with certain blood glucose meters which under certain conditions display the wrong units of measurement. This could result in an insulin overdose and hypoglycaemic coma.