Health :: Racial disparities in preventive health care persist

The racial gap in preventive health care — such as Pap tests, mammograms, and prostate and colorectal cancer screenings — persists and might be larger than previously thought, a study published online in BMC Heath Services Research finds, the Washington Post reports. For the study, Kevin Fiscella, an associate professor of family medicine and community and preventive medicine at the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine, and colleagues compared self reports from patients and Medicare claims from their physicians to see when they were eligible for and last had screenings for several conditions.

Eyes :: Donning protective glasses clearly key to eye-injury prevention

Accidental eye injury is a leading cause of visual impairment nationally, yet nearly 70 percent of those injured weren’t wearing protective eyewear, the main preventive measure, say ophthalmologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center, say ophthalmologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Breast Cancer :: Breast-cancer revelation not solely limited to detecting lumps

Women should be aware that not every type of breast cancer reveals itself with a lump during self exams. An aggressive, fast-spreading form called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) grows in nests or sheets of cancer cells that spread through the breast. Because it is relatively rare, IBC is often diagnosed late or even misdiagnosed as an infection.

Flu :: Getting a flu shot in October is a great way to ward off seasonal flu this winter.

Flu season typically lasts from December to March, but the ideal time for “high-risk” people to be inoculated with the flu vaccine is now through mid-November, says Dr. James Luby, an infectious disease expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although vaccine shortages have been experienced in the past, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting no short supplies this season.

Diet :: Hospital food could lack nutritional value

Substantial nutrient loss in food occurs in hospital foodservice operations, according to research recently published in the Journal of Foodservice. The study quantifies how much Vitamin C, as a marker of nutrient quality, is retained at various stages of processing at two New Jersey hospitals.

Eyes :: Receptor that enables clear corneas is identified

The cornea stays clear by expressing a soluble form of a receptor that traps factors enabling growth of vision-obstructing blood vessels, researchers say. When sflt-1, a free-floating receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor A, is eliminated, vision-obstructing blood vessels start growing, teams of researchers led by the Medical College of Georgia and University of Kentucky report in Nature. The paper was published online Oct. 18 and will be in the Oct. 26 print issue.

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