A UCSF research team has developed a simple tool that can improve the effectiveness of communication between doctors and patients about prescribed medications and result in dramatic improvements in health and safety.
Researchers in Brazil have found that treating patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) dramatically reduces early indications of atherosclerosis in just months, linking OSA directly to the hardening or narrowing of the arteries.
Studies show that minority patients generally receive a lower quality of health care compared to white patients. How can these disparities be reduced? A supplement to the October 2007 issue of Medical Care Research and Review, published by SAGE, thoroughly explores the effectiveness of health care interventions to answer that question.
Rice University today unveiled plans for a $100 million initiative to create an institute to develop technologies to combat pressing health problems in the developing world, such as HIV/AIDS and child mortality. The initiative was announced today during the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)announced that it will join with other pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to research genetic markers that may help predict who is at risk for serious drug-related adverse events.
Following the President’s signature of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt praised the bill as an important step forward in ensuring the safety of drugs and medical devices.
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a newly identified debilitating and painful condition that affects patients with kidney failure and is characterized by a thickening and hardening of the skin. It usually affects the arms and legs but it can also affect internal organs and can progress so rapidly that patients can be immobilized and wheelchair-bound within a few weeks.
A revered contemplative practice for centuries, meditation has recently inspired research into its therapeutic value for everything from anxiety disorders to heart attack prevention. A painful, progressive autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a high risk of depression—double the risk of the healthy population, by conservative estimates—and various forms of psychological distress.
A painful and debilitating condition that affects patients with kidney failure may be more common than previously believed and appears to be strongly associated with prior exposure to certain contrast agents used in imaging studies. In addition, individuals with this syndrome – called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) – appear to have a significantly increased risk of dying.
A new UCL (University College London) study has shown that people with a strong fear of crime are almost twice as likely to show symptoms of depression. The research, based on data taken from the Whitehall II study*, also shows that fear of crime is associated with decreased physical functioning and lower quality of life. The findings are published today in the American Journal of Public Health.