New research reported in the journal CHEST shows that prescription sleep aids may do little to improve the use of continuous positive airway pressure among patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The study found that patients with OSA who were given prescription sleep aids were no more likely to use their CPAP machines than patients with OSA taking a placebo.
Johns Hopkins scientists have successfully grown large numbers of stem cells taken from adult pigs’ healthy heart tissue and used the cells to repair some of the tissue damage done to those organs by lab-induced heart attacks. Pigs’ hearts closely resemble those in humans, making them a useful model in such research.
People who are depressed have an increased risk of dying from heart failure, and a new study by Duke University Medical Center researchers may help explain why.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) may provide a noninvasive way to monitor neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with lupus, according to results from research in mice at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
AstraZeneca announced a new program that provides significant savings to Medicare Part D beneficiaries who may have difficulty affording their medicines. Beginning Nov. 15, people who qualify and enroll will be able to go to their participating local pharmacy and immediately receive savings on AstraZeneca products, including NEXIUM? (esomeprazole), CRESTOR? (rosuvastatin), SEROQUEL? (quetiapine fumarate), TOPROL XL? (metoprolol succinate) and ARIMIDEX? (anastrozole). This is a unique offering in comparison to other patient assistance programs because it gives people convenient savings on their medicines at the pharmacy counter.
As the prevalence of allergic rhinitis appears to be rising, there are increasing concerns about its impact on health, sleep, work and school performance, as well as unmet patient needs regarding its treatment according to experts presenting new data at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).
Investigators are presenting more than 380 abstracts on preliminary findings in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Nov. 9-15. Following are highlights of some key investigations on allergic asthma.
The science of cancer prevention has advanced to the point where researchers now say they can detect ?cancer genes? in the breath of smokers, and can test the presence of two proteins in men they say will predict development of prostate cancer a decade in advance. All of these novel findings need much more examination, of course, but scientists at the American Association for Cancer Research?s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting, say these examples illustrate how it is becoming increasingly possible to use genes and their protein products to help predict and diagnose cancer, as well as choose therapy that offers the most potential for a good result. These researchers will also discuss a test that can pick out patients who have pancreatic cancer – an advance that offers hope the disease can be treated at earlier stages than it is now – and how several unique genes can predict which prostate cancer or lung cancer patients will develop aggressive tumors that need additional treatment. Cancer is a disease of genes, they say, so genes can be employed as a crystal ball to thwart the disease.
Using material similar to bathtub caulk, University of Utah engineers invented a tiny, inexpensive ?micropump? that could be used to move chemicals, blood or other samples through a card-sized medical laboratory known as a lab-on-a-chip.
Adolescent and young adult cancer patients rank support from family, friends and other cancer survivors as high priority healthcare needs, according to a new University of Southern California study.