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Guidelines for Prostate Screening Widely Ignored, Study Finds

By Guest PostApril 25, 2012Healthberkshire hathaway, blood test, cancer specific mortality, ceo, controversial decision, data, dezheng huo, diagnosis, jim hu, john easton, los angeles, michael drazer, nhis, prostate cancer, prostate specific antigen, psa, psa screening, recommendation, sandip prasad, scott eggener, treatment, university of california, university of chicago, warren buffett

2008 recommendations from federal task force had no impact

New research confirms that the controversial decision by Warren Buffett – the 81-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway – to undergo a blood test screening for prostate cancer despite his age is hardly unusual. Despite recommendations in 2008 from the United States Preventive Services Task Force against testing for prostate cancer in men aged 75 years or older, almost half of men in that age group continue to get screening tests.

In 2005, before the recommendations were released, 43 percent of men age 75 and above elected to take the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. In August 2008, the Task Force stated it “recommends against the service,” arguing “there is moderate or high certainty the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits.” (more…)

Payment Innovation Cuts Depression Time in Half

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Healthamerican, community health clinics, depression, depression outcomes, disease, incentive, jurgen unutzer, king county, mental disorder, mental health, payment, university of washington, washington state, world health organization

When 25 percent of the payments to community health clinics were based on quality of care, patients received better care and had better depression outcomes. The results of this initiative are published in the American Journal of Public Health.

University of Washington researchers examined records from almost 8,000 patients treated for depression in 29 community health clinics in the Washington State Mental Health Integration Program before and after the implementation of a pay-for-performance incentive. After the incentive was started, patients were seen more quickly and were more likely to receive consultation from a psychiatrist. They were also more likely to show improvements in their depression. (more…)

MU Veterinary Surgeons Use Advanced MRI Technology to Locate Dangerous Tumor

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Health, Naturebrain during surgery, brainsight mri, callies tumor, neuro navigation device, remove dangerous tumor, therapy dog

Procedure saves therapy dog, beloved pet from cancerous brain tumor

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Using a special piece of MRI equipment, doctors from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine were able to remove a dangerous tumor from a beloved pet and therapy dog. (more…)

Migraine Patients Find Pain Relief in Electrical Brain Stimulation

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Healthchronic migraine, electrical brain stimulation, migraine patients, migraine sufferers, migraine therapy, motor cortex stimulation

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Chronic migraine sufferers saw significant pain relief after four weeks of electrical brain stimulation in the part of the brain responsible for voluntary movement, the motor cortex, according to a new study. (more…)

Why Some Pain Drugs Become Less Effective Over Time

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Healthdpdpe, graciela pineyro, journey, ligands, molecular mechanism, neural cell, opioid analgesics, opioid pain drugs, painkilling function, poppy plant, receptor recycling, sainte justine hospital, snc 80 t, university of montreal

Researchers at the University of Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours. “A better understanding of these mechanisms will enable us to design drugs that avoid body resistance to these drugs and produce longer therapeutic responses, including longer-acting opioid analgesics”, lead author Dr. Graciela Pineyro said.

Humans have known about the usefulness of opioids, which are often harvested from poppy plants, for centuries, but we have very little insight into how they lose their effectiveness in the hours, days and weeks following the first dose. “Our study revealed cellular and molecular mechanisms within our bodies that enable us to develop resistance to this medication, or what scientists call drug tolerance,” she added. (more…)

Distinct “God Spot” in the Brain Does Not Exist, MU Researcher Says

By Guest PostApril 21, 2012Healthbrain function, brain injury, frontal lobe, god spot, higher power, human brain, spiritual experiences, spirituality

Study shows religious participation and spirituality processed in different cerebral regions

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Scientists have speculated that the human brain features a “God spot,” one distinct area of the brain responsible for spirituality. Now, University of Missouri researchers have completed research that indicates spirituality is a complex phenomenon, and multiple areas of the brain are responsible for the many aspects of spiritual experiences. (more…)

Safe Sleep Environments Key to Preventing Many Infant Deaths, MU Researcher Says

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Healthback to sleep, california, campaign, delaware, hawaii, heather dykstra, infant, injury prevention, michigan, nevada, ohio, patricia schnitzer, Pennsylvania, sids, sleep environment, soft bedding, suids, tennessee, texas, theresa covington, united states, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Since 1992, the government’s Back-to-Sleep Campaign has encouraged parents to place infants on their backs to sleep. Still, more than 4,500 infants die unexpectedly during sleep each year in the United States. Now, a University of Missouri injury prevention researcher says that safe, separate sleep environments for infants are critical to preventing sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs).

“Many of these SUIDs are due to unsafe sleep environments, and these deaths are totally preventable,” said Patricia Schnitzer, an associate professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. “The safest place for infants to sleep is on their backs in their own cribs without soft bedding.” (more…)

New Findings in Breast Cancer

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Healthbreast cancer, breast cancer research, invasive tumors, treatment design, tumorigenic cells, tumorigenicity

Results from Berkeley Lab and University of Copenhagen Collaboration Contradict Current Views on Cancer Stem Cells

New findings in breast cancer research by an international team of scientists contradict the prevailing belief that only basal-like cells with stem cell qualities can form invasive tumors. Research led by Ole William Petersen at the University of Copenhagen (CU) and Mina Bissell of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and has shown that luminal-like cells with no detectable stem cell qualities can generate larger tumors than their basal-like counterparts. This may hold important implications for the diagnosis and the treatment of breast cancer as well as future personalized cancer medicine. (more…)

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