Painkillers not as addictive as feared: study
November 2nd, 2012
By Kerry Grens NEW YORK | Fri Nov 2, 2012 5:15pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fewer than five percent of patients prescribed narcotics to treat chronic pain become addicted to the drugs, according to a new analysis of past research. The finding suggests that concerns about the risk of becoming addicted to prescription painkillers might be “overblown,” said addiction specialist Dr
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Insight: Crunching the numbers to boost odds against cancer
November 1st, 2012
A dispensing chemist prepares drugs for a chemotherapy treatment in a sterile room at Antoine-Lacassagne Cancer Centre in Nice October 18, 2012. Picture taken October 18, 2012
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Top medical innovations treat headaches, diabetes
October 31st, 2012
An Autonomic Technologies Inc. (ATI) Neurostimulator, an almond-size device that is implanted in the mouth to relief severe headaches, is pictured in this undated handout photo. The best medical innovations for next year include the device and a hand-held scanner resembling a blow dryer that detects skin cancer, the Cleveland Clinic said on October 31, 2012
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FDA approves Teva leukemia drug
October 26th, 2012
Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:51am EDT (Reuters) – The U.S.
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Web info on prostate cancer tough to understand
October 25th, 2012
By Amy Norton NEW YORK | Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:11pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – There’s no shortage of websites with information on prostate cancer treatment, but they may be well beyond the average person’s comprehension, a new study finds. The study, of 62 such websites, found that only three had treatment information written below a 9th-grade reading level. Most often, sites aimed for the reading level of a high school senior – far beyond the reading skills of many Americans.
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Meningitis outbreak spreads to 18 states with South Carolina case
October 25th, 2012
Tweet Share this Email Print A sample of Cladosporium species, one of the fungi diagnosed in the fungal meningitis outbreak sweeping the United States, in Nashville, Tennessee on October 19, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Harrison McClary Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:34pm EDT (Reuters) – The deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to tainted steroid medications from a Massachusetts company expanded to 18 states on Thursday with South Carolina reporting its first probable case of the disease
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Are cancer patients’ hopes for chemo too high?
October 24th, 2012
By Gene Emery NEW YORK | Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:07pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – At least two thirds of people with advanced cancer in a new survey believed the chemotherapy they’re receiving might cure them, even though the treatment is only being given to buy some time or make them comfortable. “Their expectations are way out of line with reality,” Dr. Deborah Schrag of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston told Reuters Health.
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U.S. panel advises all pregnant women get pertussis booster
October 24th, 2012
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO | Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:16pm EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) – An advisory committee for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted on Wednesday to recommend that pregnant women be immunized against pertussis during each pregnancy in hopes of stemming a growing U.S. outbreak of the illness, also known as whooping cough
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Study finds why Roche’s Avastin only works in some patients
October 23rd, 2012
By Kate Kelland LONDON | Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:01pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) – Genetic testing could help doctors find the small number of patients with advanced bowel cancer likely to benefit from cancer drug Avastin, scientists said on Tuesday. In a study of Roche’s blockbuster drug, which targets and blocks a protein called VEGF-A, researchers found that different forms of the protein lead to varying responses and Avastin had no benefit in at least half of those taking it
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Backup strep throat testing may be unnecessary
October 23rd, 2012
By Kerry Grens NEW YORK | Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:02am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Doctors don’t need to double-check the results of a negative strep throat test because any missed cases typically don’t result in additional health problems for patients, according to a new study. Researchers found that among people with strep throat symptoms, an initial in-office test failed to detect the bacterial infection six percent of the time – but those oversights didn’t lead to complications from the infection. The findings support recent recommendations from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) that for adult patients, doctors can rely on the rapid test results alone to make treatment decisions
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