Intensive therapy helps in battle against bipolar disorder

New results from the largest federally funded bipolar study ever conducted show that patients who receive psychotherapy in addition to medication get better faster from bipolar disorder's debilitating depression and stay better longer, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher involved in the study. more  

Primary medical care for children with autism needs improvement

Children with autism do not receive the same quality of primary care as children with other special health care needs, according to research from the University of Minnesota Medical School. more

Growth-factor antibody may treat chronic lung disease affecting premature infants

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, in collaboration with scientists from the Genzyme Corporation, have identified a potential treatment for a chronic lung disease affecting premature infants. In a study to appear in the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, which has received early online release, the scientists find that the activity of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta, a protein that controls many essential cellular functions) is elevated in the lungs of an animal model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and that treatment with an antibody to TGF-beta both decreased the growth factor’s activity and improved lung development. more  

Disabled hit huge roadblocks in routine health care

People with physical disabilities endure substandard health care and a pervasive sense that they are a burden to doctors and medical centers, according to a Northwestern University physician. These patients often ram into roadblocks when they try to obtain basic care and life-saving diagnostic tests. more

Get a whiff of this: Smell test could sniff out serious health problems  

A new medical device in development by University of Cincinnati researchers may sniff out olfactory disorders that could be an early warning of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other problems outside the typical sensory loss associated with aging. The Sniff Magnitude Test (SMT), an invention of UC Psychology Professor Robert Frank and Professor Emeritus Robert Gesteland of the UC Department of Cell Biology, is now under further development with the WR Medical Electronics Company in Stillwater, Minn. The company will manufacture and market the test. more

Study finds lack of health insurance may be associated with increased rates of stroke  

The lack of health insurance prompts people to forego routine physical exams and have a reduced awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with increased rates of stroke and death, researchers have concluded. more

Cost-effectiveness of ligation vs. beta-blockers in the prevention of variceal bleeding

Endoscopic variceal ligation is cost-effective relative to beta-blockers for the prevention of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients if quality of life-years are considered. If only life-years are considered, then endoscopic variceal ligation is not cost-effective. These findings are published in the April issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). more

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