BOSTON – Patients are overwhelmingly interested in exploring the notes doctors write about them after an office visit, but doctors worry about the impact of such transparency on their patients and on their own workflow, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) study suggests. In a study published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, patient and doctor attitudes were surveyed extensively prior to the launch of the OpenNotes trial in which patients at BIDMC, Geisinger Health System of Danville, PA, and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle were ...

An increase or decrease in your blood pressure during middle age can significantly impact your lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers found people who maintained or reduced their blood pressure to normal levels by age 55 had the lowest lifetime risk for CVD (between 22 percent to 41 percent risk). In contrast, those who had already developed high blood pressure by age 55 had a higher lifetime risk (between 42 percent to 69 percent risk). Using data from 61,585 participants ...

What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during adrenaline-driven "flight or fight" stress reaction when the body senses danger. Governed by the sympathetic nervous system, an abnormal "flight or fight" stress response which causes excessive sweaty palms (called hyperhidrosis) may also contribute to problems like dangerous irregular heart rhythms from the lower chambers of the heart, called ventricular arrhythmias. UCLA cardiologists have found that surgery to snip nerves related to the sympathetic ...

ProMarketing Leads, a global supplier of sales and marketing leads, has just announced that the company recently obtained access to file of over 60 million mobile numbers with an SMS opt-in. ProMarketing Leads now sells their increasingly popular lead lists with the SMS mobile number so businesses can send text messages for promotions and coupons. Brad Allen, President of ProMarketing Leads, reports, "This is not just direct marketing this is hyper-direct marketing. We offer our clients the unique ability to target prospects using virtually all B2C direct marketing ...

High bodily levels of the trace elements nickel and selenium may lower the risk of developing the most common type of pancreatic cancer, finds research published online in Gut. Similarly, high levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium could boost the likelihood of developing the disease, the study shows. The researchers assessed 12 trace element levels in the toenails of 118 patients with exocrine pancreatic cancer—the most common form of the disease—and just under 400 hospital patients without cancer. Nails, and particularly toenails, are considered reliable indicators ...

Women with endometriosis are up to twice as likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease as those without this reproductive disorder, suggests a large study published online in Gut. And the effect can last for up to 20 years after their diagnosis of endometriosis—a condition in which cells from the womb lining implant in other areas of the body. Endometriosis is relatively common, and thought to affect as many as one in 10 women during their child bearing years. The researchers tracked the long term health of more than 37,000 Danish women who had been admitted to ...

"Mindfulness" exercises, which focus on experiencing the present moment, no matter how difficult, can help curb the stress and fatigue associated with painful rheumatoid joint disease, indicates a small study published online in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. The authors base their findings on 73 patients between the ages of 20 and 70, all of whom had had painful joint disease, caused by rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or psoriatic arthritis for at least a year. Half of them were randomly allocated to scheduled "mindfulness" exercises, which took place ...

Efforts to halt the growing abuse of prescription drugs must include addressing the availability of these drugs on the Internet and increasing physician awareness of the dangers posed by Internet pharmacies. In a commentary in the December 20 Annals of Internal Medicine, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California (USC), and The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia) describe the probable contribution of Internet pharmacies ...

Sophia Antipolis -- The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) welcomes the spotlight that a US study has placed on the importance of measuring rates of rehospitalisation following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. The research, published today in JACC Cardiovascular Interventions¹, represents one of the first studies to explore PCI readmissions and highlights the need for similar studies to be initiated across Europe to improve patient care. In the study, Dr Edward Hannan and colleagues from the School of Public Health at the University of New York, ...

As Americans live longer with multiple medical conditions, managing their care is becoming increasingly challenging. Being able to define and measure patient complexity has important implications for how care is organized, how physicians and health care systems are paid, and how resources are allocated. In an article in the Dec. 20 Annals of Internal Medicine, a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report finding that primary care physicians define patient complexity using a broader range of factors – including mental health, social factors and financial ...

Leading online voucher codes specialist DiscountVouchers.co.uk has announced new deals redeemable at Debenhams, ASOS and Marks and Spencer to help Brits save on Christmas gifts and clothing. DiscountVouchers.co.uk has launched the new deals among the offers regularly redeemable at over 800 stores on its site. Getting hold of some great gifts for loved ones is now more affordable thanks to DiscountVouchers.co.uk offering new deals redeemable at Debenhams. The DiscountVouchers.co.uk website is the place to go right now to access the latest Debenhams discount code choice ...

CHICAGO --- A hike in your blood pressure during middle age significantly raises the risk of having a heart attack or a stroke during your lifetime, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. The study offers a new understanding on the importance of maintaining low blood pressure early in middle age to prevent heart disease later in life. Men and women who developed high blood pressure in middle age or who started out with high blood pressure had an estimated 30 percent increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who kept their blood pressure ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new study co-authored by University of Florida researchers on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens. Published today in the online journal PLoS One, the study details changes in the salamander's declining health and habitat, and could provide a baseline for how changing ecosystems are affecting the rapid decline of amphibians worldwide. "Scientists and biologists view amphibians as kind of a 'canary in the coal mine' and their health is often ...

Mobilefilmworks signs Brazilian Filmmaker Jose Joffilly of Coevos Filmes to a wireless distribution agreement. Joffilly's more recent works include producing and directing the fictional feature film Blue Eyes (2007), and directing the documentary "Passion According to Callado" (2007), produced by Lumen Productions. Jose Joffilly licensed Mobilefilmworks to begin streaming feature films, 2 Perdidos Numa Noite Suja (Two Lost in a Dirty Night), and Achados e Perdidos (Lost and Found), both feature films are currently available at www.mobilefilmworks.com. Other ...

Atomic force microscope cantilever tips with integrated heaters are widely used to characterize polymer films in electronics and optical devices, pharmaceuticals, paints, and coatings. These heated tips are also used in research labs to explore new ideas in nanolithography and data storage, and to study fundamentals of nanometer-scale heat flow. Until now, however, no one has used a heated nano-tip for electronic measurements. "We have developed a new kind of electro-thermal nanoprobe," according to William King, a College of Engineering Bliss Professor in the Department ...

Fifty years ago in 1962 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? offered a new lease on life to the careers of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, as well as numerous other aging actresses. A new brand of horror films offered the stars work, and opportunity to reach their fans, and a much-needed income - Joan Crawford, above all others, welcomed the opportunity. For Crawford it meant a chance to wipe away a mountain of debt that hung over her upon the death of her last husband, Pepsi-Cola executive Alfred Steele. While few biographers detail Crawford's later work, a new book from ...

La Jolla ---- Scientists have discovered a missing link between the body's biological clock and sugar metabolism system, a finding that may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis. In a paper published last week in Nature, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report finding that proteins that control the body's biological rhythms, known as cryptochromes, also interact with metabolic switches that are targeted by certain anti-inflammatory drugs. The finding suggests that side effects of current ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – When evaluating early kidney injuries in people, doctors monitor blood level increases of creatinine, a waste product of muscle breakdown, to understand the severity of the injury. Creatinine is filtered by the kidneys, and small increases are an indication of early damage to vital kidney function. For pets suffering critical illness or injury, University of Missouri researchers have found that even tiny increases of creatinine in blood also could indicate acute kidney damage. Using human blood measurement guidelines for acute kidney injuries, the researchers ...

Driver fatigue is a problem that affects a significant number of commercial truck drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has tried to address this problem by requiring medical exams to identify drivers with sleep problems, such as sleep apnea, and by establishing hours-of-service rules to limit the number of consecutive hours a trucker can drive. Unfortunately, when limits on work hours reduces profit, some drivers are motivated to falsify their logbooks and break the rules. Last year, the FMCSA had issued a new rule that required repeat ...

On I-44 in August of 2010, a massive collision involving a tractor, a pickup truck and two school buses heading to Six Flags killed two people and injured 35 others. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board[1] concluded that the driver of the pickup truck had been texting at the time of the collision. His distraction, coupled with inattention on the part of the drivers of both school buses, were the primary causes of the fatal pileup. On December 14, 2011, the NTSB issued a series of recommendations, including: - All 50 states ban all "non-emergency ...

Lead was used in a wide range of consumer and commercial products over the last century. Unfortunately, lead is also a highly toxic metal that is known to cause serious health problems and even death. The most common source of lead poisoning today is lead-based paint. While lead paint has been removed from buildings in the past few decades, lead paint chips and lead dust are still a common sight in many apartment buildings. These problems are especially bad in low-rent buildings, most of which have not been rehabbed. Children have the greatest risk of developing lead ...

Atlanta tree services company Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts is reminding homeowners and property managers of the importance of properly preparing trees for winter. Although Atlanta winters are generally mild compared to many other regions of the country, freezing temperatures are not uncommon, especially at night, and winter can mean death for a tree that has not been sufficiently prepared. Winter air is known to dry out the skin, and it can have a similar effect on trees as well. To ensure that trees have enough water, it is important to water them thoroughly through the ...

From individual to collective failings are all due to our brains running on false emotional data generated by the selfish self-image. From wars to divorce, from Wall Street greed to the absence of pure happiness, from depression to corruption, from economic deficits to anger and all the other ills of society, the basic cause is our defective emotional intelligence. Scientists are reluctant to take up emotional intelligence education as emotional intelligence is connected to the mind, brain and consciousness; topics that science has not been able to define and understand ...

We're excited to announce that Jewels for Hope, in association with The Artisan Group, will be featured on January 13 and 14, 2012, at a luxury gift lounge event hosted by GBK Productions at L'Ermitage Beverly Hills (California) Hotel in honor of The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominees and Presenters. Jewels For Hope will be displaying a specialty Swarovski Crystal & Vintage Pendant Necklace, featured on The Artisan Group's exhibit. Each celebrity attending will receive a Swarovski Crystal & Pearl Necklace, color-coded to represent one of the 8 organizations ...

H. Ross Ford, president and CEO of TCN Worldwide, is pleased to announce that CRA Realty Inc. has joined the international real estate services organization. As the organization's newest member, CRA Realty will represent TCN Worldwide as the retail affiliate serving the greater Long Island area of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. CRA Realty/TCN Worldwide is a full-service real estate firm offering a wide array of commercial real estate brokerage services focusing on the specific needs of the retail sector. "Our company is extremely pleased to be joining TCN Worldwide, ...