Can Lower Gestational Diabetes Cutoff Improve Outcomes in Kids?
Using a lower threshold for diagnosing gestational diabetes in mothers didn’t reduce the risk of large-for-gestational-age infants, according to the GEMS trial. After randomizing over 4,000 pregnant women, 15.3% were diagnosed with gestational diabetes using lower, and commonly recommended, glycemic criteria versus 6.1% using a higher threshold, Caroline Crowther, MD, of the University of Auckland […]
Brain Structure, Cognitive Performance Linked With Tobacco Use in Kids
Children who started using tobacco by age 10 had significantly inferior cognitive performance and smaller brain structures after a 2-year follow-up period, a cohort study reported. Those reporting ever using tobacco products had significantly lower scores in the Picture Vocabulary Test of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up compared […]
Dual Therapy Holds Its Own in Treatment-Naive HIV
MONTREAL — A two-drug combination using a generic formulation of the protease inhibitor darunavir/ritonavir plus lamivudine appeared to control HIV as well as the same combination with added tenofovir, according to results of the phase IV ANDES trial reported here. In the intention-to-treat analysis, 91% patients on the dual therapy achieved undetectable viral loads using […]
Worms as model for personalized medicine
Using four unrelated strains of the microscopic nematode C. elegans originating from different parts of the world, a group of worm biologists have developed a model system to study individual differences in metabolism. The use of C. elegans, a widely studied model organism, allowed the team to study the unique and complex interplay between genetics, […]
Mindfulness meditation reduces pain by separating it from the self: UC San Diego study reveals neural circuitry supporting mindfulness-induced pain relief
For centuries, people have been using mindfulness meditation to try to relieve their pain, but neuroscientists have only recently been able to test if and how this actually works. In the latest of these efforts, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine measured the effects of mindfulness on pain perception and brain […]
Military cannot rely on AI for strategy or judgment, study suggests
Using artificial intelligence (AI) for warfare has been the promise of science fiction and politicians for years, but new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology argues only so much can be automated and shows the value of human judgment. “All of the hard problems in AI really are judgment and data problems, and the […]
Screening Colonoscopy with Add-On AI Could Save $290 million a Year
Using artificial intelligence (AI) during screening colonoscopy could be a cost-savings strategy that also could boost the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality, a researcher reported. Among a simulated cohort of patients at average risk for CRC, and compared with no screening, the relative reduction of CRC incidence was 44.2% with screening colonoscopy […]
Drastic Drop in Antibiotic Overuse for Common Urology Procedure: How They Did It
NEW ORLEANS — Using a tool to classify patients’ infection risk and providing education and systems-level changes in the urology department safely reduced prophylactic antibiotic use around cystoscopy, according to a single-center study. Total antibiotic use dropped nearly 30% with the combined approach, a significant difference compared with before the intervention, said Kelly R. Pekala, […]
Illustrations To Help With Your Mental Health
Dr Emma Hepburn is a clinical psychologist who started off using hand drawing to explain mental health concepts in her clinic. But after getting a tablet to draw with, she started creating illustrations and animations and sharing them to a wider audience on social media. Hepburn has just released the book ‘A toolkit for modern […]
Digital Device Proves Effective for Treating Urinary Incontinence in Women
Pelvic floor muscle training using a motion-based digital intravaginal device significantly improved symptoms for women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) compared with a home training program, a virtually conducted randomized controlled trial showed. Participants who used the device had greater improvements in urinary symptom severity and degree of bother as measured by the Urogenital Distress […]