Latest American Medical Association Stories

Pilot study shows 60 percent of children who received liver tissue from a parent can safely discontinue immunosuppression; larger study planned Physicians at three transplant centers have found in a pilot study that a majority of children who receive liver tissue from a parent can eventually stop using immunosuppression (anti-rejection) medications safely. These drugs, which tamp down natural immune function, have been linked to a bevy of complications, including cancer, diabetes,...

Findings could affect both cancer recurrence and overall survival rates A new study reveals substantial differences – by both surgeon and institution – in the rates of follow-up surgeries for women who underwent a partial mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer. Those differences, which cannot be explained by a patient’s medical or treatment history, could affect both cancer recurrence and overall survival rates, according to the study led by Laurence McCahill, M.D. of Van Andel...

Time can be important in an emergency department especially in a busy Level 1 Trauma Center like MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, when getting patients appropriate care is essential. However, when the quality of an emergency department is judged by a patient's length of stay, time takes on a new meaning. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that there is no significant difference between safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals when it...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are linked to the lowering of children's immune response to vaccinations. Perfluorinated compounds are chemicals used in manufactured products, including but not limited to waterproof clothing, fast-food packaging, and non-stick cookware. Most Americans have the chemical compounds in their bodies. A team of researchers led by Philippe...

According to a new study, oral infections with the human papillomavirus (HPV) are more common in men than women. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said that while the viruses can be found in saliva, HPV appears to be mostly spread through sex. Study author Maura Gillison, a professor at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center said the virus can cause cancers at the back of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue.  Patients...

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthpoint Biotherapeutics today advised that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has eliminated the physician 90-day global surgical period for the application of all skin and dermal substitutes, including OASIS® Wound Matrix and OASIS® Ultra Tri-Layer Matrix. Additionally, the American Medical Association has created eight new CPT® codes that apply to brands in the skin substitute category, resulting in the same...

A new study finds that perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), widely used in manufactured products such as non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and fast-food packaging, were associated with lowered immune response to vaccinations in children. It is the first study to document how PFCs, which can be transferred to children prenatally (via the mother) and postnatally from exposure in the environment, can adversely affect vaccine response. The study appears in the January 25, 2012 issue of the...

Adding the acid reflux drug lansoprazole to a standard inhaled steroid treatment for asthma does not improve asthma control in children who have no symptom of acid reflux, according to a new study funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Lansoprazole therapy slightly increased the risk of sore throats and other respiratory problems in children, however. Results of this study, which was also sponsored by the American...

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has received Accreditation With Commendation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This achievement grants the ACCP accreditation through November 2017 and places the organization in the highest tier of all continuing medical education (CME) providers, including some of the nation's most prestigious medical schools and professional medical...

New findings from a research study led by physicians at Scripps Health reveal that the drug cangrelor has the unique properties of achieving very fast blood thinning effects when needed to protect from heart attacks, but also dissipates rapidly so patients can undergo surgery without the excessive bleeding often associated with blood thinning medications. Initial results from the BRIDGE trial will be published Jan. 18, 2012, in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association...