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Why Anorexic Patients Cling To Their Eating Disorder
Anorexic patients drastically reduce food intake and are often not capable of changing their behavior. This can lead to life-threatening weight loss. Using MRI technology, scientists at Heidelberg University Hospital have discovered for the first time processes in brain metabolism that explain this disturbed eating behavior.
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Integrative Medicine Critical To Healthcare Reform - American College for Advancement in Medicine
The American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) has released its position regarding HB 3200, the health care reform bill proposed by the Obama administration. While ACAM believes healthcare reform is vital and necessary for America, it is our position that integrative medicine principles be included to yield the desired result of creating a more efficient, wellness-centered approach to healthcare.
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Dental Technology Can Help Reduce Patients In-Office Time
Technology is the way of the future, or at least the way of the American future, which is why dentists throughout the United States have increased their use of digital technology. And as making a better use of patients" two most useful res: time and money becomes increasingly important in the practice of dentistry, technology becomes the key to success. Dennis J. Fasbinder, DDS, MAGD, ABGD will help dentists decrease the amount of time that patients" spend in the office by leading a discussion and providing information about using computer-assisted design and computer-assisted machining (CAD/CAM) technology at the Academy of General Dentistry"s (AGD) 57th Annual Meeting, which is taking place in Baltimore, Md., July 8 - 12, 2009.
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Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors Have Increased Risk Of Stroke And Transient Ischemic Attack

Patients treated for Hodgkin lymphoma with radiation therapy have a substantially higher risk of stroke, according to a new study published June 17 online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study was undertaken because information on clinically verified stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), or a "mini stroke," following Hodgkin lymphoma is limited. In order to quantify the long-term risks, Flora E. van Leeuwen, Ph.D., of the Department of Epidemiology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, and colleagues performed a retrospective cohort study among 2,201 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors. The patients, who had survived at least 5 years from the time of diagnosis, had been treated between 1965 and 1995 before age 51. The researchers compared incidence rates of clinically verified stroke and TIA in this cohort with rates in the general population. After a median follow-up of almost 18 years, 96 patients developed cerebrovascular disease. The incidence rate for stroke was 2.2 times the incidence in the general population. For TIA, it was 3.1. Risks also remained elevated, compared to those in the general population, after prolonged follow-up. Radiation to the neck and mediastinum was associated with increased risk, whereas chemotherapy was not. "For young survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma, who are at especially increased risk of stroke and TIA, physicians should consider appropriate risk-reducing strategies, such as treatment of hypertension and lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of stroke and TIA," the authors write. In an accompanying editorial, Dan L. Longo, M.D., of the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., discusses the study"s contribution to the "already overwhelming evidence that radiation therapy in Hodgkin"s disease is short-sightedò€¦" He applauds the detailed medical documentation and nearly complete follow-up of the patients in the study, but notes a weakness, in that the relationship of stroke to radiation doses was not examined. According to Longo, results of this study should affect a physician"s choice of primary treatment. "Unfortunately, given the life-long increased risks of late effects that have been documented from the use of radiation therapy, we simply cannot keep exposing patients to risk without clear benefit while we wait for safety data to be produced," he writes. "With an alternative therapy at hand that is just as effectiveò€¦, it is simply unjustified to keep using a toxic modality for the next 10-20 yearsò€¦" Citations: Article: De Bruin et al. Increase Risk of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack in 5-Year Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009, 101: 928-937. Editorial: Longo D. Late Effects from Radiation Therapy: The Hits Just Keep on Coming. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009, 101: 904-905. Author: Danielle Cardozo Steve Graff Journal of the National Cancer Institute


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