Studies and Analyses

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising – a $3.2 billion industry in the United States – not only sways patients to ask for certain medications, but profoundly influences the way doctors make initial treatment decisions, according to an April 27 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

University of Rochester Medical Center Professor Ronald M. Epstein, M.D., had a lead role in the research, which focused on antidepressants, as they consistently r

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are looking for participants for a nationwide study of an investigational medication for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a type of mental illness characterized by excessive and persistent worry about everyday events and activities.

More than 4 million Americans suffer from GAD, which often manifests itself as restlessness, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, headaches, nausea, insomnia or poor concentration. People with GAD experie

Alcohol is the biggest cause, but nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is catching up

A recent population-based study in a small town in Southern Italy found that one in eight residents had abnormal liver tests. While alcohol consumption was the most common causative factor, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly prevalent source of the problem. The study is published in the May 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Stu

Multi-center trial shows positive results for pediatric head injury cooling treatment

A first-of-its-kind multi-center trial has shown that cooling the body can have positive affects on children who suffered traumatic brain injury. The study’s lead investigator, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh neurosurgeon P. David Adelson, MD, and fellow researchers determined that induced moderate hypothermia initiated after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a safe therapeutic

Breastfeeding causes nearly 40 percent of all pediatric HIV infections, yet also prevents millions of child deaths every year by protecting infants from diarrhea and other infections. Finding ways to make breastfeeding safer for infants of HIV-infected mothers has been an urgent research priority. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Zimbabwe and Harare (Zimbabwe) City Health Department found that exclusive breastfeeding substantially reduces

Black cohosh, an herb widely used by breast cancer patients to alleviate hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, may alter the way that cells respond to drugs commonly used to treat breast cancer, according to a Yale School of Medicine study in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Recent studies have shown that many patients receiving cancer therapy are also self-medicating with complementary and alternative medicines, often without telling their physicians, said the lead resea