Studies and Analyses

In the first study of its kind, researchers say half of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation exhibit signs of delirium, but the warning signs are subtler and can be easily missed by clinicians. The study, which appears in the February 15, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, says the level of distress, fatigue, and pain are associated with the severity of delirium.

Delirium is a temporary, acute change in a patient’s leve

A study of twins

A paper showing a strong genetic contribution to social responsibility was published in the December 22 issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 271, 2583-2585, entitled “Genetic and environmental contributions to pro-social attitudes: a twin study of social responsibility.”

The study compared identical twins with non-identical twins to see how much they agreed on 22 questions, such as “I am a person people can count on,” “It is

Prevention is key, March of Dimes says

Death or severe cognitive and neuromotor impairment are common outcomes among extremely premature infants (fewer than 26 weeks’ gestation), according to a British study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. “Prematurity is a common, serious problem in America and unfortunately, the number of preterm births is rising each year,” said Scott D. Berns, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, vice president for chapter programs of the March of D

The contrast agent iopromide, which has been used on more than 70 million patients worldwide, can be used for all types of CT imaging, regardless of the volume or dosage required, according to a new study by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

For the study, researchers analyzed 29,508 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT with iopromide for a variety of diagnostic reasons. Of the patients studied, 29,297 experienced no adverse

Whether emotional responses to scent are a product of nature or nurture is a matter of scientific debate. But a Brown University study, published in the current issue of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology, comes down on the nurturing side.

In an experiment that involved computer games and custom-made scents, researchers found that responses to new odors depended on emotions experienced while the new odor was present. If participants had a good time playing the g

More sexually active adolescent females than previously thought may be infected with a virus linked to cervical cancer and genital warts, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

The research, reported by Darron R. Brown, M.D., and colleagues at the Indiana University School of Medicine, found four out of five sexually active adolescent females infected with the human papillomavirus. The study said the rates observed among the