Studies and Analyses

A new clinical study to determine how people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) evaluate improvements in disease symptoms will be carried out by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health. The study will examine how much of an improvement in pain, stiffness, function and other symptoms is needed before patients consider the change important.

The Clinically Important

Findings point to possible therapy for chronic symptoms of diabetes

Cardiovascular ailments related to kidney diseases possibly can be avoided by blocking a newly identified enzyme that, in excess amounts, raises blood cholesterol levels and promotes arteriosclerosis, according to a UC Irvine College of Medicine study.

In a study on rats, Dr. Nick Vaziri found that controlling levels of ACAT, an enzyme that plays a critical role in cholesterol processing, improved both kid

From Mazatlán to Tucson, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is analyzing moisture-laden skies through September as part of the largest study yet of the North American Monsoon. Each year the midsummer arrival of quenching rains plays a vital role in dryland farming, ranching, and wildfire control across the southwest United States and northwest Mexico. The monsoon may also hold useful clues for predicting summer rainfall elsewhere in the United States.

“A long-term go

Researchers at the University of Washington will direct the largest study of its kind to explore the connection between air pollution and the No. 1 cause of death in the United States: cardiovascular disease.

“We’re going to be looking at questions vital to our understanding of the health effects of air pollution and cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Joel Kaufman, principal investigator on the project and associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Hea

A study published today in the August edition of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery reports that wavefront technology, a new way of measuring how vision is distorted by irregularities in the eye, offers a widely accepted means for corroborating cataract patients’ vision complaints, which may lead to earlier treatment with attendant enhanced patient safety and less loss of quality of life.

The study, Higher-Order Aberrations of Lenticular Opacities, by N. Sachdev, S

An international study with nearly 900 patients co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown that HCV can be treated effectively and safely, without compromising the patient’s HIV therapy.

Currently, HCV and resulting end-stage liver disease is the major cause of hospitalization and death in the more than one-third of HIV patients who are co-infected with HCV. While potent anti-viral therapies have prolonged the lives of HIV patients, HCV