Study reveals long-term effectiveness of therapy for common cause of kidney failure

New research provides support for the long-term efficacy of a drug used to treat in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a common cause of kidney failure. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The hormone vasopressin promotes the progression of ADPKD, the fourth leading cause of […]

Continue reading »

Common diabetes drug found safe for most diabetics with kidney disease

Results of a large-scale study suggest that the oral diabetes drug metformin is safe for most diabetics who also have chronic kidney disease (CKD). The study of more than 150,000 adults by Johns Hopkins Medicine investigators found that metformin’s association with the development of a life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis was seen only among patients with severely decreased kidney function. […]

Continue reading »

Peripheral neuropathy common in childhood cancer survivors

(HealthDay)—Childhood cancer survivors frequently have clinical abnormalities attributable to peripheral neuropathy, according to a study published online May 14 in JAMA Neurology. Tejaswi Kandula, M.B.B.S., from the University of New South Wales in Sidney, and colleagues recruited cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy for extracranial malignancy before age 17 years and compared them with healthy age-matched controls. One hundred […]

Continue reading »

By 2030, prostate and lung cancers expected to be most common cancers among HIV population

Despite declines in cancer incidence rates among HIV-infected people, cancer will remain a significant concern as this patient population ages. By 2030, prostate and lung cancers are projected to be the most common cancers among individuals aging with HIV. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Due to their weakened immune systems, people living with HIV have a […]

Continue reading »

Common class of drugs linked to dementia even when taken 20 years before diagnosis

The largest and most detailed study of the long-term impact of anticholinergic drugs, a class of drugs commonly prescribed in the United States and United Kingdom as antidepressants and incontinence medications, has found that their use is associated with increased risk of dementia, even when taken 20 years before diagnosis of cognitive impairment. An international research team from the US, […]

Continue reading »

Preventive use of common antibiotic reduces child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa

Treating young children in Sub-Saharan Africa with azithromycin, a safe, inexpensive, and widely used antibiotic, significantly reduced deaths of children under five in a large randomized trial led by scientists at UC San Francisco. The finding could help speed progress toward the United Nations’ goal of ending preventable child deaths by 2030. Researchers randomized 1,533 communities in Niger, Malawi, and […]

Continue reading »

Metabolic syndrome common with chronic hep B infection

(HealthDay)—Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is prevalent among patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, according to a study published online March 29 in Diabetes Care. Mandana Khalili, M.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues assessed prevalence of MetS and its influence on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and fibrosis among a multiethnic North American cohort with chronic HBV infection […]

Continue reading »

Researchers test stem cell-based retinal implant for common cause of vision loss

Physicians and researchers at the USC Roski Eye Institute have collaborated with other California institutions to show that a first-in-kind stem cell-based retinal implant is feasible for use in people with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. The results of their phase I/IIa study, which was funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, were published today in Science […]

Continue reading »
1 2