The glass half-full: How optimism can bias prognosis in serious illness

Most people think of optimism as a good thing—a positive outlook in challenging circumstances. But in reality, it’s a psychological state that can be “contagious” in a bad way. A new study, published in the journal Psycho-Oncology, details how a seriously ill patient’s optimism can impact a clinician’s survival prognosis in palliative care conversations. Senior author Robert Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., […]

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Long-term prognosis of Chagas patients improved with anti-parasite drug

Researchers have found that the anti-parasite drug benznidazole may improve the long-term prognoses of patients with chronic Chagas disease, according to a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, by Clareci Silva Cardoso at the Federal University of São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, Brazil, and colleagues from the SaMi-Trop study, a project funded by NIAID/NIH. Caused by exposure to the protozoa […]

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Researchers solve puzzle of poor cancer prognosis in young Americans

Young Americans with cancer have a far better prognosis than once thought due to a surprising new discovery about the role of HIV/AIDS, fundamentally altering a longstanding narrative about their cancer mortality, according to new findings by USC scientists. For decades, some researchers believed cancer survival rates were dismally low among adolescents and young adults in the United States. But […]

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