New York Medical College | Page 2 of 3

Physicians accepting fewer patients with health insurance

Surprising drop in physicians’ willingness to accept patients with insurance — Despite the imminent expansion of insurance coverage under health care reform, patients’ access to care may become more restricted – There is a drop in physicians’ acceptance of health insured patients in past years in US. As a result, insured patients could face new obstacles to receiving the medical attention they need, and overall access to health care could actually contract. As required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, millions of people will soon be added to the ranks of the insured. However, this rapid expansion of coverage is colliding with a different, potentially problematic trend that could end up hampering access to health care.

Acupuncture relieves hot flashes from prostate cancer treatment

Acupuncture relieves hot flashes from prostate cancer treatment – Acupuncture provides long-lasting relief to hot flashes, heart palpitations and anxiety due to side effects of the hormone given to counteract testosterone, the hormone that induces prostate cancer, according to a study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology?Biology?Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Weight loss may improve memory and concentration

Weight loss improves memory, according to Kent State researcher – John Gunstad, an associate professor in Kent State University’s Department of Psychology, and a team of researchers have discovered a link between weight loss and improved memory and concentration. The study shows that bariatric surgery patients exhibited improved memory function 12 weeks after their operations.

CRT-D more effective in women with heart failure

Therapy to prevent heart failure more effective in women than men — Never before has a therapy proven more beneficial for women than men in preventing heart disease ? until now. – Women receive a significantly greater benefit ? a 70 percent reduction in heart failure and a 72 percent reduction in death ? from cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D) than men, revealed by US researchers.

Cigarette smoke causes harmful changes in lungs even at lowest levels

Cigarette smoke causes harmful changes in the lungs even at the lowest levels — First study to show alteration in the function of genes in the lungs resulting from secondhand and low-level smoking – Casual smokers may think that smoking a few cigarettes a week is “no big deal.” But according to new research from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, having an infrequent smoke, or being exposed to secondhand smoke, may be doing more harm than people may think.

Lasting lung damage in rescue workers from 9/11 WTC dust

FDNY rescue workers show lasting lung damage from 9/11 World Trade Center dust — 7-year follow-up shows persistent lung function decline with no meaningful recovery – A study of nearly 13,000 rescue workers from the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) shows that the significant proportion who suffered acute lung damage after exposure to World Trade Center (WTC) dust have not recovered normal lung function in the years since the September_11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Migraine may double risk of heart attack

Migraine sufferers are twice as likely to have heart attacks as people without migraine. – People with migraine may be at an increased risk of heart attack and other risk factors for heart disease, according to a study published in the February 10, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Gene variation linked to lower risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease

Gene variation associated with lower risk of dementia, Alzheimer disease – Preliminary research suggests that variation of a gene for a plasma protein is associated with slower age-related memory decline and a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD).

Cooling may benefit children after cardiac arrest

Cooling may benefit children after cardiac arrest — Multicenter study evaluates effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia in extending survival and reducing brain injury. – When the heart is stopped and restarted, the patient’s life may be saved but their brain is often permanently damaged. Therapeutic hypothermia, a treatment in which the patient’s body temperature is lowered and maintained several degrees below normal for a period of time, has been shown to mitigate these harmful effects and improve survival in adults.

Metals and diesel emissions lead to respiratory symptoms in children

Exposures to metals and diesel emissions in air linked to respiratory symptoms in children – Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children.