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Physicians who have more personalized discussions with patients and encourage them to take a more active role in their own health care can help lower medical costs and reduce the need for some health-care services, according to new research from UC Davis Health System. Researchers said the lower medical costs stem from physicians and patients having more confidence that together they have reached a correct diagnosis and decided upon a good strategy to improve the patient’s health.

A new study shows that being married boosts survival odds for both men and women with colon cancer at every stage of the disease. Married patients had a 14 percent lower risk of death according to researchers at Penn State’s College of Medicine and Brigham Young University. That estimate is based on analysis of 127,753 patient records.

Investigators at UCLA’s Center for Neurobiology of Stress have been studying the links between the brain and digestive system in the development and treatment of common chronic digestive disorders in adults and children. Now, with the support of the Gerald Oppenheimer Family Foundation, the center will expand its activities to include research into brain-body interactions in other chronic medical disorders and the biology underlying mind-based therapies. In recognition of this support, the center has been renamed the Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress.

Small, healthy lifestyle changes and involvement in meaningful activities — going beyond just diet and exercise — are critical to healthy aging, according to a new USC study. Guided by lifestyle advisors, seniors participating in the study made small, sustainable changes in their routines (such as visiting a museum with a friend once a week) that led to measurable gains in quality of life, including lower rates of depression and better reported satisfaction with life.

Intense distress and fear of dying, which many people experience when suffering the symptoms of a heart attack, are not only fairly common emotional responses but are also linked to biological changes that occur during the event, according to new research published online today in the European Heart Journal [1]. These changes, in turn, are associated with other biological processes during the following weeks that can predict a worse outcome for patients.

In a study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics the effects of psychotherapy on cortisol, the most important stress hormone, are examined. Psychotherapy added to pharmacotherapy results in greater improvement in clinical outcomes than does pharmacotherapy alone. However, few studies examined how psychotherapy coupled with pharmacotherapy could produce a long-term protective effect by improving the psychobiological stress response.

Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of functional somatic syndromes such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities among women, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers. The research will be published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

A recent survey, led by McGill Psychiatry Professor and Senior Lady Davis Institute Researcher Amir Raz, reports that one in five respondents – physicians and psychiatrists in Canadian medical schools – have administered or prescribed a placebo. Moreover, an even higher proportion of psychiatrists (more than 35 per cent) reported prescribing subtherapeutic doses of medication (that is, doses that are below, sometimes considerably below, the minimal recommended therapeutic level) to treat their patients. Included in this report is a video interview with the lead researcher.

More than a third of Americans use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and that number continues to rise attributed mostly to increases in the use of mind-body therapies (MBT) like yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. The results of the study appear in the May 9 issue of theArchives of Internal Medicine.
Atypical Antipsychotic More Effective Than Older Drugs In Treating Childhood Mania, But Side Effects Can Be Serious
Caffeine Consumption Linked To Estrogen Changes
Sleep Problems Increase Risk For Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Obesity
Deep Brain Stimulation For Parkinson's Improves Motion and Mood And Reduces Medications
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