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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A study comparing laparoscopic to open surgery for rectal cancer has confirmed the long-term oncologic safety of the laparoscopic approach. “This pooled analysis of 3 randomized controlled trials with a follow-up of more than 10 years demonstrates that laparoscopic surgery for...

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine reports that reading levels of current educational health material by groups “ranging from the American Society of Anesthesiologists to the American Psychiatric Association, fell anywhere from ninth grade to the sophomore year of college.” However, a number...

Angelina Jolie’s announcement of having a preventative double mastectomy has drawn attention to the test for BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes that are associated with high breast cancer risk. An op-ed in The New York Times explains that some women are not able to get the test because it comes at...

A new article in BBC News details new research claiming “Sharing a bed with a newborn increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) fivefold.” The study compared nearly 1,500 cot deaths and found “Even in very low-risk breastfed babies, where there were no risk factors for...

About 3 million cataract surgeries are performed annually in the United States. An article in The Washington Post reports that these surgeries may increase the risk of retinal detachment. Experts explain that within a year of cataract surgery “it is common to get a posterior vitreous separation...

According to a new study published Monday in Pediatrics, “having childhood ADHD could lead to a life of obesity, even if ADHD symptoms disappear in adulthood.” The LA Times reports that the data “confirm earlier work that linked higher adult weight and obesity with childhood ADHD diagnoses …...

New research in PLoS ONE examines the effect of a subinhibitory concentration of TDZ (thioridazine), a drug formerly used to treat schizophrenia, “on antimicrobial resistance, the global transcriptome, and the cell wall composition of MRSA USA300.” Researchers found TDZ sensitizes bacteria to...

This weekend, the American Psychiatric Association released its new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, called the DSM-5. A post in NPR’s Shots blog explains “The DSM has taken on biblical proportions over the years because its list of several hundred disorders is often used...

While sugar has been to blame in the obesity epidemic, a post in The New York Times’ Well blog explains that “a closer look at what and how Americans eat suggests that simply focusing on sugar will do little to quell the rising epidemic of obesity.” The more than 20% increase in the average...

A new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association compares “outcomes of single- and dual-chamber ICDs (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death.” Researchers found lower rates of complications for single-chamber devices (3.51% vs...