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Job market lures more physician assistants to specialties over primary care
Contact: Samiha Khanna Phone: 919-419-5069 Email: samiha.khanna@duke.edu https://www.dukemedicine.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 DURHAM, N.C. -- The job market is luring more physician assistants, or PAs, to jobs in specialty care rather than primary care practices such as family medicine and general pediatrics, according to new research from Duke Health. PAs are seen as a partial solution to an expected shortage in the primary care workforce in the coming years due to an aging population, rising rates of chronic disease and increased access to health care, said Perri Morgan, Ph.D., director of researc...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - March 2, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Study Suggests Sildenafil May Relieve Severe Form of Edema in Swimmers
This study received funding from the Divers Alert Network and U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command Contracts (N61331-03-C-0015, N0463A-07-C-0002). (Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features)
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - February 18, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Meditation Eases Pain, Anxiety and Fatigue During Breast Cancer Biopsy
Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: 919-660-1306 Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu https://www.dukehealth.org EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE until 9 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2015 Hear audio of meditation. DURHAM, N.C. -- Meditation eases anxiety, fatigue and pain for women undergoing breast cancer biopsies, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute. They also found that music is effective, but to a lesser extent. The researchers note that adopting these simple, inexpensive interventions could be especially helpful in light of recent reports citing anxiety and pain as potential harms from breast cancer screenings and testing. �...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - February 8, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Study Aims to Resolve How To Manage Pre-Cancers of the Breast
This study will provide so many answers to questions that are critical to resolve,” Hwang said. “One of the key features is the assessment of patient-reported outcomes with each approach, as we believe how patients view their disease and their care must be central to any advances in cancer treatment.” The funding award for the DCIS study has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract. PHOTO: Shelley Hwang, M.D., Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Department of Surgery. CREDIT: Duke Health. (Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features)
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - February 4, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Duke Cancer Institute Joins National Endorsement of HPV Vaccination
Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: 919-660-1306 Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu https://www.dukehealth.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016  DURHAM, N.C. – In response to low national vaccination rates for the human papillomavirus (HPV), the Duke Cancer Institute has joined all 68 other top U.S. cancer centers in issuing a statement urging increased HPV vaccinations to prevent cancer.  These institutions collectively recognize insufficient vaccination as a public health threat and call upon the nations’ physicians, parents and young adults to take advantage of a rare opportunity to prevent many types of cancer....
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 28, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Survival Period for Esophageal Cancer Is Tied to Race and Income
Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: 919-660-1306 Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu https://www.dukehealth.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 DURHAM, N.C. – African-American patients with esophageal cancer survive fewer months after diagnosis than white patients, but only if they also have low incomes, according to a new study from Duke Health researchers. The researchers analyzed data from the National Cancer Data Base to assess what effect the combination of race and low socio-economic status has on cancer survival. They focused on esophageal cancer because it historically has had higher death rates among blacks and ...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 26, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Under the weather? A blood test can tell if antibiotics are needed
Dr. Ephraim Tsalik assesses Charles Watts for a respiratoryinfection in the ER at the Durham VA Medical Center. DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke Health are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed. The team of infectious disease and genomics experts at Duke has developed what they call gene signatures, patterns that reflect which of a patient’s genes are turned on or off, to indicate whether someone is fighting infection from a virus or bacteria. Results can be derived from a small sample of ...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 20, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Immunity Genes Could Protect Some From E. Coli While Others Fall Ill
DURHAM, N.C. -- When a child comes home from preschool with a stomach bug that threatens to sideline the whole family for days, why do some members of the family get sick while others are unscathed? According to a Duke Health study published January 19 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a person’s resistance to certain germs, specifically E. coli bacteria, could come down to their very DNA. Researchers exposed 30 healthy adults to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, one of the world’s leading causes of bacteria-induced diarrhea and a common cause of so-called ‘traveler’s diarrhea,’ which often re...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 19, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

News Tip: The best way to eat is to start meals and snacks from scratch, nutrition expert says
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center, comments on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, more than half the daily intake for the average American comes from mixed dishes, snacks, sweets and drinks. The new guidelines push for more plant-based foods and reducing reliance on quick and cheap processed snacks. Quotes: “The 2015 dietary guidelines focus on healthy eating habits and less on including or eliminating individ...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 7, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Early Trial Shows Injectable Agent Illuminates Cancer During Surgery
Contact: Samiha KhannaPhone: 919-419-5069Email: samiha.khanna@duke.eduhttps://www.dukemedicine.org EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE until 2 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 DURHAM, N.C. -- Doctors at Duke Medicine have tested a new injectable agent that causes cancer cells in a tumor to fluoresce, potentially increasing a surgeon’s ability to locate and remove all of a cancerous tumor on the first attempt. The imaging technology was developed through collaboration with scientists at Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Lumicell Inc. According to findings published January 6 in Science Translational Medicine, a...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - January 6, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Brain Regions of PTSD Patients Show Differences During Fear Responses
Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: 919-660-1306 Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu https://www.dukemedicine.org EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE until 10am (ET) on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 DURHAM, N.C. -- Regions of the brain function differently among people with post-traumatic stress disorder, causing them to generalize non-threatening events as if they were the original trauma, according to new research from Duke Medicine and the Durham VA Medical Center. Using functional MRI, the researchers detected unusual activity in several regions of the brain when people with PTSD were shown images that were only vaguely similar to the trauma underlying t...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - December 15, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Older Breast Cancer Patients Defy Survival Models
Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: 919-660-1306 Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 DURHAM, N.C. – Older women with early-stage, invasive breast cancer had better survival rates than what was estimated by a popular online tool for predicting survival, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute. The finding provides a stronger rationale for women over the age of 70 -- even those who have additional minor health concerns -- to undergo aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy to prevent their cancer from returning. “When making decisions about whether or not to use potentially ...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - December 8, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Research yields potential treatment approach for glycogen storage disease
Contact: Sarah AveryPhone: 919-660-1306Email: sarah.avery@duke.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 DURHAM, N.C. and SINGAPORE – Researchers from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) and Duke Medicine have identified a potential treatment strategy for an often-fatal inherited glycogen storage disease. E-published ahead of print recently in the Journal of Hepatology, the study provides much-needed hope for the management of glycogen storage disease Ia, known as GSDIa or von Gierke disease, a genetic metabolic disorder that requires lifelong dietary therapy.  Patients with the disorde...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - November 18, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

Study finds surprising links between bullies and eating disorders
Contact: Samiha Khanna Phone: 919-419-5069 Email: samiha.khanna@duke.edu DURHAM, N.C. -- Being bullied in childhood has been associated with increased risk for anxiety, depression and even eating disorders. But according to new research, it’s not only the victims who could be at risk psychologically, but also the bullies themselves. Researchers at Duke Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine were surprised to find that in a study of 1,420 children, those who bullied others were twice as likely to display symptoms of bulimia, such as bingeing and purging, when compared to children who are not invo...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - November 16, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news

PCI reduces need for additional drug even when blockages remain
This study does provide an important message for people who have residual disease following angioplasty,” said lead author Karen Alexander, M.D., professor of medicine at Duke and director of safety surveillance at the DCRI. “For patients who had angina prior to angioplasty, they were mostly asymptomatic following the angioplasty even though coronary blockages remained.” Alexander and colleagues had set out to address whether the drug ranolazine, when added to standard medications in this population, would reduce symptoms along with hospitalizations and procedures over time. Ranolazine works at the heart muscle to le...
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - November 10, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news