Top 5 IT rules for smaller practices from Healthcare IT News

Although so many health IT-related discussions tend to focus on large organizations across the country, it's important to remember the smaller practices whose needs differ. In fact, implementing new technologies into a smaller practice can be tricky, depending on the amount of data you have and your willingness to pick up on current IT trends.

We asked Shahid Shah, software IT analyst and author of the blog The Healthcare IT Guy, for his thoughts on outfitting these small practices with the right health IT. He says some legwork is needed to ensure proper selection, and making sure new technology truly streamlines work in a smaller practice is essential.

Check out Shah’s five IT rules for smaller practices:

For the full article please go here.

Meninges Is Source Of Self-Renewing Stem Cells, Potential For Spinal Cord Injury Treatment from Medical News Today

In a study published in STEM CELLS, Italian and Spanish scientists have provided the first evidence to show that meninges, the membrane which envelops the central nervous system, is a potential source of self-renewing stem cells. Whilst studying the use of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries, the researchers learnt to understand cell activation in central nervous system injuries, enabling research to advance into new treatments for spinal injuries and degenerative brain disorders.

The research was based on spinal cord injuries caused by damages of the spinal cord through trauma instead of disease. Subject to the severity of the spinal cord injury outcomes can vary from pain to full paralysis, incurring high social and medical care costs. Patient recoveries are severely limited due to the spinal cord's inability to regenerate.

For the full article please go here.

Study shows progress on colon and melanoma cancers from Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Oct. 10, 2011) — Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin have shown that a protein can inhibit metastasis of colon and melanoma cancers. The findings are published in the October 10, 2011 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Michael B. Dwinell, Ph.D., director of the Bobbie Nick Voss Laboratory and associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, is the lead author on the paper.

For the full article please go here.

Nanoparticles could be make drugs last longer. From Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2011) — A novel study demonstrates that using nanoparticles to deliver osteoarthritis drugs to the knee joint could help increase the retention of the drug in the knee cavity, and therefore reduce the frequency of injections patients must receive.

This research is being presented Oct. 23-27 at the 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Osteoarthritis affects 30 million Americans and is the most common joint disorder. It is projected to affect more than 20 percent of the U.S. population by 2025. Aging, obesity and joint injury can lead to osteoarthritis, which is characterized by progressive erosion of articular cartilage (cartilage that covers the bones). The disease can occur in all joints, most often the knees, hips, hands and spine and currently there are no pharmacological treatments that halt the disease progression. For large joints, a drug could be injected into the joint to help limit potential side effects, like pain. A significant challenge in treating osteoarthritis this way is the short duration the medicine stays in the affected joint after injection.

For the full article please go here.

When is a good time to get off antidepressants? From Huffington Post

The question of whether or not you should start taking antidepressants is complex and difficult to answer. But even fuzzier is the question of when or if you should stop. Last May, NPR ran a piece called "Coming Off Antidepressants Can Be Tricky Business."

Joanne Silberner writes:

For the full article please go here.

CDC reports Americans consuming too much salt. From Health.com

THURSDAY, October 20, 2011 (Health.com) — Eighty-eight percent of U.S. children and adults consume more sodium per day than the amount recommended by federal dietary guidelines, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

And most Americans aren’t just exceeding these guidelines; they’re shattering them. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend that adults and teens limit their daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams, but according to the report the average intake is 3,513 milligrams—53% above the suggested limit.

For the full article please go here.

Meditation Reduces Pain

Our Brains Have Spoken – Meditation Reduces Pain
by FinerMinds TeamOctober 21, 2011

Aha, here’s a cool piece of news. Science has proven what we meditation-lovers always knew – that meditation reduces pain. Yup. A recent article published by the Science Daily from the Journal of Neuroscience has found that there’s:.......
Full article: access here