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Among a group of patients with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery, a large percentage experienced improvement in pain, physical function, and walking capacity over 3 years, according to a new study.

Severe obesity can be associated with joint pain and impaired physical function, like the ability to bend, lift, carry, and walk.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh studied more than 2,200 patients from 10 U.S. hospitals. Patients filled out questionnaires about their pain and physical function before surgery and each year, for 3 years after surgery. Patients also participated in a 400 meter walking test.

The results found that 50 to 70 percent of patients experienced significant improvements in body pain and physical function and in the walking test. In addition, they found three-fourths of participants with severe knee and hip pain experienced improvements in arthritis symptoms.

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Recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States have prompted clinicians, public health officials and the public to pay closer attention to the growing phenomenon of vaccine refusal. A new study looks at the role of vaccine refusal and the risk of measles and pertussis. In recent years, a substantial proportion of US measles cases occurred in people who were intentionally unvaccinated. Vaccine refusal was also found to be associated with an increased risk of pertussis in some populations.

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Low back pain is a leading cause of disability in the United States. A new study shows that among adults with chronic back pain, both mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) resulted in meaningful improvement in back pain compared to traditional care.

Researchers from Group Health Research Institute randomly assigned 342 adults age 20 to 70 years with chronic low back pain to receive MBSR, CBT, or traditional care. Both MBSR and CBT were delivered in 8 weekly 2 hour groups. They found that study participants who received MSBR and CBT showed more improvement in pain and physical limitations at both 6 and 12 months.

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Only a decade ago, emergency medicine was largely considered an afterthought in large-scale clinical trials. This oversight persisted for years despite the fact that a wide variety of time-sensitive clinical conditions under frequent study were diagnosed and treated predominantly in emergency departments. However, the last several years have witnessed a rapid evolution within this specialty, such that departments nationwide are now granted the means and resources to dedicate efforts exclusively toward advancing emergency medicine research.

From the floors of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) annual meeting in Boson, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Dr. Philip Levy, Professor of Emergency Medicine & Physiology and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Levy is Chair of the ACEP Research Forum, whose efforts to date have helped put emergency medicine research in the limelight. The two discuss origins, present objectives, and future horizons for this forum and its impact on clinical research advancement in the field.

Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz on the floors of the American College of Emergency Physicians annual meeting in Boston, MA is Dr. Matt Bitner, Vice Chair of Medical Staff Affairs and Quality at the Greenville Health System in Greenville, SC. Dr. Bitner co-chaired and directed ACEP's InnovatED, an interactive exhibitional platform that gained rapid acclaim for its next-level medical simulation demonstrations. He talks about the unique development processes and educational applications for these programs, such as the popular Code Black simulation.

Guidelines in testing intervals and recommended methods for cervical cancer screening have been changing rapidly. What's the bottom line on helping primary care clinicians best protect their patients from this disease development? Joining Dr. Brian McDonough on the floors of Omnia Education's Women's Health Annual Visit in New York to discuss updated strategies drive down cervical cancer risk is Dr. Edward Mayeaux, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

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Approximately one-third of children who experience a concussion will experience persistent post-concussion symptoms. Researchers have developed a new clinical scoring system that may help predict which patients are at a higher risk for prolonged symptoms.

Canadian researchers evaluated more than 3,000 patients, ages 5 to 18, who presented within 48 hours of an acute head injury. About thirty percent ended up with persistent post-concussion symptoms at 28 days. Researchers identified nine clinical factors that were predictive of post-concussive symptoms. These factors were then used in a twelve point risk score that included items like age, sex, history of migraines or depression, prior history of concussion, and problems with balance.

Although the clinical score was better than a physician's judgement alone, further research is needed before it is fully adopted into clinical practice.

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According to a new study, low dose aspirin taken regularly was associated with a reduced risk for cancer.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital examined data from two large national studies that include about 136,000 men and women who have been providing detailed information about their overall health for decades.

Researchers identified 20,414 cancers among 88,084 women and 7,571 cancers among 47,881 men during a 32-year follow-up. Regular use of aspirin, two times or more per week, was associated with a 3 percent lower overall risk for cancer. This was mostly due to a 15 percent lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancers and a 19 percent lower risk for cancers of the colon and rectum.

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Inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development and persistence of many chronic diseases, but only recently has the human microbiome been linked as something more central to inflammatory processes than a passive reservoir. What roles do the gut, microbiome, and gut-brain axis play in chronic disease development, as well as prevention?

From the floors of the A4M Conference in Las Vegas, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with James LaValle, founder and CEO of Metabolic Code Enterprises, Inc and a nationally recognized clinical pharmacist, author, and board certified clinical nutritionist. The two discuss expanded understandings of the microbiome's influence on human health and disease, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

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Sepsis is a clinical syndrome of physiologic, pathologic, and biochemical abnormalities caused by serious infection. Sepsis is a major public health concern. Besides being a leading cause of mortality worldwide, sepsis accounted for more than $20 billion of U.S. hospital costs in 2011. In addition, there is increasing awareness that patients who survive sepsis are often left with long-term disabilities.

Updated definitions and clinical criteria for sepsis should help promote earlier recognition and more timely treatment of patients with sepsis or suspected sepsis. In a related study, researchers reviewed the electronic health records of more than one million patients to assess the usefulness of a clinical score known as "SOFA", which is used to help identify patients with sepsis.

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Pre and Post tests have long been the standards in continuing medical education. However, with the use of today's technologies, typical didactic learning sessions have evolved into novel real-time experiences for both learners and the educational providers. Host Alicia Sutton welcomes Ryan Mazon, Vice President of Business Development at Educational Measures, to discuss the rise in interactive education in medicine.

Interest in health policies related to drug pricing has spiked in recent times. While remarkable research discoveries have positively escalated the pharmaceutical industry with release of more novel drugs, the question on how drugs should be priced is continually resurfacing. How are high drug costs justified when they become financially inaccessible to many patients, and what measures are being put in place to address these access gaps?

Host Frank Russomano welcomes Andrew Rosenberg J.D. of the CME Coalition and Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corporation and editor of Policy and Medicine, to discuss recent developments in drug pricing.

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A new study suggests that family and other unpaid caregivers who provide substantial help with health care were twice as likely to experience physical, financial or emotional difficulty, five times as likely to restrict social activities, and more than three times as likely to experience a loss in job productivity as individuals who did not provide this type of help.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used data from two nationally representative samples that provided insight into older adults and the caregivers who help them. The study sample represented 14.7 million caregivers assisting 7.7 million older adults, who either had dementia or a severe disability. About 45 percent of caregivers provided substantial help, (around 28 hours of care per week), often resulting in significant emotional difficulty and other caregiver role-related effects.

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Shared decision making (SDM) is a synergistic process that allows patients and their providers to make health care decisions together and take into account the best scientific evidence available, as well as the patient’s values, goals, and preferences. It's important to invite all patients into the process even if they decline. This process increases patient satisfaction, adherence and compliance. Join host Alicia Sutton to discuss shared decision making with guest Isabelle Vacher, former nurse and Senior Vice President of Educational Strategy at AXIS Medical Education, Inc.

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Rates of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations have increased among younger women diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a new study. The study focused on nearly 900 women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 or younger. Researchers looked at rates of genetic testing, barriers to testing, and how the test results affected treatment decisions.

In 2006, the rates of BRCA testing were in the seventy percent range and by 2012 that proportion rose to ninety-five percent. While the majority of women reported being tested for BRCA 1 and 2, many were not, and a small minority reported that no one had discussed genetic risk or testing options. The study authors note that the overall goal of genetic testing is to help women make informed treatment decisions. Assessment of a young woman's genetic risk after a breast cancer diagnosis can affect treatment decisions and the results can also have health implications for her relatives.

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A new study examined the brains of deceased individuals and found that moderate seafood consumption correlated with lesser Alzheimer disease.

Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago enrolled older people living in public housing and retirement communities in an ongoing study of memory and aging. Participants had normal memory function when they entered the study and were asked to keep track of their diet using a detailed questionnaire. The participants also agreed to brain donation after they died, providing researchers a total of 286 brains to examine.

They found that participants who reported consuming seafood at least once a week had decreased occurrence of the plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer disease. Increased seafood consumption was associated with increased brain mercury levels, but the mercury did not appear to have an impact on brain health.

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Depression is a common clinical problem, and is a leading cause of disability in adults. This condition is often under recognized and under treated, affecting individuals, families, businesses and society. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is an independent group of medical professionals that makes evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services in the primary care setting. The Task Force is recommending screening for depression in adults, including pregnant and postpartum women.

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To some, end of life care in the United States is considered resource intensive, expensive, and inattentive to patients' needs. So how does the United States compare to other countries? A new study examined several health care measures at the end of life for cancer patients in five European countries, Canada and the United States.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine compared the health care experience for cancer patients older than 65, in Canada, Belgium, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States. They examined several clinical measures during the final six months of life.

The United States and Netherlands had the lowest percentage of patients dying in the hospital. The United States also had the fewest hospitalizations and the smallest number of days patients spent in the hospital. In contrast, intensive care admissions were twice as common in the United States compared to the other countries.

During the last six months of life, patients in Norway and Canada had higher hospital costs than patients in the United States. There was less spending in Germany and Belgium, but the lowest expenditures were in the Netherlands and …

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Emphysema is a serious lung disease that results in severe shortness of breath and impaired quality of life. Management of emphysema is challenging since there is no cure and current therapies, including lung reduction surgery, can be risky. A new study examined a minimally invasive procedure to see if it could improve shortness of breath and also be a safe and cost effective way to treat emphysema.

Researchers from Hôpital Universitaire de Reims, France studied a new procedure that permanently places several coils into the lung. The study included one hundred patients from ten centers across France. Fifty patients had coils placed in their lungs and the other fifty received standard medical treatment. Both groups were followed closely and assessed at six and twelve months. They participated in a six minute walk test to see if their breathing had improved, allowing them to walk farther.

Results showed that thirty-six percent of patients who received the coil treatment had improvement in the six minute walk test, compared to only eighteen percent in the control group. There was also a significant improvement in quality of life at six and twelve months for patients who received …

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Among obese older patients with an increasingly common type of heart failure, calorie restriction and/or exercise training improved their ability to participate in physical activity without experiencing shortness of breath, according to a new study.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) is the most rapidly increasing form of heart failure in the United States. Although the heart pumps normally, it does not fill with enough blood because the lower chamber of the heart is too stiff. More than eighty percent of patients with HFPEF are overweight or obese. Despite multiple studies, so far, no currently available medications have improved symptoms in patients with HFPEF.

Researchers from the Wake Forest School of Medicine randomly assigned 100 older obese participants with HFPEF to 20 weeks of diet, exercise, or both. They found that the exercise participants lost three percent of body weight, the diet group lost seven percent and the combined group lost ten percent of body weight. Patients in both the diet and exercise groups showed improvement in their ability to participate in exercise without significant symptoms.

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