Articles related to CLINICAL RESEARCH

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has once again been recognized as one of the top medical schools in the nation, ranking 13th among research-oriented institutions, according to the latest US News & World Report rankings. This marks the 16th consecutive year that Feinberg has placed in the top 20. The rankings underwent changes in methodology, incorporating factors such as federal research awards, surveys completed by deans and senior faculty at peer institutions, and entering class data. Feinberg’s commitment to patient-centered care, breakthrough discoveries, innovation, and exceptional medical education remains unwavering. Feinberg’s specialty programs also received recognition, with seven programs ranking among the best in the nation, including obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, pediatrics, anesthesiology, radiology, psychiatry, and internal medicine. The physician assistant program saw a notable improvement in its ranking, moving from 26th to 8th. Additionally, Feinberg’s school of public health ranked 28th. With its rich history, cutting-edge scientific initiatives, and outstanding faculty, Feinberg continues to be a leading institution within Northwestern Medicine, dedicated to advancing healthcare and improving patient outcomes.

This 15-year multicohort survey of legal and illicit drug use among teens found that middle schools and high schools with higher levels of prescription stimulant therapy for ADHD tended to have the highest rates of prescription stimulant misuse. Other discovered associations included more parents with higher levels of education, non-Northeastern location, and more non-Hispanic White students.

According to a new review, eating mushrooms may lower your risk of developing stomach cancer, and the benefits may be due to the fungi’s useful characteristics. To determine the connection between mushroom consumption and gastric cancer risk, the review examined the findings of a meta-analysis of previously published studies and the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. It was discovered that “higher mushroom consumption was associated with a lower risk of gastric cancer.” Eleven studies totaling 3,900 cases of stomach cancer and 7,792 control cases made up the StoP Project. Through questionnaires about food consumption, the mushrooms of study participants were assessed. Participants who consumed the most mushrooms compared to those who ate the fewest mushrooms had a relative risk (RR) of gastric cancer of 0.82. The researchers present a plausable analysis, but more research is needed to confirm if eating mushrooms truly reduces gastric cancer risks and, if so, why.

By capitalizing dissimilar letters, tall man writing helps distinguish between distinctive letter characters of similar medicine names that may be mistaken for one another. Since 2008, the ISMP has kept a list of medicine names in uppercase and bolded tall man letters. The organization surveyed 298 healthcare professionals between October and December 2022 to assist in updating the list, and the findings showed that tall man letters were frequently used: 74% of respondents consistently utilize tall man letters for organization-defined drug names in all necessary circumstances, and 80% of respondents said their facility employs tall man letters in all settings and across multiple facilities.

In the US, the use of biosimilars is becoming more and more important because of the potential for cost savings to increase patient access to biologic medicines and lower total healthcare expenditures. Healthcare professionals and patients have been the subjects of surveys on biosimilars, but recent comprehensive quantitative data about US pharmacists’ attitudes toward and comprehension of biosimilars are scarce. The majority of US pharmacists understood the fundamental ideas behind biosimilar drugs; however, certain knowledge gaps were concentrated in the areas of interchangeability and substitution. Only slightly more than half of those surveyed said they felt confident answering patients’ inquiries about biosimilars. To bridge these gaps and boost confidence in administering biosimilars, US pharmacists need additional and targeted instructional techniques.

This synopsis and overview of current research in nanotechnology in medicine is aimed at helping researchers, engineers, and scientists – and is of interest to the clinician as well.