News From Around the Web
> Follow up CT imaging after surgery for colon cancer helps increase the rate at which cancer recurrence is detected, but it appears it may not have a large effect on survival rates, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Among patients who had undergone curative surgery for primary colorectal cancer, intensive imaging or CEA screening each provided an increased rate of surgical treatment of recurrence with curative intent compared with minimal follow-up," the authors from the University of Southampton and the University of Oxford wrote. "If there is a survival advantage to any strategy, it is likely to be small." Abstract
> Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have published a study in which they've found that focused low-intensity ultrasound can have a positive, and measurable, impact on brain function. "We believe focused ultrasound changed the balance of ongoing excitation and inhibition processing sensory stimuli in the brain region targeted and that this shift prevented the spatial spread of excitation in response to stimuli resulting in a functional improvement in perception," said Assistant Professor William Tyler, whose team conducted the study. Article
> A study recently published in the journal Lancet Oncology has found that men with prostate cancer who undergo radiation treatments rather than surgery may suffer from a higher incidence of adverse effects in the years following treatment, such as a higher proportion of hospital admissions, rectal or anal procedures, and related surgeries and cancers, The Canadian Press reports. Article
Health IT News
> How ready would the federal government and health sector be if faced with a cyber attack? They're set to find out in March, when simulated attacks against healthcare networks--dubbed CyberRX--will test their vulnerability to hackers. Article
Health Finance News
> Huge capital outlays for electronic health record implementations are threatening the credit ratings of some large medical systems by tying up large amounts of cash and temporarily reducing profits. Article
And Finally... Why are these chickens crossing the road? Article