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Poor performance on an exercise treadmill can mean double risk for heart attack

Among men without heart disease but who have significant cardiac risk factors, a poor performance on an exercise treadmill test is associated with more than doubling of the risk for a heart attack or other coronary heart disease event, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

27 Sep 2004

South African sales of MedMira rapid HIV tests begin

MedMira Inc., the international market leader in rapid flow- through diagnostic technology announced today that it has begun shipment of its MiraWell(TM) Rapid HIV Test to its distributor.

26 Sep 2004

Study presents multiple lines of evidence against the proposed link between SV40 and human mesotheliomas

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the chest cavity that kills about 2000 people a year in the United States.

26 Sep 2004

Allow genomic information to be freely available on the internet

This week’s lead editorial in THE LANCET discusses the benefits and potential risks of allowing genomic information to be freely available on the internet

23 Sep 2004

Study on the long-term health effects associated with silicone breast implants

It is estimated that between 1.5 million and 2 million women in this country have had breast implants since they first appeared on the market in 1962.

23 Sep 2004

New link in the growth of Ewing’s sarcoma

To develop new therapeutic approaches to cancer, it is essential to understand the long and extremely complex process that underlies it, in other words the various stages of cancer development from the initial mutation to the tumor.

23 Sep 2004

New imaging analysis techniques to probe causes of dyslexia

Using sophisticated new software that integrates a variety of imaging methods, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers will probe the mystery of what causes dyslexia with a four-year, $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

20 Sep 2004

Global health is recurrently being threatened by new and re-emerging infectious diseases

Global health is recurrently being threatened by new and re-emerging infectious diseases. Examples of new and re-emerging infectious diseases include SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), new variant CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), avian flu and Ebola.

20 Sep 2004

Genome researchers to look at 1918 Spanish flu

University of Washington researchers will be taking part in a multi-site project examining a portion of the genome of the strain of influenza responsible for the "Spanish Flu" outbreak in 1918.

20 Sep 2004

Significant relationships between laryngopharyngeal reflux and upper airway sensory impairment

Medical researchers have long suspected a relationship between gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), two medical conditions which can have a deleterious effect on a patient¡¯s quality of life.

17 Sep 2004

MRI is becoming more recognized as useful in the etiological investigation of sudden deafness

For the patient, sudden deafness can be terrifying. For the specialist, this disorder can be most challenging for the cause of sudden deafness cannot be readily determined by use of the most advanced diagnostic tests.

17 Sep 2004

Study compares cheap take-home sleep test to expensive polysomnography test

Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea usually involves polysomnograpy, an overnight sleep test in a sleep clinic or lab. Results of a new study indicate that a take-home sleep test is just as effective as a polysomnography and is less expensive while providing timely results.

17 Sep 2004

Neck surgeons brush up on West Nile virus

Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, being held September 19-22, 2004, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY.

17 Sep 2004

New diagnostic tests for bird flu

On the final day of the recent HPA conference, delegates heard about work that the Agency is carrying out to prepare for an avian flu pandemic.

16 Sep 2004

New high-tech pacifier helps babies who are born prematurely

The pacifier also may reduce the incidence or severity of certain developmental disabilities that appear in early childhood and beyond as well as possibly boost IQ.

16 Sep 2004

Cryoablation preferred option for treatment of breast fibroadenoma

Sanarus Inc., a developer of minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment tools for breast disease, announced today that twelve-month follow-up data from a peer-reviewed, prospective multicenter study demonstrates that cryoablation is a preferred first-line treatment for breast fibroadenoma for women who do not want to undergo open surgery.

14 Sep 2004

Non-surgical needle biopsies in the lung may eliminate the need for children to undergo surgery

A pediatric study published in the September Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology shows non-surgical needle biopsies in the lung were 91 percent successful in providing sufficient tissue to determine a diagnosis.

14 Sep 2004

Statistical method for faster prognosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

A large number of diseases − including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and mad cow disease − are the result of proteins that erroneously assume the wrong shape, causing them to stick to each other.

13 Sep 2004

Researchers have discovered a possible way to distinguish lethal from localized prostate cancers

If future studies show their test -- measuring the level of activity of a signaling pathway called Hedgehog -- can predict which prostate cancers will spread, the results could revolutionize decision making processes for prostate cancer patients, the researchers say.

13 Sep 2004

New genetic test can predict cleft lip or palate

Researchers have developed a new genetic test that can help predict whether parents who have one child with the "isolated" form of cleft lip or palate are likely to have a second child with the same birth defect. Isolated clefts account for 70 percent of all cleft lip and palate cases.

10 Sep 2004