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African-Americans and other racial minorities more likely to have sleep durations associated with increased mortality

African-Americans and other racial minorities have sleep durations associated with increased mortality. This is consistent with the belief that unhealthy sleep patterns among minorities - long sleep or short sleep - may contribute to health differentials, according to a study published in the September 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

3 Sep 2007

Even kindies stress out before school

British researchers have found that even children at kinder garden can find school a stressful place.

3 Sep 2007

Interferon alpha revs immune cells but cancer cells ignore it

A new study shows that an important drug used in the treatment of malignant melanoma has little effect on the melanoma cells themselves. Instead, it activates immune-system cells to fight the disease.

3 Sep 2007

A mysterious illness in the Congo has experts scratching their heads

A mysterious illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experts scratching their heads.

3 Sep 2007

Leafy greens and E. coli

The rise in year-round consumption of fresh leafy greens such as lettuce and baby spinach is increasing the difficulty of keeping produce free from contamination by food poisoning bacteria, according to US scientists speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

3 Sep 2007

Symposium on children born with clubfoot

We often think that high-tech, surgical methods are the best approach when it comes to medical care. But for children born with clubfoot, there is growing, worldwide interest in a low-tech, non-surgical method of treatment that is more effective, less expensive and easier to provide than surgery.

3 Sep 2007

How to influence the risk profile of a nation

Professor Geoffrey Rose was a pioneer in the field of prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). He emphasized in his works how CHD prevention calls for general reduction in risk factor levels in the population, i.e. population based approach. Geoffrey Rose wrote: "It makes little sense to expect individuals to behave differently form their peers, it is more appropriate to seek a general change in behavioural norms and in the circumstances which facilitate their adoption."

3 Sep 2007

Greater use of spinal fusion has not lowered risk of repeat back surgery

Despite new implant technologies and surgical techniques leading to increased rates of spinal fusion surgery, the percentage of patients requiring further low-back surgery after spinal fusion has actually increased since the early 1990s, reports the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Spine, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 Sep 2007

First common height gene identified by researchers behind 'obesity gene' finding

Whilst we all know that tall parents are more likely to have tall children, scientists have been unable to identify any common genes that make people taller than others. Now, however, scientists have identified the first gene, known as HMGA2, a common variant of which directly influences height.

3 Sep 2007

Diets double the odds a teenage girl will begin smoking

Starting to diet seems to double the odds a teenage girl will begin smoking, a University of Florida study has found. UF researchers, who analyzed the dieting and smoking practices of 8,000 adolescents, did not find the same link in boys, who were also less likely than girls to diet, according to findings released Friday in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

3 Sep 2007

Genetic variant linked to human height discovered

It became clear nearly a century ago that many genes likely influence how tall a person grows, though little progress, if any, has followed in defining the myriad genes. Now an international research team brings light to this age-old question by pinpointing a genetic variant associated with human height - the first consistent genetic link to be reported.

3 Sep 2007

Genetic-based dosing in orthopedic patients beginning warfarin therapy

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients. But now the process can be faster and safer, thanks to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Sep 2007

Intrauterine contraceptive devices are underused in developed countries

Misconceptions around intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) mean that they are underused in developed countries, despite being a safe and effective form of contraception, says a women's health expert in this week's BMJ.

3 Sep 2007

Diacetyl is a respiratory hazard

Researchers in the Netherlands have identified a chemical agent that may be a, if not the, culprit in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), or “popcorn worker's lung,” a severe occupational lung disease first noted in 2001 among workers at an American plant that makes microwaveable popcorn.

3 Sep 2007

Cell that triggers symptoms in allergy attacks can also limit damage

A blood cell known as a troublemaker for triggering the itch and inflammation in allergy attacks, the mast cell, can also calm down the flare-ups, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

3 Sep 2007

Cancer patients describe what they seek from support groups

A new study finds that many cancer patients would prefer to receive information over emotional aid from support groups, although – over time – their needs could change. Although clinicians and others frequently advise cancer patients to join support groups to deal with the psychological consequences of their diagnosis, a minority of cancer patients actually joins.

3 Sep 2007

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defect (ASD) closure

A PFO and an ASD are congenital structural heart diseases characterized by a communication between heart chambers at the level of the wall (septum) separating them. These chambers are the left and right atrium as shown on the picture below. The right atrium receives (dark) oxygen-depleted blood from the great veins, while the left atrium receives (red) oxygen-rich blood from the lungs.

3 Sep 2007

Cell phone use after bedtime is prevalent among adolescents - contributes to poor sleep

The use of modern means of interpersonal and mass communication has become an essential part of being young. Technology has enabled two people to connect with each other virtually anywhere and at any time, a privilege that, according to new research, is often abused by youngsters and cutting into their sleep time.

3 Sep 2007

A drug-sensitive 'traffic cop' tells potassium channels to get lost

Our brains are buzzing with electrical activity created by sodium and potassium ions moving in and out of neurons through specialized pores. To prevent the constant chatter from descending into chaos the activity of these ion channels has to be tightly regulated.

3 Sep 2007

Baby's conception and birth influences mother's dreams

The conception and birth of a child are emotional events that influence the dreams of most new mothers. In a surprisingly high number of cases, this influence reflects negative aspects of maternal responsibility, depicting the new infant in dreamed situations of danger and provoking anxiety in the mother that often spills over into wakefulness.

3 Sep 2007