Syndrome News and Research

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Experts redefine hypertension

Leading US hypertension experts unveiled a new definition of hypertension at the American Society of Hypertension Inc. (ASH) Twentieth Annual Scientific Meeting.

16 May 2005

Call for "ring-fenced" funds for research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)

The medical research charity, MERGE (ME Research Group) is calling for the ring fencing of resources for biomedical research into ME/CFS.

11 May 2005

Fragile US vaccine system needs improvement

A comprehensive system of vaccine development in the U.S. resulted in a reduction of 87 to more than 99 percent in illness from ten vaccine-preventable diseases during the twentieth century. These dramatic successes should not be taken for granted, however, as the vaccine system now faces numerous challenges in manufacturing and development, according to a review article in the May/June issue of Health Affairs.

10 May 2005

Many lives may be saved by new blood test for ovarian cancer

A new blood test which has the potential to save many lives has been developed to detect ovarian cancer, a disease known as the silent killer because it is so difficult to identify.

9 May 2005

Metabolic syndrome costing four times that for all other patients

It is well known that hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are each taking a toll on Americans' health, but according to a new analysis, metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized by a combination of these and/or other risk factors, is fast becoming one of the nation's costliest health concerns.

9 May 2005

Doctors challenged to speed up diagnosis of M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

A new report launched to mark the start of M.E. Awareness Week 2005 calls on doctors to speed up the diagnosis of M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and so reduce the number of patients declining into long term ill health and disability. M.E. Diagnosis: Delay Harms Health is backed by an alliance of six national charities frustrated that delays in diagnosis are continuing to impair improvement or recovery in people with M.E.

8 May 2005

After surgery check colon tumors for signs of syndrome, study suggests

A new study suggests that, after surgery, all colon tumors should be tested to learn if the patient may have an inherited syndrome that carries an extremely high risk of cancer. It also suggests that this prescreening can be done using a relatively inexpensive microscopy test already used in hospital pathology laboratories.

5 May 2005

Nephrogenic Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis - a new genetic disease

Two infant boys whose bodies were overloaded with excess fluid have led UCSF pediatricians to the discovery of a new genetic disease. In the process, they have discovered a rare type of mutation where different substitutions in a single amino acid cause two different, opposite genetic disorders.

4 May 2005

The Irish Government needs to increase its efforts in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

The Irish Government needs to increase its efforts in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, according to a researcher in the field. Speaking on Friday 29 April, Prof. Susan Ryan, Fulbright Scholar at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) stated that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the biggest cause of non-genetic intellectual disability in the western world and the only one that is 100% preventable.

4 May 2005

If you eat too much fat, it can go straight to your liver and damage it

In obese people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fat from the diet ends up "stuck" in the liver, where it doesn't belong. It was known that the livers of NAFLD patients accumulated fat, but its origin was unknown.

3 May 2005

Babies show effects of mothers stress from 9/11 trauma

Pregnant women present during the September 11 World Trade Center collapse have passed on markers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to their unborn babies through transgenerational transmission. The findings strengthen the evidence for in utero or early life risk factors for the later development of adult mental or physical disorders.

3 May 2005

Severely obese children have lipoprotein profiles that signal early risk of cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome

"The message is urgent about the importance of prevention of cardiovascular disease in childhood. Lifestyle modification with appropriate diet and exercise can reduce cardiovascular risk in children," said lead author Daniel L. Preud'Homme, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Wright State University School of Medicine and director of the lipid clinic at The Children's Medical Center, both in Dayton, Ohio.

1 May 2005

Computerized tools for diagnosing heart attack could be inaccurate in some people

A computerized tool to help emergency room physicians determine whether a patient is having a heart attack may not work as well among some racial and ethnic groups, according to research of almost 12,000 patients at nine medical centers.

1 May 2005

Symptoms of concussion may increase when the outcome of a lawsuit is at stake

The condition known as “postconcussional syndrome” is difficult to define medically but is generally defined as a string of cognitive, physical or behavioral losses that occur after a head injury.

1 May 2005

Antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks

Clinicians and researchers have found that more than three quarters of heart attack patients have been infected with chlamydia pneumoniae - a bacteria found in arteries of heart attack patients - and multiple studies have found this can double the risk of developing subsequent heart attacks.

27 Apr 2005

Portable device to check for concussions

A player just took a hard knock to the head and is lying on the field. A coach rushes to his side, but the player sits up and seems fine.

27 Apr 2005

Abnormal liver tests in a Mediterranean population

recent population-based study in a small town in Southern Italy found that one in eight residents had abnormal liver tests.

26 Apr 2005

Revised Bethesda guidelines effective at identifying patients at risk of colorectal cancer

The revised Bethesda guidelines, used for screening patients for a type of hereditary colorectal cancer, are effective for determining which patients should undergo further genetic testing, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

26 Apr 2005

Hereditary colorectal cancer risk lowered in those without certain gene defect

Families with a certain type of hereditary colorectal cancer have a reduced cancer risk if they do not have a gene defect found in many with this type of cancer risk, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

26 Apr 2005

High risk of second cancers in survivors of childhood soft tissue sarcomas

Children treated for soft tissue sarcomas have a significantly higher risk of developing subsequent cancers later in life, according to a new study. The study appears in the June 1, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, and indicates children treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy, in particular, had greater risks of developing a new malignancy.

25 Apr 2005