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Diabetes cases have quadrupled from 108 million to 422 million since 1980

Since 1980, the number of adults with diabetes worldwide has quadrupled from 108 million to 422 million in 2014, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The findings provide the most comprehensive estimates of worldwide diabetes trends to date and show that diabetes is fast becoming a major problem in low and middle income countries.

7 Apr 2016

Health benefits of gastric bypass surgery start soon after procedure

The health benefits of Roux-en Y gastric bypass surgery—a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is made smaller—start soon after the procedure. New research presented today at the Experimental Biology 2016 meeting in San Diego found that patients who underwent the procedure already showed some reductions in weight, waist circumference and body mass index one week after the procedure.

7 Apr 2016

Researchers link higher levels of vitamin D to reduced cancer risk

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that higher levels of vitamin D - specifically serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D - are associated with a correspondingly reduced risk of cancer. The findings are published in the April 6, online issue of PLOS ONE.

7 Apr 2016

Warming temperatures may increase risk for dengue outbreaks in Europe

Increasing temperatures will enlarge Europe's seasonal window for the potential spread of mosquito-borne viral disease, expanding the geographic areas at risk for a dengue epidemic to include much of Europe. The findings by researchers at Umea University in Sweden are published in the journal EBioMedicine.

7 Apr 2016

Micra Transcatheter Pacing System approved to treat heart rhythm disorders

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first pacemaker that does not require the use of wired leads to provide an electrical connection between the pulse-generating device and the heart. While the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System works like other pacemakers to regulate heart rate, the self-contained, inch-long device is implanted directly in the right ventricle chamber of the heart.

7 Apr 2016

Respiratory filter mask helps reduce impact of pollution on people with heart failure

The use of a respiratory filter mask, a common practice in China and Japan, among other countries, helps minimize the impact of pollution on people with heart failure during rush-hour traffic in cities such as São Paulo, Brazil.

7 Apr 2016

Unhealthy BMIs, smoking, drinking alcohol and solid fuel use increase asthma risk in women

Underweight and obese women who also drank alcohol and smoked tobacco had a two-fold higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma than women with a healthy body mass index who did not drink or smoke, a St. Michael's Hospital study found.

7 Apr 2016

Children of salmon-eating mothers less likely to develop asthma

Children born to mothers who eat salmon when pregnant may be less likely to have doctor diagnosed asthma compared to children whose mothers do not eat it, new research has shown.

6 Apr 2016

Researchers identify possible genetic basis for coronary artery disease

For many people, coronary artery disease, or CAD—the buildup of plaque in the heart's arteries—is an unfortunate part of aging. By studying the genetic makeup of those who manage to maintain clear arteries into old age, researchers have identified a possible genetic basis for the disease, as well as potential new opportunities to prevent it.

6 Apr 2016

Study shows only 15% of children achieve 60 minutes of daily MVPA

Children are far from meeting national guidelines for physical activity, and girls are at greatest risk of falling short of recommendations according to a study measuring the physical activity of 453 schoolchildren in Massachusetts during a one-week period.

6 Apr 2016

Monetary incentives aid smoking cessation among pregnant, post-partum women

Smoking during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy outcomes. Studies further indicate that in-utero smoke exposure contributes to respiratory and cardiac illnesses later in life.

6 Apr 2016

Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) approved for multiple indications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) for multiple indications. Inflectra is administered by intravenous infusion. This is the second biosimilar approved by the FDA.

6 Apr 2016

$Ethnicity, socioeconomic status and place of residence influence risk of experiencing a fracture$

Ethnicity, socioeconomic status and place of residence influence risk of experiencing a fracture

Ethnicity, socioeconomic status and place of residence in the UK all influence the risk of breaking a bone, a new Southampton study has shown.

5 Apr 2016

Regular exercise can stave off health problems associated with sedentary time

Office workers can stave off health problems associated with sitting down all day by regularly exercising, a new study has found.

5 Apr 2016

Surgery better than widely used drugs for treating hyperparathyroidism

While most cases of osteoporosis are caused by normal aging, another leading cause of the bone-loss disease is a condition called hyperparathyroidism, in which the parathyroid glands release an excessive amount of a hormone that regulates the body's calcium levels.

5 Apr 2016

Researchers find pathway to prevent emergence of zoonosis into human population

The parasite responsible for a form of malaria now spreading from macaques to humans in South Asia could evolve to infect humans more efficiently, a step towards enhanced transmission between humans, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers say that defining the means by which the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite invades red blood cells could lead to interventions to prevent the emergence of the zoonosis into the human population.

4 Apr 2016

Bariatric arterial embolization safe, effective in sustaining weight loss in severely obese people

Findings from the early phase of a clinical trial led by Johns Hopkins investigators indicates that a new, minimally invasive weight loss treatment known as bariatric arterial embolization is safe and effective in sustaining weight loss in severely obese people.

4 Apr 2016

Daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels in older adults

Initial findings from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging study presented at Experimental Biology 2016 (EB) indicate that daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels without adverse effects on body weight among older adults.

4 Apr 2016

CHMP recommends conditional marketing authorisation for Janssen’s daratumumab

Janssen-Cilag announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has recommended the granting of a conditional marketing authorisation for first-in-class CD38 immunotherapy daratumumab in the European Union.

4 Apr 2016

Seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination during pregnancy may guard against stillbirth

Seasonal influenza vaccination may guard against stillbirth, a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online suggests. Researchers in Western Australia analyzed data from nearly 60,000 births that occurred during the southern hemisphere's 2012 and 2013 seasonal influenza epidemics, and found that women who received the trivalent influenza vaccine during pregnancy were 51 percent less likely to experience a stillbirth than unvaccinated mothers.

2 Apr 2016