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Heartburn and cancer: an interview with Mindy Mintz Mordecai

What most of us think of as heartburn is a symptom of Reflux Disease or GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). It’s that burning discomfort an individual experiences when stomach acids and other fluids come back up into their esophagus.

14 Aug 2012

Tai Chi improves health and quality of life for COPD sufferers

A new University of Sydney study has found Tai Chi can be an effective form of exercise therapy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), improving exercise capacity and quality of life.

14 Aug 2012

Boomers face dearth of home caregivers; Medicare expands home-care pilot project

As baby boomers age, the U.S. will face a challenge trying to fill more than 1 million new home care positions to meet their needs, The Associated Press reports. In the meantime, Medicare is adding more groups to a pilot program aimed at lowering costs for Medicare beneficiaries by providing them with home-based care.

14 Aug 2012

Study: Diabetes drugs increase patients' risk of bladder cancer

A popular class of diabetes drugs increases patients' risk of bladder cancer, according to a new study published online this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Aug 2012

Women with chronic PVT should be informed, not discouraged, about pregnancy

Maternal and fetal outcomes are favorable for most pregnancies that reach 20 weeks’ in women with chronic portal vein thrombosis, a study shows.

13 Aug 2012

Twelve states currently have adult obesity rate above 30%

Twelve states currently have an adult obesity rate above 30 percent, according to a new analysis released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

13 Aug 2012

Epigenetic factors involved in treatment-resistance to schizophrenia drugs

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have discovered why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective in some patients. Published online in Nature Neuroscience, the research will pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat this devastating mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world's population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to currently available treatments.

13 Aug 2012

Popular class of diabetes drugs increase risk for bladder cancer

A popular class of diabetes drugs increases patients' risk of bladder cancer, according to a new study published online this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

13 Aug 2012

Meritage commences OBS Phase 2 clinical trial for eosinophilic esophagitis

Meritage Pharma, Inc. announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate oral budesonide suspension (OBS) for the treatment of adolescents and young adults with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus. EoE is a chronic disease characterized by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and eosinophil-predominant inflammation.

13 Aug 2012

Chronic nerve pain: researchers identify which sensory nerve cells are responsible

New research, led by academics at the University of Bristol and published in the journal Pain, has identified the subtypes of sensory nerve cells that are likely to contribute to long-term nerve pain from partial nerve injury. It is hoped this will aid in development of more effective pain killers.

13 Aug 2012

Researchers uncover how pathological cells activate themselves in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Researchers in the group of Prof. Dr. Hassan Jumaa, Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS) of the University of Freiburg, Department for Molecular Immunology, have identified a new mechanism that causes immune cells to convert into malignant cancer cells.

13 Aug 2012

Medical ethics: an interview with Anita Silvers

Medical ethics assists healthcare professionals to make decisions respectful of persons who happen to be their patients.

13 Aug 2012

Scientists discover why major depression or chronic stress can cause loss of brain mass

Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs - a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.

13 Aug 2012

Reducing copper in the body delays onset of prion disease

Many of us are familiar with prion disease from its most startling and unusual incarnations-the outbreaks of "mad cow" disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) that created a crisis in the global beef industry. Or the strange story of Kuru, a fatal illness affecting a tribe in Papua New Guinea known for its cannibalism. Both are forms of prion disease, caused by the abnormal folding of a protein and resulting in progressive neurodegeneration and death.

13 Aug 2012

Brain activity rapidly changes in olfactory regions following odor deprivation

Has a summer cold or mold allergy stuffed up your nose and dampened your sense of smell? We take it for granted that once our nostrils clear, our sniffers will dependably rebound and alert us to a lurking neighborhood skunk or a caramel corn shop ahead. That dependability is no accident. It turns out the brain is working overtime behind the scenes to make sure the sense of smell is just as sharp after the nose recovers.

13 Aug 2012

Effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcoholism are different for men and women

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have demonstrated that the effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcohol abuse are different for men and women. The study, which is published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also suggests that with abstinence, women recover their white matter brain volume more quickly than men.

12 Aug 2012

Heat wave safety tips from Children's Hospital Los Angeles

With July 2012 on record as being one of the hottest months in U.S. history and the August heat showing no let up in many parts of the country, how can parents protect their children's health during a heat wave? "While kids and teens may think of themselves as invincible, they're prone to heat-related illnesses," says Megan Summers, a registered nurse in the Children's Hospital Los Angeles' Rehabilitation Unit.

12 Aug 2012

Doctors may underestimate importance of small set of risks that vex patients

Most informed consent disputes involve disagreements about who said what and when, not stand-offs over whether a particular risk ought to have been disclosed. But doctors may "routinely underestimate the importance of a small set of risks that vex patients" according to international experts writing in this week's PLOS Medicine.

10 Aug 2012

IOM panel examines the promise and reality of telemedicine

Institute of Medicine experts find that the continued integration of telemedicine into the health care system will face challenges in the years ahead.

10 Aug 2012