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Elevated blood lead levels put smokers at higher risk for renal cell carcinoma

Higher than normal levels of lead in the blood may signal a risk two times higher than average of developing renal cell carcinoma in smokers, according to medical researchers.

24 Jan 2012

Researchers uncover 13 novel genetic loci linked with onset of menopause

An international team of researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and other institutions has uncovered 13 genetic loci, linked to immune function and DNA repair, that are factors in the age of onset of menopause.

24 Jan 2012

Cooperation needed to fight TB

In this post in Global Health Frontline News' "Notes From the Field" blog, Kevin Cain, chief of the tuberculosis (TB) branch for a research and public health collaboration between the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the CDC in Kisumu, Kenya, reports on TB research underway as part of the collaboration.

23 Jan 2012

Study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking

A new analysis has found that a substantial number of lung and colorectal cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking.

23 Jan 2012

Number of unsafe abortions soars worldwide: Report

A new worldwide analysis by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization shows that unsafe abortions are on the rise across the world. After a period of significant decline in the global abortion rate as a whole, researchers found that those numbers had begun to plateau. The report was published in the Lancet.

22 Jan 2012

New tool to improve ease of oral fluid collection

Researchers are constantly finding new ways to figure out what makes us human beings tick, and one of the newer methods makes you want to spit—literally. Saliva is full of analytes and biomarkers that create a biological journal of exposure to chemicals and disease, and genetic variability. However, the collection of oral fluid has always proved cumbersome, with researchers depending on swabs or collection cups.

21 Jan 2012

Debate over publication of bird flu studies continues in journal opinion pieces

Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands -- lead researcher of one of two teams that last year reported study results "that showed how the H5N1 [bird flu] virus can be transmitted through airborne droplets between ferrets, a model for studying influenza in humans."

21 Jan 2012

Study documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many popular activities for kids

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many of the most popular activities for kids (walking, bicycling, swimming, sports and playground use) in the United States.

21 Jan 2012

Resources dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS among MSM 'grossly inefficient,' report says

"Funding to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS consistently fails to reach programs designed to control the disease among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a new analysis released Wednesday by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) at Johns Hopkins University," an amfAR press release states.

21 Jan 2012

Poor and uneducated smokers face difficulty in quitting

Quitting smoking is never easy. However, when you're poor and uneducated, kicking the habit for good is doubly hard, according to a new study by a tobacco dependence researcher at The City College of New York.

21 Jan 2012

Retail pork products in the U.S. have higher prevalence of MRSA bacteria

Retail pork products in the U.S. have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

20 Jan 2012

Quality reports find mixed bag in Minn., drop in postsurgical deaths

Medical mistakes increased in Minnesota hospitals in 2011, but the number of "adverse events" that led to serious patient harm or death fell, a new report says. In addition, nationwide, postsurgical deaths decreased despite the number of surgeries being up overall, Medscape reports. Michigan and Connecticut, however, are struggling with patient quality issues.

20 Jan 2012

Simplest, reinforced FDA warnings found effective

The impact of efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to notify the general public and health care providers about unanticipated risks from approved medications has been "varied and unpredictable," according to a systematic review of published studies about FDA warnings and alerts over the last 20 years.

20 Jan 2012

More than half of high-risk Americans do not receive HBV vaccination

Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United States contract the virus every year. According to a new study by researchers at Brown University, missed opportunities to administer the vaccine continue to be a reason why infections persist.

20 Jan 2012

MSU focuses on cultural competency to help turn tide of new infections

While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean.

20 Jan 2012

Cote d'Ivoire continues to need humanitarian assistance, U.N. official says

"Cote d'Ivoire remains in great need of humanitarian assistance nine months after the end of the bloody post-election violence that displaced tens of thousands of people, a senior United Nations relief official said today, urging donors to continue their generosity to the West African country throughout this year," the U.N. News Centre reports.

20 Jan 2012

Shortages of anti-infective drugs can put patients at risk and alter clinical care

Shortages of key drugs used to fight infections represent a public health emergency and can put patients at risk, according to a review published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

20 Jan 2012

Distal-less gene plays a critical role in development of fruit fly olfactory system

Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities such as finding mates and avoiding danger. UW-Madison researchers have discovered that a gene called distal-less is critical to the fly's ability to receive, process and respond to smells.

20 Jan 2012

Study shows 50% reduction in blindness and severe visual loss in Denmark

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness in the Western World. A report from the University of Copenhagen and Glostrup Hospital in Denmark published today shows the number of new cases of blindness and severe visual loss in Denmark has been halved during the last ten years.

20 Jan 2012

Decisive role of grandmothers on maternal and infant nutrition, health

Grandmothers and other senior female family members should play a key role in nutrition and health programmes for children and women in non-Western societies. However, they are often overlooked by health organisations that don't understand the importance of their role or see them as an obstacle to promoting good nutrition and health practices.

20 Jan 2012