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Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. Their findings were published today in the journal Tobacco Control.

4 Oct 2010

Saturated fat intake has limited impact on CVD risk: Research

For the past three decades, saturated fat has been considered a major culprit of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and as a result dietary advice persists in recommending reduced consumption of this macronutrient. However, new evidence shows that saturated fat intake has only a very limited impact on CVD risk causing many to rethink the "saturated fat is bad" paradigm.

4 Oct 2010

Mandatory ECG screening for athletes

Should athletes have to undergo mandatory electrocardiographic screening (also known as ECG or heart trace) before competing? Doctors debate the issue in this week's BMJ.

4 Oct 2010

OHSU CROET issues public alert on Brazilian Blowout hair straightening product

Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) is responding to concerns raised by Portland-area hair salons about a product used for hair straightening. CROET has issued two public alerts describing its findings on the possible negative health impacts of this product.

4 Oct 2010

Fred Hutchinson Center offers research-based tip sheets on breast cancer

Throughout October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, are offering a series of weekly research-based tip sheets regarding a variety of topics related to breast cancer, including breast cancer prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

4 Oct 2010

Inability to pay for pediatrician-recommended care is problem even in families with health insurance

One in eight parents reported that his or her child had not received pediatrician-recommended care - medication, laboratory testing and/or appointments with specialists - during the previous 12 months due to concerns over cost and payment, according to a study, presented Sunday, Oct. 3, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco.

4 Oct 2010

Research Roundups: Racial Disparities at end of life; stopping medicine mistakes; Grand Junction, Colorado's Cost Lessons

Racial Disparities In The Outcomes Of Communication On Medical Care Received Near Death Black patients receive more life prolonging measures and less comfort-directed care at the end of life (EOL) than white patients, such as increased rates of resuscitation, intensive care unit hospitalization, and feeding tube use at the EOL, write the authors of this study that examined whether differences in patient-physician communication contribute to these differences.

4 Oct 2010

Environmental smoke exposure increases breast cancer risk among Mexican women

Mexican women who do not smoke but are exposed to smoking, known as environmental smoke exposure, are at three times higher risk for breast cancer than non-smoking women not exposed to passive smoking, according to findings presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct.3, 2010.

4 Oct 2010

Suspected hand, foot and mouth disease on Denver flight

Two children arrived on a flight from Mexico to Denver showing symptoms of the contagious illness called ‘hand, foot and mouth’ disease (HFMD) and were checked by paramedics. They were allowed to leave after experts said they were no threat to public health.

4 Oct 2010

UTHealth receives funds for teen pregnancy prevention program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $15 million of its $155-million total package to a team led by Susan Tortolero, Ph.D., director of the UTHealth Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research.

3 Oct 2010

Study shows low DRC level may increase risk for non-melanoma skin cancer

DNA repair capacity (DRC) measurements effectively identified individuals who were at high risk for non-melanoma skin cancer, and may be a useful method to evaluate the efficacy of preventive therapies, according to study results presented at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.

3 Oct 2010

Scientists find new replicating mechanism of Salmonella bacteria

New findings by National Institutes of Health scientists could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine.

3 Oct 2010

Osteoporosis common but underestimated in old men: Study

According to the latest research osteoporosis a diseases common in women that makes bones brittle and easily breakable with age also affects men. The study suggests that this debilitating condition is often overlooked in elderly Australian men.

3 Oct 2010

Health warning on iodine levels in food

After a health scare that involved consumption of Bonsoy milk, health experts have warned about iodine levels in food. Nearly twenty five people who developed illnesses because of high iodine levels in the soy milk filed a Supreme Court writ last week, seeking damages from Bonsoy's Australian distributors.

3 Oct 2010

GSA urges treatment of sepsis as a medical emergency

The Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) is urging healthcare providers, patients and policymakers worldwide to treat sepsis as a medical emergency. "Tens of millions of people die from sepsis each year, making it the likely leading cause of death worldwide. Sepsis kills regardless of age, ethnicity, location and access to care," said Konrad Reinhart, M.D., Chairman of the GSA and director of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of the Friedrich Schiller, University of Jena, Germany.

1 Oct 2010

CDC awards ACS and GWCI $4.25 million to establish National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the GW Cancer Institute (GWCI) were recently awarded $4.25 million by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to establish a National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center. Work on the project will begin on September 30.

1 Oct 2010

Study examines link between insufficient sleep and blood pressure among pregnant women

A study in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Sleep found that getting too little or too much sleep in early pregnancy is associated with elevated blood pressure in the third trimester. The study suggests that improving prenatal sleep hygiene may provide important health benefits.

1 Oct 2010

Increase in excise taxes and state-of-the-art tobacco control program reduces lung cancer rates

A study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego shows that California's 40 year-long tobacco control program has resulted in lung cancer rates that are nearly 25 percent lower than other states.

1 Oct 2010

Swedish Medical Center researcher receives NIH grants to study pregnancy complications

Michelle A. Williams, Sc.D., co-director and principal investigator at the Center for Perinatal Studies at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle and Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health at the University of Washington, has received two grants totaling $5.6 million for research into complications affecting pregnancy.

1 Oct 2010

New legislation introduced to assess critical care services in the U.S.

Yesterday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Member Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced legislation to assess and critical care health services in the United States.

1 Oct 2010