Chronic News and Research

RSS

Alcohol abuse a problem for one in every three Americans

According to the latest study on alcohol abuse, as many as one in three Americans abuse or become dependent on alcohol over the course of their lives, and most of them never receive treatment for the problem.

3 Jul 2007

Canadians warned about tainted and fake toothpaste

Canadians are being warned about a counterfeit toothpaste on sale in stores which contains harmful ingredients.

2 Jul 2007

Therapeutic value of meditation unproven

There is an enormous amount of interest in using meditation as a form of therapy to cope with a variety of modern-day health problems, especially hypertension, stress and chronic pain, but the majority of evidence that seems to support this notion is anecdotal, or it comes from poor quality studies, say Maria Ospina and Kenneth Bond, researchers at the University of Alberta/Capital Health Evidence-based Practice Center in Edmonton, Canada.

29 Jun 2007

Rheumatologists overestimate physical disability of rheumatoid arthritis patients

Rheumatologists substantially overestimate the physical disability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis which may lead to inaccurate evaluations of the patient's ability to work and need for lifestyle modifications, a new study found.

29 Jun 2007

Five distinct subtypes of alcoholism identified

Analyses of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) reveal five distinct subtypes of the disease, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

29 Jun 2007

Prospective predictors of long-term abstinence versus relapse among smokers who quit as young adults

A non-smoking spouse and smoke-free workplace play key roles in long-term success for young adults who quit smoking, according to Indiana University research, which found environmental factors to be more influential than individual behaviors and beliefs when it comes to kicking the habit.

29 Jun 2007

New type of drug shows promise for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

A new type of engineered drug candidate has shown promise in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia in both test tube and early animal tests, a new study shows.

29 Jun 2007

Link between ciliary signaling and cancer

Submarines have periscopes. Insects have antennae. And increasingly, biologists are finding that most normal vertebrate cells have cilia, small hair-like structures that protrude like antennae into the surrounding environment to detect signals that control cell growth.

29 Jun 2007

How medical homes promote equity in health care

Providing minority patients a medical home in which they have a regular doctor or health professional who oversees and coordinates their care would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote more health care equity, says a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

28 Jun 2007

Link between lung capacity, inflammation and chronic lung disease

People who have a reduced lung capacity may have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke because they show evidence of inflammation, reveals a study published online ahead of print in Thorax .

28 Jun 2007

Papworth method reduces asthma symptoms by a third

A sequence of breathing and relaxation exercises known as the Papworth method has been shown to reduce asthma symptoms by a third by the first randomised controlled trial to investigate the technique, which is published online ahead of print in Thorax .

28 Jun 2007

New approach for tackling allergies

Allergies, like the common cold and asthma, have basically defied the best efforts of modern medicine to cure them.

28 Jun 2007

FDA fast tracks ViroPharma's treatment of hepatitis C

ViroPharma has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation for HCV-796 for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection.

28 Jun 2007

How will global warming affect human health?

Global warming will cause more deaths in summer because of higher temperatures but these will not be offset by fewer deaths in milder winters finds an analysis published online ahead of print in Occupational and Environment Medicine.

28 Jun 2007

Family-based weight management program cuts diabetes risk, improves BMI in overweight children

Children who participated in a family-based weight management program designed for inner-city minority children had better outcomes regarding weight gain, body fat, body mass index (BMI) and insulin sensitivity compared to children who received traditional weight counseling in a clinic, according to a study in the June 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on chronic diseases of children.

27 Jun 2007

15,000 children and adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes annually

Approximately 15,000 children and adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and about 3,700 youth are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes annually, according to estimates from a major national study called SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth.

27 Jun 2007

More common for children with complex chronic conditions to die in their home than in a hospital

It is becoming more common for children with complex chronic conditions to die in their home than in a hospital, although black and Hispanic children with these conditions are less likely to die in their home, according to a study in the June 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on chronic diseases of children.

27 Jun 2007

Transplant of angina patients' purified stem cells provides symptom relief

The first U.S. study to transplant a potent form of purified adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina provided evidence that the procedure is safe and produced a reduction in angina pain as well as improved functioning in patients' daily lives, reports the lead researcher at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

27 Jun 2007

Pediatric chronic disease poses future health and welfare challenges

The increased incidence of chronic conditions among American children predicts serious strains on health care and social welfare systems in the future, caution investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

27 Jun 2007