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Study predicts when invasive species can travel more readily by air

A new study forecasts when climate factors such as temperature, humidity and rainfall will match at geographically distant airline departure and destination points, which could help to shuffle invasive species, and the diseases they may carry, across the globe along existing flight routes.

2 Mar 2009

Influenza A's resistance to drug Tamiflu increasing

Influenza A viruses (H1N1 subtype) that are resistant to the drug oseltamivir circulated widely in the U.S. during the 2007-2008 influenza season, with an even higher prevalence of drug resistance during the current 2008-2009 influenza season, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Mar 2009

Alcohol-branded merchandise associated with drinking behaviors among teens

Between 11 percent and 20 percent of U.S. teens are estimated to own T-shirts or other merchandise featuring an alcohol brand, and those who do appear more likely to transition through the stages of drinking from susceptibility to beginning drinking to binge drinking, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Mar 2009

Newly discovered protein points to new treatment for serious lung disease

The discovery by Uppsala University researchers of a previously unknown protein in the cells of the lower air ways brings new potential for early diagnosis of a serious lung disease.

2 Mar 2009

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 have increased risk for neural tube defects

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.

2 Mar 2009

Educational materials for new mothers may prevent shaken baby syndrome

Educational materials on how to deal with crying newborns lead to increased knowledge about infant crying and behaviours that are important to preventing shaken baby syndrome, found two new studies being published online March 2 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) and Pediatrics.

2 Mar 2009

Oseltamivir-resistant influenza A virus potentially serious to high-risk patients

A mutation of the influenza A(H1N1) virus that is resistant to the drug oseltamivir may pose a serious health threat to hospitalized patients who have a weakened immune system, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and being released early online because of its public health importance.

2 Mar 2009

Drinking wine may lower risk of Barrett's esophagus

Drinking one glass of wine a day may lower the risk of Barrett's Esophagus by 56 percent, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in the March issue of Gastroenterology.

2 Mar 2009

Wyeth's Prevenar vaccine for pneumococcal disease registered in Russia

Wyeth announced today that its 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, Adsorbed), has been registered by the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development (Roszdravnadzor) and is expected to be commercially available later this year.

2 Mar 2009

Revealing statistics about childhood diabetes reported

The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes among non-Hispanic white youth in the United States is one of the highest in the world, according to a major national study coordinated by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

1 Mar 2009

Antibody recognition of a highly conserved epitope across influenza viruses

The discovery of the molecule, an antibody known as CR6261, is good news for researchers who hope to design a flu vaccine that would give humans lifelong protection against a majority of influenza viruses.

26 Feb 2009

Long-term use of beta carotene supplements may increase cancer risk

Long-term use of beta carotene and some other carotenoid-containing dietary supplements may increase the risk of lung cancer, especially among smokers, according to a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.

26 Feb 2009

Lab tests show meropenem and clavulanate combination effective against drug-resistant TB bacteria

WHAT: In a finding that could soon help people infected with untreatable, highly drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), scientists have shown that two FDA-approved drugs work in tandem to kill laboratory-grown strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes TB.

26 Feb 2009

Heart-healthy diets that reduce calorie intake promote long-term weight loss

Heart-healthy diets that reduce calorie intake - regardless of differing proportions of fat, protein, or carbohydrate - can help overweight and obese adults achieve and maintain weight loss, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and published Feb. 26, 2009, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Feb 2009

Experimental animal vaccine may protect humans from Ebola

Protection against Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, can be achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

26 Feb 2009

First of kind study looks at relationship between arthritis and heart disease

Arthritis affects more than half of adults with heart disease and appears to be a substantial barrier to utilizing physical activity to help manage their condition, according to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

26 Feb 2009

Parents learn about human papillomavirus vaccine mostly from pharmaceutical advertising

Parents and other caretakers of young women learned about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine primarily from advertisements sponsored by the pharmaceutical company that makes the vaccine, a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows.

25 Feb 2009

The availability of healthy food choices and your quality of diet is associated with where you live

Researchers examined healthy food availability and diet quality among Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Md., residents and found that availability of healthy foods was associated with quality of diet and 46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods had a low availability of healthy foods.

25 Feb 2009

Comparison of popular diets

Many popular diets emphasize either carbohydrate, protein or fat as the best way to lose weight.

25 Feb 2009

Being overweight just as bad for health as smoking

Obese adolescents have the same risk of premature death in adulthood as people who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, while those who are overweight have the same risk as less heavy smokers, according to research published on bmj.com.

25 Feb 2009