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Economic burden of diabetes on U.S healthcare system

A new study published in Value in Health estimates the extent of hospital admissions for individuals with diabetes and its economic burden in the U.S.

14 Jan 2009

Numerical analysis estimates numbers of older US adults who may benefit from statin therapy

Researchers estimate more than 11 million older Americans may be newly eligible for statin therapy if findings from a recently published large clinical trial are adopted into clinical practice guidelines, according to a new analysis of the trial data.

13 Jan 2009

Potential health consequences of recession

The Bureau of Labor Statistics just announced a jump in the jobless rate, from 6.8 percent in November to 7.2 percent in December.

13 Jan 2009

Food-addiction blamed for obesity

A study by scientists in New Zealand say craving something sweet like a biscuit or piece of chocolate could be a response to an addiction.

13 Jan 2009

Exposure to lead brings cognitive problems later in life

Both the developing brain and the aging brain can suffer from lead exposure.

12 Jan 2009

Protein that regulates hormones critical to women's health found in pituitary

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have solved the mystery surrounding a "rogue protein" that plays a role in the release of neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain.

12 Jan 2009

Outdoor alcohol advertising and problem drinking among African-American women in NYC

New research conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health indicates that the advertising of alcohol in predominantly African-American neighborhoods of New York City may add to problem drinking behavior among residents.

12 Jan 2009

New mouse model for peanut allergy

Chicago researchers report the development of a new mouse model for food allergy that mimics symptoms generated during a human allergic reaction to peanuts.

12 Jan 2009

California's rise in autism cases

A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted - and the trend shows no sign of abating.

9 Jan 2009

Discovery of novel ways to halt the spread of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease.

9 Jan 2009

Reasons behind the South's higher stroke death rate

Southerners die from stroke more than in any other U.S. region, but exactly why that happens is unknown.

9 Jan 2009

Smoking prevention programs badly needed in China

A study published this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, "Mortality Attributable to Smoking in China," provides an estimate of the number of premature deaths in China in 2005 that were caused by smoking.

9 Jan 2009

Use of robot and VR system improves walking post-stroke

Patients who've had a stroke and were rehabilitated using a robot to navigate virtual reality environments walked faster and a greater distance following physical therapy compared to those trained with the robot alone, according to researchers at the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions.

9 Jan 2009

Online racial discrimination linked to depression, anxiety in teens

In the early days of the Internet, some scholars once predicted a lessening of racism and race-based discrimination in online interactions thanks to the anonymity and race-neutral nature of the medium.

9 Jan 2009

New genetic markers for ulcerative colitis could lead to treatment

An international consortium of researchers, including major contribution from a team led by Dr. John D. Rioux, a professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal and the Montreal Heart Institute, has identified genetic markers associated with risk for ulcerative colitis.

8 Jan 2009

Estrogen plus progestin therapy may decrease risk of colorectal cancer

The combination of estrogen plus progestin, which women stopped taking in droves following the news that it may increase their risk of breast cancer, may decrease their risk of colorectal cancer, according to a report published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

8 Jan 2009

Widespread antiviral drug use can accelerate the evolution of drug resistance in viruses

Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread avian flu infection in humans, scientists say.

7 Jan 2009

Young adults eating on the run - need to make more time for healthy meals

As adolescents mature into young adults, increasing time constraints due to school or work can begin to impact eating habits in a negative way.

6 Jan 2009

Discovery of new way for bacteria to transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacterial species

In a laboratory experiment, the scientists from NYU School of Medicine discovered that Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious bacterium that causes toxic shock syndrome and many other types of infections and is the scourge of hospitals nationwide due to its growing antibiotic resistance, could co-opt viral parasites as secret pipelines for transferring toxin genes to vastly different bacterial species.

6 Jan 2009

Nicotine gum effective for gradual smoking reduction and cessation

Nicotine gum has been in use for over 20 years to help smokers quit abruptly yet close to two-thirds of smokers report that they would prefer to quit gradually.

6 Jan 2009