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Hope for treating relapse to methamphetamine abuse

"Reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior after an extended period of abstinence is the number-one cause of drug-addiction relapse," said Brookhaven neuroanatomist Stephen Dewey, who led the research team. "This animal study suggests that vigabatrin could potentially prevent human methamphetamine addicts from relapsing."

13 Nov 2008

Analyses of Merck's HIV vaccine 'Step' study

Results from the Step study, a test-of-concept efficacy study of a Merck & Co., Inc. HIV vaccine candidate, were published online in two papers in The Lancet.

12 Nov 2008

Messages of hope work better in motivating black patients to seek early screening for cancer

News articles that stress African-American health disparities, like higher cancer mortality rates than other groups, may discourage black patients from being screened for cancer, according to a Saint Louis University study.

12 Nov 2008

State mandates for HPV vaccination unwarranted and unwise

The HPV vaccine, sold as Gardasil in the U.S., is intended to prevent four strains of the human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world.

12 Nov 2008

Adults with severe heart failure have more doctor visits, medications than others on Medicare

Adults with severe heart failure see almost three times as many Medicare providers each year compared to a typical beneficiary, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

12 Nov 2008

Expert warns it would be ill-advised to mandate HPV vaccinations at this time

Vaccinating girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV) before they are sexually active appears to be successful in protecting them against cervical cancer, however, a Johns Hopkins University researcher and health policy expert warns it would be ill-advised to mandate vaccinations at this time.

12 Nov 2008

A large waistline doubles your risk of premature death

Having a large waistline can almost double your risk of dying prematurely even if your body mass index is within the 'normal' range, according to a new study of over 350,000 people across Europe, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Nov 2008

Reduced risk for pre-eclampsia among women who have aborted

Women who have had two or more induced abortions have a reduced risk of pre-eclampsia by 60 %.

12 Nov 2008

U.S. health trend in heart disease is not going down as expected

The positive U.S. health trend documented over the past 30 years of reduction in risk for heart disease is not as strong as is widely perceived - and, in fact, the trend has flattened, according to a new analysis of national data by Mayo Clinic.

11 Nov 2008

Comprehensive assessment of burden of HPV-associated cancers in the U.S.

Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date.

11 Nov 2008

25% of U.S. kids received no dental care in at least one year

A University of South Carolina study of children's dental health has found that nearly one-fourth of the nation's children have had no dental care in at least a year.

11 Nov 2008

Diuretic reduces risk for type of heart failure that affects women more often than

New research by The University of Texas School of Public Health shows that a medication for high blood pressure called a diuretic or water pill is particularly effective at reducing the risk for a type of heart failure that affects women more often than men.

11 Nov 2008

Drug-eluting better than bare metal stents in diabetics

Drug-eluting stents reduced the risk of revascularization, heart attack and death in diabetics as compared with bare-metal stents in the largest observational comparison, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

11 Nov 2008

Calls for a more flexible approach to vaccine funding

Governments should take a broader perspective - including quality-of-life impacts - when considering whether to fund vaccines, according to a paper from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

11 Nov 2008

Obstructive sleep apnea may be risk factor for sudden cardiac death

After studying the sleep characteristics of nearly 11,000 adults in an overnight sleep laboratory, Mayo Clinic researchers suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - and, in particular, the low nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood it causes - may be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

11 Nov 2008