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COPD patients benefit from lifestyle program

Patients with moderate COPD were randomized to receive "usual care" or to undergo an interdisciplinary, community-based program (INTERCOM) that offered an intensive lifestyle moderation phase of four months, during which patients were instructed in detail to perform two 15-minute intervals of pleasurable walking or cycling, and offered instruction in other lifestyle changes such as nutrition and smoking cessation.

20 May 2009

Decoding the human brain

'Nature' journals are synonymous with the very best in research. Earlier this year, an article by University of Leicester bioengineer Professor Rodrigo Quian Quiroga not only appeared in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, but also featured on the magazine cover. In the article, Prof. Quian Quiroga and co-author Dr. Stefano Panzeri discuss new methodologies that are enabling scientists to better understand how our brain processes information.

19 May 2009

e-mail intervention program helps improve diet and lifestyle

An e-mail intervention program is an effective way to significantly improve diet and physical activity by helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

19 May 2009

Americans cutting back on healthy activities

Yet another negative result of the bad economy: Americans are cutting back on healthy activities such as eating fresh foods and exercising regularly.

17 May 2009

Obama administration 'wants to go slow' on HIV/AIDS efforts, editorial says

"The road to ending AIDS comes with warning sign: Caution -- Politics Ahead. Just ask President Obama, who's getting a crash-course introduction," a San Francisco Chronicle editorial says.

13 May 2009

Non-wovens as scaffolds for artificial tissue

When someone's knee hurts with every step it's a sign that the cartilage has been so badly damaged that the bones rub together when walking.

13 May 2009

Aspirin lowers risk of stroke in peripheral artery disease

An analysis of previous studies indicates that among patients with peripheral artery disease, aspirin use is associated with a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the risk of a group of combined cardiovascular events (nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular death), but is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of one of these events, nonfatal stroke, although the findings may be limited by the lack of a large study population, according to an article in the May 13 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 May 2009

West Virginia Gov. Manchin vetoes Medicaid mental health reimbursement hike

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) on Thursday vetoed a $1.5 million bill to increase Medicaid reimbursements for mental health care services over three years, but said that the state will direct $12.7 million in state and federal money to community-based mental health services and reduce overcrowding in psychiatric hospitals, the Charleston Gazette reports.

12 May 2009

DASH diet to lower blood pressure also reduces women's risk of heart failure

The DASH diet was initially developed to help patients lower their blood pressure, but a large study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrates that women who followed the diet also significantly reduced their risk of developing heart failure.

12 May 2009

High-caloric exercise reduces risks in heart patients the most

An exercise program that burns a lot of calories reduced cardiac risk factors better than standard cardiac rehabilitation in overweight coronary patients, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 May 2009

Extra calories rather than lack of exercise the culprit in obesity epidemic

New research appears to settle the on-going debate over whether the culprit in the current obesity epidemic is a lack of exercise or too much food.

11 May 2009

Increased food intake alone explains the increase in body weight in the United States

New research that uses an innovative approach to study, for the first time, the relative contributions of food and exercise habits to the development of the obesity epidemic has concluded that the rise in obesity in the United States since the 1970s was virtually all due to increased energy intake.

10 May 2009

Merck Serono starts second phase III trial of Safinamide in advanced Parkinson's

Merck Serono announced today the initiation of the SETTLE study. This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of a dose range of safinamide (50-100 mg once daily) as add-on therapy to a stable dose of levodopa, in mid- to late-stage Parkinson's disease patients with motor fluctuations compared to placebo.

7 May 2009

Episodes of delirium accelerate cognitive decline and memory loss in Alzheimer's patients

Delirium often develops in elderly patients during hospitalization or serious illness, and this acute state of confusion and agitation has long been suspected of having ties to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

4 May 2009

Women live longer but quality of life is often poor

According to scientists in the United States women may live longer lives but the quality of their lives is often poor.

3 May 2009

Women live longer, not better, largely because of obesity and arthritis

Obesity and arthritis that take root during early and middle age significantly contribute to women's decreased quality of life during their senior years, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

3 May 2009

New animal model for the painful nerve condition sciatica

A newly developed animal model for the painful nerve condition known as sciatica should help researchers diagnose and treat it, according to Duke University bioengineers and surgeons.

29 Apr 2009

Call for better provision for disabled children

Some European countries could make better provision for disabled children to allow them to participate in life on an equal basis with others, concludes a large study published on bmj.com.

23 Apr 2009

Even modest exercise improves insulin sensitivity, decreases fat in the liver and inflammation in belly fat

A new University of Illinois study suggests that moderate amounts of exercise alone can reduce the inflammation in visceral fat - belly fat, if you will - that has been linked with metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predict heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

23 Apr 2009

Sorafenib and vitamin K combo shows anti-tumor effects in pancreas cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma

A combination of sorafenib and vitamin K had an effect in vitro on both human pancreas cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

22 Apr 2009