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Alcohol may increase blood pressure to a much greater extent than previously thought

Previous observational studies have reported that heavy alcohol intake is a risk factor for hypertension but such studies may be confounded by factors such as diet, smoking, exercise levels and socio-economic position.

6 Mar 2008

Genetic mutations involved in IGF-I signaling pathway influence life span

Mutations in genes governing an important cell-signaling pathway influence human longevity, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found.

6 Mar 2008

Novel imaging technique provides comprehensive diagnosis of heart disease

In the current issue of the journal Circulation, a research team from the Medical University of South Carolina's (MUSC) Heart & Vascular Center report their initial experience with a novel imaging technique that enables comprehensive diagnosis of heart disease based on a single computerized tomographic (CT) scan.

6 Mar 2008

Chemotherapy with chemoradiation for pancreatic cancer has small survival benefit

The addition of the drug gemcitabine with chemoradiation for the treatment of patients who had surgery for pancreatic cancer was associated with a survival benefit, although this improvement was not statistically significant, according to a study in the March 5 issue of JAMA.

6 Mar 2008

Cancer risk slightly higher for women in discontinued hormone treatment trial

A follow up study of participants in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher has found that women who were taking the combined hormone therapy of estrogen plus progestin may have an increased risk of cancer since the intervention was stopped, compared to participants in the trial's placebo group.

6 Mar 2008

Arsenic aids tumor imaging when joined to cancer-homing drug

Arsenic linked to a drug that binds to the blood vessels of cancerous tumors provides a powerful imaging agent that could one day allow physicians to detect hard-to-find tumors and more closely monitor cancer's response to therapy, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

6 Mar 2008

Alcohol and blood pressure

A new study published in PLoS Medicine shows that individuals who drink on a regular basis have a systolic blood pressure around 7 mmHg higher than that of people who do not drink.

6 Mar 2008

Sam Newman has surgery for prostate cancer

Sam Newman the football personality has had surgery to remove a prostate cancer tumour and is now waiting to hear whether the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of his body.

5 Mar 2008

Research in diabetes surgery suggests origins of disease

Growing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes -- an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes.

5 Mar 2008

UK researchers look to improve treatment for lung cancer patients

Doctors from around the UK are taking part in one of the world's largest lung cancer clinical trials investigating how a blood thinning drug might help prevent blood clots in lung cancer patients.

5 Mar 2008

Health groups issue updated colorectal cancer screening guidelines

The American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology, and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer (a group that comprises representatives from the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) have released the first-ever joint consensus guidelines for colorectal cancer screening.

5 Mar 2008

Broccoli and Brussels sprouts protect against bladder cancer

An international team of researchers has found that vegetables from the cabbage family, such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and watercress, can protect against bladder cancer.

5 Mar 2008

Doubts cast over aromatherapy in new study

According to new research while aromatherapy has a positive effect on mood it does not offer any other health benefits.

5 Mar 2008

Cancer risk from HRT remains long after treatment has stopped

The results of a new study have shown that the risk of cancer associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) continues long after a woman stops taking it.

5 Mar 2008

Drinking black tea might help combat type 2 diabetes

In an unexpected discovery Scottish scientists have found that black tea may help combat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

5 Mar 2008

Watery pools in bone marrow key to psoriatic arthritic damage

Researchers have learned more about how a leading drug prevents certain types of arthritis from eating away at bone, according to a study published in the March edition of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

4 Mar 2008

Stem cell funding for Parkinson’s disease

The Parkinson's Disease Society (PD) has announced funding of £170k to the University of Bristol for research into how to make stem cells produce dopamine and live longer after they have been transplanted into animals.

4 Mar 2008

Bardet-Biedl syndrome provides clues on obesity, blood pressure

University of Iowa researchers have found a clue about how resistance to the hormone leptin might disrupt the brain signals that tell the body when to stop eating.

4 Mar 2008

Does depression lead to stroke?

Psychological distress, but not depression, may increase the risk of stroke, according to a study published in the March 4, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Mar 2008

Protein in embryonic stem cells control malignant tumor cells

A protein that governs development of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) also inhibits the growth and spread of malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, Northwestern University researchers have discovered.

4 Mar 2008