Blood News and Research

RSS

Waist measurement a better guide to obesity

New research by Canadian scientists suggests that doctors should add a tape measure to their key diagnostic tool kit.

10 Apr 2007

Heart study observes 20th year in Forsyth County

Because of the 4,035 Forsyth County residents who participated in a long-running study of heart disease risk factors, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues have made major findings such as how being overweight is associated with becoming disabled and that passive smoking increases the risk of hardening of the arteries.

9 Apr 2007

Doctors aggressively treat early heart attacks

An international study involving 467 hospitals in 12 countries found that doctors do a good job of aggressively treating the early stages of heart attacks - even before laboratory tests confirm the diagnosis.

9 Apr 2007

Forum endorses salt reduction to prevent heart disease and stroke

A committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report endorsing population-wide strategies to reduce salt consumption as a cost-effective means of lowering blood pressure; thus preventing heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems.

9 Apr 2007

HRT scare questioned

According to the latest research hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may not be quite as dangerous as was first implied by a major American study in 2002.

8 Apr 2007

Mediterranean diet for children means fewer allergic symptoms

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet have been further enhanced with the latest research by scientists from Greece, Spain and the United Kingdom.

8 Apr 2007

Herbal treatment Forskolin may help knock out for urinary tract infections once and for all

Researchers in the United States have found that a common herbal extract which can be bought over the counter at health food stores, has the ability to cut down on urinary tract infections and may also enhance the effect of the antibiotics used to treat such infections.

8 Apr 2007

Tai chi helps seniors avoid shingles

According to recent research the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai chi offers benefits beyond improving fitness and balance for older adults.

8 Apr 2007

Weak immune response critical to disease that causes most infant hospitalizations

The most common cause of infant hospitalization in the United States, respiratory syncytial virus, infects virtually all children by age two.

7 Apr 2007

TGF-beta inhibitors stop tumors spreading to new sites

For several types of cancer, persistently high levels of the soluble factor TGF-beta in the blood after surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy correlate with increased risk of early metastasis and a poor prognosis.

7 Apr 2007

Stress affects levels of serum cytokines across pregnancy

A new study shows that women who report high levels of stress and low social support during pregnancy are more likely to have increased immune system activity, which can trigger inflammatory responses and put them at risk for premature labor and preeclampsia.

7 Apr 2007

Statins lower risk of sepsis in patients on kidney dialysis

Researchers at Johns Hopkins may have discovered an unintended benefit in the drugs millions of Americans take to lower their cholesterol: The medications, all statins, seem to lower the risk of a potentially lethal blood infection known as sepsis in patients on kidney dialysis.

7 Apr 2007

Physician's role in getting patients active

Physicians and their patients alike know that physical activity is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, but what is less clear is what kind of a role doctors should have in increasing their patients' activity levels.

7 Apr 2007

Cylindrical nanoparticles deliver drugs to tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine & School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a better way to deliver drugs to tumors.

7 Apr 2007

Researchers show blood-brain barrier damage could affect multiple sclerosis severity

Immunology researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson studying a multiple sclerosis (MS)-like disease in mice have shown that the amount of "damage" to the central nervous system's protective blood-brain barrier, in essence, opening it, almost always correlates to the severity of the disease.

7 Apr 2007