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Survey: 49% of asthma patients are not using controllers

Forty-nine percent of children and adults with persistent asthma are not using controller medications according to results of a first of its kind survey of 1,000 asthma sufferers.

27 Feb 2012

Translational research in addiction conference to take place in Texas

Young people starting out in addiction research will get a turbo-boost to their careers March 3-4 at an annual conference that puts them face to face with internationally recognized addiction researchers and clinicians.

27 Feb 2012

New process can create LEDs that produce light in the UV range

A multinational team of scientists has developed a process for creating glass-based, inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that produce light in the ultraviolet range. The work, reported this week in the online Nature Communications, is a step toward biomedical devices with active components made from nanostructured systems.

27 Feb 2012

Researchers trace states with disparities in life expectancy

A UCLA-led group of researchers tracing disparities in life expectancy between blacks and whites in the U.S. has found that white males live about seven years longer on average than African American men and that white women live more than five years longer than their black counterparts.

27 Feb 2012

Ingrown toenails the most common problem that results from high heels

High heels can cause a number of foot problems, yet most women aren't willing to give their shoes the boot, according to podiatrists at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). Ingrown toenails are among the most common problems that result from high heels. This condition, also known as onychocryptosis, occurs when the toes compress together making the big toenails grow into the skin.

27 Feb 2012

Project GREAT earns ACP's 2012 Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education

An approach to treatment that focuses on recovery from mental illness, not the treatment of it, is gaining national acclaim for the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Health Sciences University.

27 Feb 2012

Statins may reduce risk of depression in patients with heart disease

Patients with heart disease who took cholesterol-lowering statins were significantly less likely to develop depression than those who did not, in a study by Mary Whooley, MD, a physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

27 Feb 2012

Study finds genetic variants that elevate risk for skin lesions in people exposed to arsenic

One of the first large-scale genomic studies conducted in a developing country has discovered genetic variants that elevate the risk for skin lesions in people chronically exposed to arsenic. Genetic changes found near the enzyme for metabolizing the chemical into a less toxic form can significantly increase an individual's risk for developing arsenic-related disease.

26 Feb 2012

New technique effective in jumpstarting defective immune systems against many diseases

In a study published in Nature Medicine, Loyola researchers report on a promising new technique that potentially could turn immune system killer T cells into more effective weapons against infections and possibly cancer.

26 Feb 2012

Lung function, obstructive airway diseases linked with increased risk of heart failure

A large population-based study has found that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are strongly and independently associated with increased risk of heart failure. Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking. This, they add, indicates "that our results are not primarily confounded by smoking".

26 Feb 2012

Work stress soars with recession: Study finds

A latest study suggests that work-related stress has increased by 40 per cent as economic prosperity has declined. It shows that the number of people taking time off work has risen by 25 per cent between 2005 and 2009 as workers struggle with fears over job security, a lack of managerial direction and poor communication.

26 Feb 2012

Skin cancer drug may prolong survival in advanced cases: Study

Researchers say 132 patients in the U.S. and Australia who were given the drug vemurafenib gained several extra months of life. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that those on the drug lived an average of 16 months, compared with nine months on conventional treatment.

26 Feb 2012

Citrus fruits may keep stroke at bay for women

In the study published last Thursday in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed the flavonoid intake of 69,622 women from the U.S.-based Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed nurses since 1976 to assess risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer. The total flavonoid intake of the 69,622 women was calculated after they completed food intake questionnaires collected every four years using a U.S. Department of Agriculture database. They found that during 14 years of follow up surveys beginning in 1990, 1,803 incidents of strokes were confirmed from the women.

26 Feb 2012

Bird flu may be more common and less deadly: Study finds

The H5N1 influenza virus commonly called “bird flu” or “avian flu” could be more prevalent and less deadly than health officials had thought, according to a new study published online (Feb. 23) by the journal Science.

26 Feb 2012

FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.

26 Feb 2012

Helmholtz Association grant for research on diseases caused by protein misfolding

Professor Erich Wanker of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and of the Excellence Cluster Neurocure is to receive EUR 675 000 in funding from the Helmholtz Association over the next two years. The grant shall be used to accelerate the search for active agents to treat diseases that are caused by protein misfolding. These include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

24 Feb 2012

Romney defends health care record on the campaign trail

News outlets report on how GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is casting his health care policies as he moves toward the Tuesday's Michigan and Arizona primaries.

24 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

Seven scientists aim to make strides in predicting and preventing preterm birth

With the help of funding from the March of Dimes, researchers from five states and Canada are seeking answers to questions such as how cellular-level processes that control uterine muscles may affect preterm labor, the causes of preeclampsia, and how air pollution may affect pregnancy and preterm birth - all with the goal of preventing preterm birth so more babies will get a healthy start in life.

24 Feb 2012

A shifting model of care for older patients

The New York Times reports on an emerging approach that allows many elderly patients to stay in their homes and still receive the medical care and social services the usually would get in a nursing home.

24 Feb 2012