Epidemiology News and Research

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HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer women benefit from trastuzumab and chemotherapy

The use of trastuzumab, chemotherapy and surgery among women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer significantly improved survival from the time central nervous system metastases were diagnosed.

18 Jul 2011

New study confirms key risk factors for heavy drinking among adolescents

A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is one of several genetically influenced characteristics that may increase an individual's risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems. A new study has confirmed key elements of a LR-based model of risk through examination of a large sample of adolescent boys and girls in the United Kingdom, moving beyond smaller U.S.-based samples and to younger subjects.

16 Jul 2011

Ultrasound can detect risk of psychiatric disorders in premature infants

Infants born prematurely are at risk for injuries to the white and gray matter of the brain that affect cortical development and neural connectivity. Certain forms of these injuries can be detected in the neonatal period using ultrasound, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers.

15 Jul 2011

Partially hydrolysed whey formula does not prevent allergies in high-risk infants

Despite the formula being recommended in public health guidelines set out by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the new study, published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found there was no benefit in using hypoallergenic formula to prevent allergies in high-risk infants up to seven years of age, compared to a conventional cow's milk based formula.

15 Jul 2011

Patients with brain cancer may benefit from stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy may restore cognition in patients with brain cancer who experience functional learning and memory loss often associated with radiation treatment, according to a laboratory study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Jul 2011

WHO releases 2011 global status report on alcohol and health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its global status report on alcohol and health for 2011. Forum members largely agree with the discussion in the report of the serious health and societal problems associated with the misuse of alcohol, which contributes to accidents, many diseases, and premature deaths.

13 Jul 2011

Study: No evidence of increased risk of leukaemia near nuclear power plants

A large nationwide longitudinal study found no evidence of an increased risk of cancer in children born near nuclear power plants in Switzerland.

13 Jul 2011

Men more likely to succumb to cancer

According to a new analysis of 36 different types of tumors and blood cancers that affect both sexes, men are more likely than women to get and die of cancer. The report shows that leukemia and cancers of the colon and rectum, pancreas, and liver killed about one and a half to two times as many men as women in the U.S. over a 30-year period. Lung cancer killed nearly two and a half times as many men during that time. According to the American Cancer Society men have about a 1 in 2 chance of developing cancer at some point in their lives, compared with women, who have a 1 in 3 chance.

13 Jul 2011

UNC receives $32 million federal grant to eradicate HIV infection

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been awarded a $32 million, five-year federal grant to develop ways to cure people with HIV by purging the virus hiding in the immune systems of patients taking antiretroviral therapy.

12 Jul 2011

Abstainers may face higher risk of death than moderate drinkers

The author of this paper set out to determine the extent to which potential "errors" in many early epidemiologic studies led to erroneous conclusions about an inverse association between moderate drinking and coronary heart disease.

12 Jul 2011

Epidemiologic and physiologic research on sedentary behavior

Lack of physical exercise is often implicated in many disease processes. However, sedentary behavior, or too much sitting, as distinct from too little exercise, potentially could be a new risk factor for disease.

12 Jul 2011

Cardiology study looks at sodium and potassium in diet

A new study suggests that in addition to cutting the amount of sodium in their diets to improve heart health, Americans should also increase consumption of a key mineral found in many fruits and vegetables, potassium.

11 Jul 2011

People with long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience

People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal household study. The first findings reveal that people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, respiratory or cardiovascular disease report similar mental health scores to those without physical illness.

11 Jul 2011

RyMed's InVision-Plus Intraluminal Protection System effective against catheter-related bloodstream infections

Denise Macklin, BSN, RNC, representing the research team of Dr. Cynthia C. Chernecky Ph.D., RN, AOCN, FAAN, Dr. Jennifer Waller, Ph.D., both from Georgia Health Sciences University; and Dr. William Jarvis M.D., Jason & Jarvis Associates, exhibited a poster at the recent APIC 2011 (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) conference in Baltimore, titled "Clinical Comparisons of Split Septum, Positive and Negative Mechanical Valve Intravenous Connectors to an Intraluminal Protection Connector on Infection Rates."

11 Jul 2011

HyGreen's hand hygiene system to be showcased at AHA summit

HyGreen, Inc. announces that it will showcase its hand hygiene system, HyGreen, at the 19th Annual American Hospital Association Leadership Summit held July 17-19, 2011 in San Diego, CA.

11 Jul 2011

'Rule of rescue' often prevails in ICU: Study

High stakes life and death decisions are made every day by doctors and nurses in critical care units, but increasingly critical care clinicians are also tasked with containing costs and managing scarce resources in light of rising demands for and costs of care they provide. Physicians are often asked to consider limiting services for their patients to benefit society more broadly.

11 Jul 2011

LSUHSC to study mid, long-term health consequences of oil exposure

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health is launching the first study ever done of the mid- and long-term health consequences of exposure to oil.

11 Jul 2011

Environmental factors play a critical role in development of autism

A study published this week again confirms that environmental factors play a critical role in the development of autism. Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs With Autism, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides further confirmation that genes alone cannot explain the exponential rise in autism rates over the past two decades.

11 Jul 2011

Patients with high-grade noninvasive bladder cancer do not receive recommended care

A new study has found that almost all patients with high-grade noninvasive bladder cancer do not receive complete care as recommended by current guidelines.

11 Jul 2011

Study finds large state disparities in progress against colorectal cancer mortality rates

Improvements in colorectal cancer mortality rates are concentrated in the northern part of the United States, while southern states continue to fall behind, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

7 Jul 2011