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Americans live longer, but may be more prone to disability that hinders independence

New studies this week suggest that more Americans will suffer a disability that threatens their independence near the end of their lives.

10 Jul 2013

Cheerful people are less likely to suffer heart attack

Johns Hopkins researchers link positive outlook to reduction in cardiac events such as heart attacks. People with cheerful temperaments are significantly less likely to suffer a coronary event such as a heart attack or sudden cardiac death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

10 Jul 2013

Lifestyle modification programs may reduce risk of heart attack in people with coronary heart disease

Lifestyle modification programs that addressed at least two health behaviors lowered the risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke in people with coronary heart disease, finds a new systematic review in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

10 Jul 2013

Low vitamin D blood levels associated with greater risk of heart disease varies by race, ethnicity

Low vitamin D blood levels are linked to greater risk of heart disease in whites and Chinese, but not in blacks and Hispanics, according to a study appearing this week in JAMA, a journal published by the American Medical Association.

10 Jul 2013

Working shift patterns associated with increased risk of subfertility and menstrual disruption

Shift work, which encourages sleep deprivation and patterns of activity outside the circadian rhythm, has been associated with a greater risk of ill health and loss of well-being in some (but not all) studies.(1) However, little is known about the effects of shift work on reproductive health and fertility.

9 Jul 2013

UIC to manage largest-ever prospective health study of Hispanic/Latino population

The University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Minority Health Research will manage a National Institutes of Health project to follow up, over the next six years, all Chicago participants in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos—the largest-ever prospective health study of this population.

9 Jul 2013

Adverse fetal growth, exposure to maternal smoking correlated with lower measures of sperm quality

Studies over the past 20 years have suggested (though not unequivocally confirmed) that semen quality is in decline, reflected most evidently in falling sperm counts and reduced sperm motility.

8 Jul 2013

UCLA psychologists identify brain regions associated with successful spread of ideas

How do ideas spread? What messages will go viral on social media, and can this be predicted? UCLA psychologists have taken a significant step toward answering these questions, identifying for the first time the brain regions associated with the successful spread of ideas, often called "buzz."

6 Jul 2013

Consanguineous marriages and older mothers increase risk of birth anomalies in children

Marriage between first cousins can more than double the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital anomaly (eg, heart and lung defects, Down syndrome), although the absolute risk is low, according to a multiethnic study of more than 11300 babies from the city of Bradford in the UK, published in The Lancet.

5 Jul 2013

Study reveals health benefits of a good night's sleep

A good night's sleep can increase the benefit of exercise, healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption and non-smoking in their protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to results of a large population follow-up study. Results showed that the combination of the four traditional healthy lifestyle habits was associated with a 57% lower risk of cardiovascular disease (fatal and non-fatal) and a 67% lower risk of fatal events. But, when "sufficient sleep" (defined as seven or more hours a night) was added to the other four lifestyle factors, the overall protective benefit was even further increased - and resulted in a 65% lower risk of composite CVD and a 83% lower risk of fatal events.

4 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Dems' abortion policies on the wrong side of public opinion; Doctors need to be more accurate in death reports

Last week saw two major developments in the legal and political battle over the Obama administration's sound decision to require most employers to provide free insurance coverage of contraceptives for women under the new health care law - one of them positive and the other a blow to the mandate and to religious liberty (7/1).

3 Jul 2013

Study examines link between smoking cessation, weight gain and CHD risk in postmenopausal women

"Cigarette smoking is an important cause of cardiovascular disease, and smoking cessation reduces the risk. However, weight gain after smoking cessation may increase the risk of diabetes and weaken the benefit of quitting," write Juhua Luo, Ph.D., of the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, Ind., and colleagues.

3 Jul 2013

State highlights: Dartmouth joins N.H. Medicaid managed care

New Hampshire's largest health care provider signed contracts Monday with three health care plans to join the state's managed care network for Medicaid -- a key to getting the network operating. Dartmouth-Hitchcock announced it will work with Well Sense Health Plan, Granite State Health Plan and Meridian Health Plan of New Hampshire to provide coordinated care for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries (Love, 7/1).

3 Jul 2013

Postmenopausal women who quit smoking can reduce risk of heart disease, regardless of diabetes

Postmenopausal women who quit smoking reduced their risk of heart disease, regardless of whether they had diabetes, according to a new study conducted by Juhua Luo, an epidemiologist at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington.

3 Jul 2013

Growing brain aneurysms 12 times more likely to burst, says new UCLA study

Brain aneurysms of all sizes—even small ones no larger than a pea—are up to 12 times more likely to rupture if they are growing, according to a new UCLA study.

3 Jul 2013

NIDA grants $3.3M to design vaccine conferring immunity to nicotine

A chemical component present in the nightshade family of plants is one of the world's most tenaciously addictive substances. It is the nicotine contained in tobacco and found in high concentrations in cigarettes. Smoking remains a global scourge; in the U.S. it is the leading source of preventable death.

3 Jul 2013

Study finds that long-term cannabis use affects motivation

Long-term cannabis users tend to produce less dopamine, a chemical in the brain linked to motivation, a study has found.

2 Jul 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

A California proposal to fine large companies that have workers on Medi-Cal came up short in an initial vote in the Assembly amid strong business opposition. The proposed fines could reach about $5,000 per full-time employee who receives Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program for the poor. The bill, AB 880, garnered 46 votes in the 80-member chamber Thursday, short of the 54 votes, or two-thirds majority, needed. The measure could come up for reconsideration as early as next week (Terhune, 6/27).

2 Jul 2013

Cannabis users appear to lack motivation

Researchers found that dopamine levels in a part of the brain called the striatum were lower in people who smoke more cannabis and those who began taking the drug at a younger age.

2 Jul 2013

Cerebral aneurysms are more likely to rupture if they grow in size

Cerebral aneurysms of all sizes-even small ones below seven millimeters-are 12 times more likely to rupture if they are growing in size, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

2 Jul 2013

Smoking News and Research

Americans live longer, but may be more prone to disability that hinders independence

Cheerful people are less likely to suffer heart attack

Lifestyle modification programs may reduce risk of heart attack in people with coronary heart disease

Low vitamin D blood levels associated with greater risk of heart disease varies by race, ethnicity

Working shift patterns associated with increased risk of subfertility and menstrual disruption

UIC to manage largest-ever prospective health study of Hispanic/Latino population

Adverse fetal growth, exposure to maternal smoking correlated with lower measures of sperm quality

UCLA psychologists identify brain regions associated with successful spread of ideas

Consanguineous marriages and older mothers increase risk of birth anomalies in children

Study reveals health benefits of a good night's sleep

Viewpoints: Dems' abortion policies on the wrong side of public opinion; Doctors need to be more accurate in death reports

Study examines link between smoking cessation, weight gain and CHD risk in postmenopausal women

State highlights: Dartmouth joins N.H. Medicaid managed care

Postmenopausal women who quit smoking can reduce risk of heart disease, regardless of diabetes

Growing brain aneurysms 12 times more likely to burst, says new UCLA study

NIDA grants $3.3M to design vaccine conferring immunity to nicotine

Study finds that long-term cannabis use affects motivation

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

Cannabis users appear to lack motivation

Cerebral aneurysms are more likely to rupture if they grow in size

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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