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Ten years of pharmaceutical television advertisements have Pennsylvanians asking their docs about medications

poll of Pennsylvania adults 10 years after the first direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical television advertisement ran suggests that nearly half of the participants have asked their doctor about a specific prescription drug or medical procedure they saw advertised.

27 Sep 2007

Is it any wonder kids are fat?

While the debate over childhood obesity rumbles on and experts search for reasons for the epidemic, a clutch of new studies recently published suggests the causes are a combination of factors.

26 Sep 2007

Under-used colon cancer screening test is effective

An under-used colon cancer screening test now available in the U.S. effectively detects colorectal cancer and may help to improve colon cancer screening rates, according to investigators at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

26 Sep 2007

Biologists link Huntington's disease to health benefits in young

For years researchers in neurology have believed that people with Huntington's disease have more children than the general population because of behavioral changes associated with the disease that lead to sexual promiscuity.

26 Sep 2007

Coping with urinary incontinence

For older adults, increased urinary frequency is fairly common.

26 Sep 2007

Women with anorexia taste different!

Although anorexia nervosa is categorized as an eating disorder, it is not known whether there are alterations of the portions of the brain that regulate appetite.

26 Sep 2007

Effectiveness of interventions to promote screening for diabetic retinopathy

Increasing patient and clinician awareness and improving access to health care can encourage people with diabetes to seek annual eye exams, which help prevent a serious complication called retinopathy, according to a new systematic review of studies.

26 Sep 2007

A blood test for concussions - aim of new research

The University of Rochester Medical Center received $1.5 million to develop a blood test for concussions by isolating proteins that can predict memory loss, chronic headaches or other neurological problems.

26 Sep 2007

Risk of venous thrombosis after air travel exaggerated

In a paper published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine Frits Rosendaal and colleagues from Leiden University Medical Center, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam and Nestle Medical Services, provide the first absolute estimate of risk of venous thrombosis after air travel.

26 Sep 2007

New colon cancer screening test

A new version of a colon cancer screening test effectively detects colorectal cancer and may be a good replacement for the test that is currently used, according to a study in the September 25 Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

26 Sep 2007

Nicotine replacement and behavioral therapy for smoking cessation in pregnancy

Pregnant women trying to quit smoking could find it easier with help from nicotine replacement therapy, a new study finds, despite safety concerns about the risk of early delivery.

26 Sep 2007

Aloe vera powder nose spray vaccine shows potential for bird flu treatment

Researchers at Texas A&M University are participating in developing a medicine that is worth sneezing about: a treatment for influenza that forms a jelly when sprayed into the nose.

26 Sep 2007

Hydrogen sulfide based drug shows promise in reducing heart-attack damage

Producing a state of "hibernation on demand" in mice by administering an experimental drug from Ikaria (an injectable formulation of the biological gas hydrogen sulfide) showed promise in a study designed to reduce damage from heart attacks.

26 Sep 2007

Mobility-enhancing device set to receive Da Vinci award

Over a decade in the making, the WalkAide® System is a small device that makes a big difference for its users.

26 Sep 2007

Manipulating immune response provides new approach to liver failure

If the results of the animal study can be applied in human patients, the approach may be able to keep patients alive until donor organs become available or to support liver function until the organ can regenerate itself, eliminating the need for a transplant.

25 Sep 2007

Potential new therapeutic target for obesity

A hormone system linked to reducing food consumption appears to do so by increasing stress-related behaviors, according to a new study.

25 Sep 2007

Lifestyle interventions in the treatment of childhood overweight

A little health information is not enough to help obese children get into better shape, according to a recent analysis.

25 Sep 2007

Children obese due to a host of unhealthy pressures

Unhealthy options and pressures influence nearly every part of children's daily lives, according to studies released this week in a special supplement of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

25 Sep 2007

Study helps determine best treatment for bladder cancer

Cancer specialists and researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital, University Health Network (UHN), are tackling an ongoing controversy about the best way to treat an aggressive form of bladder cancer – immediate radical surgery or a more conservative initial approach using immunotherapy?

25 Sep 2007