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Contaminated cantaloupes carrying listeria

According to federal health officials last week, at least 13 people are dead amid 72 sickened in 18 states in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to contaminated cantaloupes.

8 Jan 2012

Study to determine user experience for several popular functions of My HealtheVet

Although personal health records are now securely accessible online to a large and growing number of individuals, little research has been conducted on opinions about their ease of use.

6 Jan 2012

LCA calls for more aggressive integration of imaging advances and biomedical research

As the War on Cancer enters its fifth decade and the number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to rise, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) called for more aggressive integration of advanced imaging technology and biomedical research to improve prevention, earlier detection and treatment of cancer.

6 Jan 2012

Tetragenetics reports results from G-SOME H5N1 vaccine preclinical study

Tetragenetics Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of recombinant vaccines, today reported preclinical study results showing that an investigational nanoparticle-based influenza vaccine protects against a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain.

6 Jan 2012

Low levels of vitamin D may increase risk of depression

Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to depression, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatrists working with the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. It is believed to be the largest such investigation ever undertaken.

5 Jan 2012

FDA asks makers of vaginal mesh to respond to safety queries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered Johnson & Johnson and C.R. Bard Inc. to study rates of organ damage, infection and painful sex linked to vaginal mesh implants, in response to doctors and patients who say the devices have harmed women.

5 Jan 2012

Repeated episodes of depression contribute to inflammation

An important ongoing debate in the field of psychiatry is whether inflammation in the body is a consequence of or contributor to major depression. A new study in Biological Psychiatry has attempted to resolve the issue.

5 Jan 2012

Vitamin D may stop conferring cardiovascular benefits: Study

New research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests that vitamin D, long known to be important for bone health and in recent years also for heart protection, may stop conferring cardiovascular benefits and could actually cause harm as levels in the blood rise above the low end of what is considered normal.

5 Jan 2012

CMS acknowledges clinical improvement linked with use of Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System

Boston Scientific Corporation announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers the Medicare program, has acknowledged the substantial clinical improvement associated with the use of the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System to perform bronchial thermoplasty for the management of severe asthma.

5 Jan 2012

Researchers estimate cost and impact of disabilities on finances of disabled people

A team of researchers have for the first time estimated the cost and impact of disabilities on the finances of disabled people. According to data, 90% of the population with a serious disability in Spain is in a state of moderate poverty and 56% lives in a state of extreme poverty.

5 Jan 2012

ACS report shows decline in overall cancer death rates

The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report shows that between 2004 and 2008, overall cancer incidence rates declined by 0.6% per year in men and were stable in women, while cancer death rates decreased by 1.8% per year in men and by 1.6% per year in women.

5 Jan 2012

Antiestrogen supplements may reduce risk of melanoma in women with breast cancer

Women with breast cancer who take antiestrogen supplements may be decreasing their risk for melanoma, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

5 Jan 2012

RNF123 gene may play a role in major depression

Psychiatric disorders can be described on many levels, the most traditional of which are subjective descriptions of the experience of being depressed and the use of rating scales that quantify depressive symptoms. Over the past two decades, research has developed other strategies for describing the biological underpinnings of depression, including volumetric brain measurements using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the patterns of gene expression in white blood cells.

4 Jan 2012

Exercise leads to better school performance: Review

A review of earlier studies has shown that academic excellence in children could be linked to how physically active they are. Writing in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, researchers said they found strong evidence of a link between exercise and academic performance. The review looked at 14 studies involving more than 12,000 children.

4 Jan 2012

Amyloid precursor protein fragment may be a biomarker for autism

Immune system abnormalities that mimic those seen with autism spectrum disorders have been linked to the amyloid precursor protein (APP), reports a research team from the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and the Silver Child Development Center.

4 Jan 2012

Genomic architecture predisposes supercentenarians to age-related diseases

The first-ever published whole-genome sequences of not just one, but two supercentenarians, aged more than 114 years, reveal that both unusual and common genetic phenomena contribute to the genetic background of extreme human longevity.

4 Jan 2012

Effective treatment for CI can reduce school-related behavioral problems in children

For children with convergence insufficiency (CI)—who have difficulty focusing on objects close up—effective treatments can help to reduce problems at school, reports a study in the January issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

4 Jan 2012

Adolescent children of lesbian mothers report good quality of life

Adolescent children of lesbian mothers report as good quality of life as those with heterosexual parents, reports a study in the January Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers identify candidate genes for histiocytoid cardiomyopathy

Researchers are closing in on a rare genetic disorder causing a heart condition in infants. Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy (HC) often causes sudden death before a child reaches 2 years of age. Gene analysis is helping to narrow the many theories surrounding the genetic basis of HC.

4 Jan 2012

Non-invasive test for early detection of fetal gender

A new research study published in the January 2012 edition of The FASEB Journal describes findings that could lead to a non-invasive test that would let expecting mothers know the sex of their baby as early as the first trimester.

4 Jan 2012