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Link between sleeping medicine use and driving impairment

A new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows a positive link between the amount of the hypnotic (sleeping medicine) zopiclone in the blood and the chance of being assessed as impaired in a clinical examination.

29 Mar 2009

DNA repair mechanisms relocate in response to stress

Like doctors making house calls, some DNA repair enzymes can relocate to the part of the cell that needs their help, a collaborative team of scientists at Emory University School of Medicine has found.

29 Mar 2009

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related problems hard to swallow

Patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit a disordered breathing-swallowing pattern that may account for their higher risk of aspiration pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh.

29 Mar 2009

Add-on treatment may reduce treatment-associated weight gain caused by antipsychotic treatments

Antipsychotic drugs, such as olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal) and quetiapine (Seroquel), are commonly used to treat psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, but also bipolar disorder and even behavioral problems related to dementia.

29 Mar 2009

Mutations in a gene may stunt lung development in children

Mutations in a gene may cause poor lung development in children, making them more vulnerable to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the German Research Center for Environmental Health.

29 Mar 2009

Updated heart failure guidelines focus on key research findings, clinical advances

Updated guidelines on the diagnosis and management of heart failure will help physicians incorporate the latest research findings into the treatment of patients with this complex and disabling disease.

29 Mar 2009

Simple, noninvasive finger sensor test predicts major cardiac events

Results of a Mayo Clinic study show that a simple, noninvasive finger sensor test is "highly predictive" of a major cardiac event, such as a heart attack or stroke, for people who are considered at low or moderate risk, according to researchers.

26 Mar 2009

Male circumcision reduces risk of herpes simplex virus type 2 and human papillomavirus

Heterosexual men who undergo medical circumcision can significantly reduce their risk of acquiring two common sexually transmitted infections - herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), the cause of genital herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cancer and genital warts, according to a report in the March 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

26 Mar 2009

Nanoparticles deliver gene therapy, killing tumors

Given that cancer is ultimately a genetic disease, it has long been the hope of researchers to use gene therapy to attack tumors where they might be most susceptible.

26 Mar 2009

Should all women be screened for domestic violence?

A screening programme which would require doctors and nurses to ask all women whether they have experienced domestic violence, whatever their reason for seeking medical attention, is not justified, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Bristol, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.

26 Mar 2009

Oxycodone effective against shingles pain

The painkiller oxycodone is effective at treating the acute pain of shingles, an illness that often causes severe pain which can become long-lasting and sometimes even permanent.

26 Mar 2009

Discovery of new biomarker for prostate cancer

Researchers at Wayne State University have identified a new marker for prostate cancer progression that may one day lead to new treatments.

26 Mar 2009

Facial flushing in East Asians who consume alcohol linked to esophageal cancer risks

About one-third of people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent have an enzyme deficiency that causes their face to flush when they drink alcohol, a trait that puts them at a higher risk for developing esophageal cancer, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters Health reports.

25 Mar 2009

More physicians performing house calls

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined how a "small but growing tribe of doctors, nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners ... are reviving [the] once-common practice" of performing house calls.

25 Mar 2009

About 25% of tuberculosis deaths occur among HIV-positive people

About one-quarter of tuberculosis-related deaths involve an HIV-positive person, twice as high as previous estimates, according to the Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2009, which the World Health Organization released Tuesday to coincide with World TB Day, the Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Mar 2009

Fructose metabolism by the brain increases food intake and obesity

The journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), published by Elsevier, will publish an important review this week online, by M. Daniel Lane and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, building on the suggested link between the consumption of fructose and increased food intake, which may contribute to a high incidence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

25 Mar 2009

Rockefeller neuroscientist applies basic science to health care reform

A self-described "molecular sociologist" is extending his basic research to the national policy debate on health care reform. Bruce McEwen, head of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, led a panel of scientific experts last month at the Institute of Medicine's Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public. The Institute is the most prominent independent medical advisory board in the country and will release a report from the conference in November, as Congress is likely to be considering major health care legislation.

25 Mar 2009

Effect of neighborhood context and smoking prevalence among Asian Americans

Does the neighborhood where you live play a role in whether you become a smoker?

24 Mar 2009

Diabetic retinopathy more prevalent in South Asians and occurs earlier

South Asians with type 2 diabetes are significantly more at risk of losing their eyesight and losing it at an earlier age, compared to White Europeans with the same condition.

24 Mar 2009

Single embryo transfer is the cheapest and most effective strategy for assisted reproduction

Transferring single embryos to women's wombs over several assisted reproduction cycles that use both fresh and frozen embryos is more effective and cheaper than transferring two or more embryos at one time, according to data from the world's longest running series of patients who choose to have only one embryo implanted per cycle - elective single embryo transfer (eSET).

24 Mar 2009