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States lack policies to curb classroom burden of asthma and severe allergies

For over 7 million children with asthma, and 13 million with food allergy or other severe allergies, going to school is a daily risk affecting how well they can – or can't – manage their diseases. Now for the fourth year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has released its annual report assessing all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their leadership and progress on school-based policies that address student asthma and allergy health in more than 100,000 elementary, middle and high schools across the U.S.

5 Nov 2011

Study finds increase in cervical cancer incidence among young British women

The incidence of cervical cancer in women in their 20s has risen by over 40 per cent between 1992 and 2006 in England, despite the overall incidence of cervical cancer dropping by 30 per cent, according to research that will be presented at the annual National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool which starts tomorrow.

5 Nov 2011

AHA/ASA honors UH Case Medical Center with Get With The Guidelines-Stroke award

For the third consecutive year, University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines--Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

4 Nov 2011

Nicotine might prime the brain to enhance behavioral effects of cocaine

A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person's future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study is the first to show that nicotine might prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of cocaine.

3 Nov 2011

Many spinal fusion surgery patients have low levels of vitamin D

A new study indicates that many patients undergoing spine surgery have low levels of vitamin D, which may delay their recovery. In a study of 313 patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery, orthopaedic surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that more than half had inadequate levels of vitamin D, including one-fourth who were more severely deficient.

3 Nov 2011

Vitamin D does not confer benefits against mortality in postmenopausal women

Doctors agree that vitamin D promotes bone health, but a belief that it can also prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease and other causes of death has been a major health controversy. Consistent with advice issued last fall by the Institute of Medicine, a new study finds that vitamin D did not confer benefits against mortality in postmenopausal women after controlling for key health factors such as abdominal obesity.

2 Nov 2011

Ocrelizumab drug holds promise for multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug called Ocrelizumab has shown promise in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 220 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an often debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease that affects an increasing number of people in North America.

2 Nov 2011

Obama gets clean bill of health

President Barack Obama is in excellent health and tobacco free, his doctor said Monday in the results of the president’s second physical exam since taking office.

1 Nov 2011

Health care comments prominent on the trail to Iowa caucus

In a campaign speech to potential caucusgoers here this afternoon, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann colored her calls for the repeal of the federal health care law passed in 2010 with a brief history of health care. When she was a child, she said, a visit to the doctor in Waterloo, Iowa, cost just $5, and people who couldn't afford that often would receive free care at the physician's discretion. Such prices and charity care are impossible today, she argued, because of government intervention into the health care system and the threat of lawsuits.

1 Nov 2011

Companies focus on wellness programs to help bottom lines

Corporations view employee obesity and smoking as two things driving up their health care costs. Therefore, many businesses are taking steps toward wellness programs and incentives.

1 Nov 2011

U.S. earns a 'C' on March of Dimes 2011 Premature Birth Report Card

Preterm birth rates improved in almost every state between 2006 and 2009, and in several states the change was more than 10 percent, according to the March of Dimes 2011 Premature Birth Report Card.

1 Nov 2011

NPS announces new data from GATTEX Phase 3 study on short bowel syndrome

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics for rare gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders, today announced new data from STEPS 2, a long-term open-label study, showing that GATTEX (teduglutide) was associated with achieving and maintaining clinically meaningful reductions in parenteral nutrition (PN) and intravenous (IV) fluid volume in adult subjects with short bowel syndrome.

1 Nov 2011

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings, a new study in Biological Psychiatry has found, which may ultimately lead to new treatments that reverse these effects. Cues associated with cigarette smoking, such as watching someone else smoke, elicit craving and may provoke relapse when smokers are attempting to quit.

1 Nov 2011

Gender not an independent predictor of mortality post-PCI

New research shows that women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty, exhibit more co-morbidities and cardiovascular risk factors than men. Risk-adjusted analyses have now indicated that, in the contemporary era, gender is not an independent mortality predictor following PCI according to the study now available in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

1 Nov 2011

Dementia people with stroke more likely to become disabled and not return home

New research shows people with dementia who have a stroke are more likely to become disabled and not return home compared to people who didn't have dementia at the time they had a stroke.

1 Nov 2011

Teen study reveals unhealthy and concerning trends

An alarming trend shows that girls as young as primary-school age are increasingly troubled by their self-image, with more than a third of those aged between 10 and 11 eager to lose weight and adopting drastic methods to pursue their ideal body shape.

31 Oct 2011

Aspirin may reduce risk of bowel cancer by half: Study

According to a new study published in The Lancet, a regular dose of aspirin may not only stave off heart disease but also cut the risk of developing hereditary cancer in half.

31 Oct 2011

Limited alcohol consumption can cause gastrointestinal problems

Just one drink per day for women -- two for men -- could lead to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and subsequently cause gastrointestinal symptoms like bloating, gas, abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea, according to the results of a new study unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

31 Oct 2011

New computer-based tool enables early diagnosis of cancer

A computer-based tool could help GPs to speed up the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from two of the most common forms of cancer, potentially saving thousands of lives every year.

31 Oct 2011

Cigarette smokers at risk of compromised digestive function

Cigarette smoking appears to impair pancreatic duct cell function--even for those who quit--putting all smokers at risk of compromised digestive function regardless of age, gender and alcohol intake, according to the results of a study unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

31 Oct 2011