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Young adults increase their risk of skin cancer with sunburns

Young adults are increasing their risk for developing skin cancer, according to two studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute.

11 May 2012

A Better Method for Diagnosing Kidney Disease

Assessing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using kidney filtration markers in blood is the standard means for determining kidney function, diagnosing kidney disease and measuring its progression. A higher filtration rate indicates healthy kidney function, while a lower rate points to various stages of kidney disease. A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the new CKD-EPI equation for calculating GFR is a better predictor of risk for kidney disease and death compared to the most widely used method. The findings suggest that switching to the CKD-EPI equation for calculating GFR could focus efforts more efficiently, and improve assessment of patient future risk and treatment of kidney disease. The study is published in the May 9 edition of JAMA.

10 May 2012

ACS editorial calls for systematic approach to increase cancer screening participation

An editorial by Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calls for a more organized and comprehensive approach to increase cancer screening participation among those who are insured or are likely to become insured through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

10 May 2012

BBI from soybeans shows promise against cancer

Soybeans soaking in warm water could become a new "green" source for production of a cancer-fighting substance now manufactured in a complicated and time-consuming industrial process, scientists are reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

10 May 2012

Millennium Villages Project research yields positive results, but some researchers question methods used

"Death rates among children under five at the [Millennium Villages Project (MVP)] -- set up in Africa to demonstrate what is possible if health, education, agriculture, and other development needs are tackled simultaneously -- have fallen by a third in three years compared with similar communities, according to the project's first results," published in the Lancet on Tuesday, the Guardian reports.

10 May 2012

CKD-EPI equation may provide more accurate risk prediction of death, ESRD

Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., principal investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), is the author of an invited editorial in JAMA. The editorial accompanied a study that included data from more than 1 million adults, and indicated the use of a newer risk prediction equation that classified fewer individuals as having chronic kidney disease and more accurately categorized the risk for death and end-stage renal disease.

9 May 2012

Highlights of orthopaedic research studies in JBJS

Below are highlights of orthopaedic research studies appearing in the May 2, 2012 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), as well as the issue's full Table of Contents.

9 May 2012

Higher levels of income inequality in the U.S. lead to more deaths

A new study provides the best evidence to date that higher levels of income inequality in the United States actually lead to more deaths in the country over a period of years.

9 May 2012

Rutin may inhibit formation of blood clots

A compound called rutin, commonly found in fruits and vegetables and sold over the counter as a dietary supplement, has been shown to inhibit the formation of blood clots in an animal model of thrombosis.

9 May 2012

Antidepressives reduce risk of suicides in schizophrenic patients

Antidepressive drugs reduce the mortality rate of schizophrenic patients, while treatment with bensodiazepines greatly increases it, especially as regards suicide. Giving several antipsychotics simultaneously, however, seems to have no effect at all. This according to a new study examining different drug combinations administered to patients with schizophrenia.

9 May 2012

Medtronic’s Valiant Captivia Stent Graft now available in seven countries

Increasing patient access to endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms worldwide, Medtronic, Inc. is expanding availability of the Valiant Captivia Thoracic Stent Graft System in several countries, including China, Japan and the United States.

From Medtronic 9 May 2012

Strategies for heart repair to be addressed at UH lecture

With the heart having limited ability to regenerate following injury, heart disease is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Research impacting strategies for heart repair will be addressed during a lecture May 15 at the University of Houston (UH).

9 May 2012

Sheffield embryologist given prestigious honour by Health Secretary

Rachel Cutting, Principal Embryologist at the Assisted Conception Unit at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was given the award by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley at the Chief Scientific Officer’s Healthcare Science event last week.

8 May 2012

Screening younger men at risk of prostate cancer can reduce metastatic cancer and deaths

Screening younger men and men at risk of prostate cancer can be beneficial in reducing metastatic cancer and deaths and should not be abandoned, states an article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

8 May 2012

Pancreatic cancer could be better managed at specialized surgical centres

Pancreatic cancer is one of Australia's most lethal cancers and according to a surgeon it could be better treated by conducting complex surgical procedures in specialised centres. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth biggest cancer killer in Australia.

8 May 2012

New information about biological outcomes and commuting distance

As populations move even further away from urban centers, more people spend longer hours behind the wheel on their way to and from work. While sedentary behavior is known to have adverse effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health, the impact of long commutes by automobile are less understood. A new study has found that greater commuting distances are associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), increased weight, and other indicators of metabolic risk.

8 May 2012

FRAX version 3.6 now available for 45 countries, in 19 languages

The WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool - FRAX- has now been released as version 3.6 with new country models for Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland and Lithuania. Downloadable charts for the newly added countries are also available.

8 May 2012

NovaDigm reports positive data from Phase 1 NDV-3 vaccine program

NovaDigm Therapeutics, a company developing innovative vaccines for fungal and bacterial infections, today announced the presentation of positive data for its NDV-3 vaccine program in a second Phase 1 study.

7 May 2012

No functional difference in effects of Lucentis and Avastin on preventing vision loss

The one year results from a study into whether two drug treatments (Lucentis and Avastin), are equally effective in treating neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), have been reported today at an international research meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The findings will also appear online shortly in the leading journal Ophthalmology.

7 May 2012

Copenhagen Consensus report argues for expanding family planning programs in 'high-fertility' countries

As part of a series of Slate articles highlighting issues being examined by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, Bjorn Lomborg, director of the center, examines the implications of population growth on development indicators.

5 May 2012