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Role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in clinical cardiology

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) has undergone substantial development and offers important advantages compared with other well-established imaging modalities.

3 Nov 2011

Foreign aid from U.S., dozens of other countries makes the world 'better, more prosperous and safer'

In this Washington Post opinion piece, Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, cites declines in global child mortality rates as an example of how development aid works, and writes, "I am giving a report Thursday to the heads of the Group of 20 (G20) governments, including President Obama, suggesting creative ways for the world to continue investing in development despite fiscal constraints."

3 Nov 2011

Replacing short auto trips with bicycle trips would yield major health benefits

Cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would yield major health benefits, according to a study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

3 Nov 2011

Radiation therapy prior to HCT improves outcomes in older patients with hematologic malignancies

Older patients with advanced hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma, who received a conditioning regimen that included minimal-intensity radiation therapy prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation had survival and progression-free survival outcomes suggesting that this treatment approach may be a viable option for older patients with these malignancies, according to a study in the November 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Nov 2011

Opinion pieces address world population of 7 billion

Though demographers do not know exactly when the world's population will hit seven billion, the U.N. symbolically marked the day on Monday with celebrations and warnings about safety, health and sustainability.

2 Nov 2011

Age is no longer a barrier to allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Age alone no longer should be considered a defining factor when determining whether an older patient with blood cancer is a candidate for stem cell transplantation. That's the conclusion of the first study summarizing long-term outcomes from a series of prospective clinical trials of patients age 60 and over who were treated with the mini-transplant, a "kinder, gentler" form of allogeneic (donor cell) stem cell transplantation developed at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

2 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

$Adiponectin linked to osteoporosis and increased risk of fractures$

Adiponectin linked to osteoporosis and increased risk of fractures

While obesity is a well-known cause of cardiovascular disease, research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has now revealed that the body's obesity hormones - adiponectin - are also linked to osteoporosis and an increased risk of fractures.

2 Nov 2011

Happiness good for health: Study

A new study suggests that happiness is good for health. Epidemiologists at University College, London, reported their results Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

1 Nov 2011

BUSM professor delivers Van Meter Award Lecture at 81st ATA meeting

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is proud to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, today delivered the Van Meter Award Lecture at its 81st Annual Meeting, held October 26-30, Indian Wells, California.

1 Nov 2011

Heat, extreme exercise or febrile illness may also trigger MH

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially life-threatening inherited disorder of muscle. Patients who are at risk for MH usually have no outward signs of muscle problems. However, when exposed to certain commonly used general anesthetics they may develop very high body temperature, increased heart rate and muscle breakdown. If not recognized and treated promptly MH may be fatal.

1 Nov 2011

'Mozart Effect' may increase detection rates of precancerous polyps

Physicians who listen to Mozart while performing colonoscopy may increase their detection rates of precancerous polyps, 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.

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

ER-positive breast cancer patients with high levels of heat shock factor 1 experience poor outcomes

Whitehead Institute scientists report that patients whose estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers have high levels of the ancient cellular survival factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) experience poor outcomes—including increased mortality.

1 Nov 2011

Seven billion humans and counting

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the seven-billionth child is most likely to be a boy born in India or China, this week. However the trend of fertility or growth of population in the longer term is in a different direction toward slower population growth, says Dudley Poston, a professor of sociology and demographics at Texas A&M University.

31 Oct 2011

Child mortality declining in refugee camp in Ethiopia

In the clinic of Hilaweyn, one of four camps at Ethiopia's Dollo Ado complex for Somali refugees seeking relief from famine and poor security conditions, "[a] massive infusion of humanitarian resources ... appears to be turning the tide" against child mortality, according to Doctors Without Borders, which operates the clinic, VOA News reports.

31 Oct 2011

Nursing home residence may allow for 'on-admission' prediction model of C. difficile infection severity

Antibiotics may not be the only risk factor associated with community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection, indicating that other undefined causes of the potentially life-threatening infection may exist and could also predict whether or not a patient will require hospitalization, according to the results of the study, "Predictors of Hospitalization in Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection."

31 Oct 2011

ZIOPHARM reports promising preclinical data with palifosfamide in pediatric sarcoma model

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, today announced the presentation of promising preclinical data with palifosfamide in a pediatric sarcoma model.

29 Oct 2011

NIH awards NYUCN $7.56M grant to study HIV risk among heterosexuals

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a five-year, $7.56 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a peer-driven intervention to seek out heterosexuals at high risk for HIV in their communities, test them for HIV, and link them to care in a timely fashion if they are found to be HIV infected.

29 Oct 2011

LCA hails NCCN for lung cancer screening guidelines

Today Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed the leadership of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for being the first professional society to recommend low-dose CT screening for high risk individuals and to develop comprehensive clinical practice guidelines on lung cancer screening.

29 Oct 2011