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diaDexus introduces new PLAC Activity test in Europe

diaDexus, Inc., a company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary cardiovascular diagnostic products, today announced the commercial launch of its CE-marked PLAC Test for Lp-PLA(2) Activity in Europe.

5 Mar 2012

IPS examines gender discrimination, disparity in child mortality in India

Inter Press Service examines gender discrimination and mortality in India, writing, "Global infant and child mortality rates have been on the decline in recent years, with a large portion of the world seeing young girls experiencing higher rates of survival than young boys; but India remains the exception to this positive trend."

3 Mar 2012

Heavy DE exposure may increase risk of dying from lung cancer

Heavy diesel exhaust (DE) exposure in humans may increase the risk of dying from lung cancer, according to two papers released March 2nd by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Mar 2012

Study shows decline in obesity rates among California school children

After years of increases in the rates of childhood obesity, a new UC Davis study shows that the increase slowed from 2003 to 2008 among California school children.

2 Mar 2012

1.3 million cancer deaths in 2012 in the EU: Report

New research released this Wednesday shows that almost 1.3 million people will die of cancer in the European Union this year, but death rates from the disease are on a steady decline.

1 Mar 2012

Montreal intern joins WHO Africa to fight Noma, a face eating disease

Marie Renaud, an intern at the University of Montreal and CHUM Hospital's International Health, will be joining the World Health Organization's African office, where she will be working on the funding of the fight against Noma. This disease, scientifically called cancrum oris, eats away the faces of children- mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

1 Mar 2012

New robotic surgical system can treat early-stage lung cancer

In a Canadian first, thoracic surgeons at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network used a robotic surgical system to treat early-stage lung cancer by removing the cancer, along with a lobe of the lung. The use of this system improves outcomes after surgery and will expand the numbers of patients who can benefit from this type of minimally invasive surgical treatment.

1 Mar 2012

Ruxolitinib boosts QOL and survival for patients with myelofibrosis

A drug that relieves the severe symptoms of a life-threatening bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis also improves the survival of patients with the disease, according to a phase III clinical trial published in the March 1 edition of New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Mar 2012

Sleeping pills may raise risk of death: Study

According to a U.S. study, people who take certain prescription sleeping pills even once in a while may be up to five times more susceptible to early death. In the U.S., an estimated six per cent to 10 per cent of adults used the drugs in 2010.

29 Feb 2012

No link between gestational weight gain and cognitive performance of children

A child's cognitive development is not generally impacted by how much weight his or her mother gained during pregnancy, according to a study from Nationwide Children's Hospital. This is the first study to use methods controlling for the widest range of confounding factors when directly examining the association between gestational weight gain and childhood cognition.

29 Feb 2012

Positive results from Critical Diagnostics' biomarker study in ambulatory heart failure patients

Critical Diagnostics, a biomarker company focused on cardiovascular diseases, today announced positive results from a multi-center study in ambulatory heart failure patients, which confirmed that a contemporary panel of biomarkers, including ST2, was strongly predictive of risk and significantly improved the likelihood of identifying patients at risk for adverse events, compared to the most commonly used clinical risk score in heart failure, the Seattle Heart Failure Model.

29 Feb 2012

Maturitas publishes EMAS' clinical guide on SERMs against postmenopausal osteoporosis

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of an important clinical guide from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the February issue of Maturitas.

29 Feb 2012

Obesity can decrease risk of mortality in people over 85 years of age

Obesity is considered the leading preventable cause of death worldwide - until you reach old age, that is. Though obesity increases the risk of an early death, shaving an average of six to seven years off a person's lifespan, Tel Aviv University researchers have found that this trend may reverse itself after the age of 85. In these people, excess fat seems to have a "protective" effect, decreasing the risk of death when compared to those who are considered at a normal body weight.

29 Feb 2012

Initial stent implantation does not appear to improve outcomes for patients with stable CAD

A meta-analysis of eight previously published clinical trials suggests that initial stent implantation for patients with stable coronary artery disease is not associated with improved outcomes compared with initial medical therapy for prevention of death, nonfatal heart attacks, unplanned revascularization or angina, according to a study published in the Feb. 27 Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

28 Feb 2012

Sleeping pills may increase risk of cancer-related death

People are relying on sleeping pills more than ever to get a good night's rest, but a new study by Scripps Clinic researchers links the medications to a 4.6 times higher risk of death and a significant increase in cancer cases among regular pill users.

28 Feb 2012

News briefs from featured presentations at Cardiology 2012

Pediatric cardiology researchers and clinicians from almost 50 centers from across the U.S. and around the world are gathering at the Cardiology 2012 Conference sponsored by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Feb. 22-26 in Orlando, Fla.

27 Feb 2012

Researchers trace states with disparities in life expectancy

A UCLA-led group of researchers tracing disparities in life expectancy between blacks and whites in the U.S. has found that white males live about seven years longer on average than African American men and that white women live more than five years longer than their black counterparts.

27 Feb 2012

Bird flu may be more common and less deadly: Study finds

The H5N1 influenza virus commonly called “bird flu” or “avian flu” could be more prevalent and less deadly than health officials had thought, according to a new study published online (Feb. 23) by the journal Science.

26 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

Two new analyses raise questions about mortality rate of bird flu

In an analysis published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science, a team led by virologist Peter Palese of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York argue the mortality rate from H5N1 bird flu is under one percent, much lower than the WHO's estimated fatality rate of 59 percent, Reuters reports.

24 Feb 2012