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Exposure to smokers in movies increases likelihood of smoking in the future

A new study appearing in the July issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reports that watching an actor smoke on the big screen may make smokers more likely to continue smoking in the future, and make nonsmokers more favorably disposed toward smoking.

17 Jun 2007

Gaps in diabetes care identified

A symposium, sponsored by the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Joslin Diabetes Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing identified barriers to, and strategies for, more effective diabetes self management and reaffirmed the nurse's critical role to facilitate better patient self care.

17 Jun 2007

Patient-physician time in the U.S. lower than New Zealand and Australia

The average American spends a total of about 30 minutes a year with a primary care physician in a system that is less comprehensive than that of Australia or New Zealand, according to a new study comparing primary care practice in the three countries.

17 Jun 2007

Preventing and treating common foot conditions

Add foot problems to the long list of conditions that being overweight can cause or exacerbate, says Foot Care Basics: Preventing and treating common foot conditions , a newly updated report from Harvard Medical School.

17 Jun 2007

Mediterranean diet may cause changes in the colon that prevent cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center are beginning a study to look at whether diet can impact a person's risk of developing colon cancer.

17 Jun 2007

Bone marrow microenvironment can contribute to blood cell disorder

Disorders of blood cells may begin in the biological environment where the cells develop, not just with the cells themselves, according to a study from researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center (Peter Mac) in Melbourne, Australia.

17 Jun 2007

Isradipine may slow Parkinson's

Gloria E. Meredith, Ph.D., collaborated with D. James Surmeier, Ph.D. and other scientists at Northwestern University to study the drug, Isradipine, and its possible effects on Parkinson's disease.

17 Jun 2007

RAS signaling of circadian output

In the June 15th issue of G&D, Drs. Jay Dunlap and Jennifer Loros, with colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School, have finally cloned the band gene, and have found that it is an allele of ras-1.

17 Jun 2007

Gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs

A gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs, report researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2007

Folic acid supplements do not reduce risk of precancerous colon tumors

Taking folic acid supplements does not reduce the risk of developing precancerous tumors in the colon and may even increase the risk, a new study has found.

16 Jun 2007

Sleep disorders common among police officers

Sleep disorders are common, costly and treatable, but often remain undiagnosed and untreated.

16 Jun 2007

Study shows pre-op red blood cell levels affect post-op outcomes

Men over 65 with even slightly abnormal red blood cell counts either too low or too high are at greater risk of post-operative death or car-diac events following a major non-cardiac surgery, according to a new study by researchers at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

15 Jun 2007

Splitting high-dose pills and swallowing half could save cost

Slicing certain pills in half could slice a hefty amount off of America's prescription drug costs. While only some types of pills can be split safely, the practice could be used by millions of Americans – including many of those who take popular cholesterol-lowering drugs.

15 Jun 2007

Mild cognitive disorder often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

Using new MRI techniques to analyze tissue composition and structure in the brain, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging successfully detected mild cognitive disorder (MCI), a condition in which patients suffer mild memory problems and is often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

14 Jun 2007

Asthma and allergic shock

Asthma, even a mild form, is the single most important factor that increases the risk of death from anaphylaxis (allergic shock), says a new report from Harvard Medical School, What To Do About Allergies .

14 Jun 2007

Tiny electronic hearing devices

More than three decades ago, scientists pursued the then-radical idea of implanting tiny electronic hearing devices in the inner ear to help profoundly deaf people.

14 Jun 2007

Researchers shed light on congenital diaphragmatic hernia

The diaphragm, a shelf of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity, is critical to sustaining life.

8 Jun 2007

Researchers discover how strokes trigger biochemical events that increase amyloid-beta production in the brain

Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MGH-MIND) have discovered how the death of brain cells caused by a stroke or head injury may cause generation of amyloid-beta protein ? the key component of senile plaques seen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jun 2007

New regulator of fat metabolism identified

Over the past several years, animal studies have shown that high-fat, low-carbohydrate “ketogenic” diets cause demonstrable changes in metabolism and subsequent weight loss.

8 Jun 2007

New bacterium discovered, Bartonella rochalimae

A close cousin of the bacterium that debilitated thousands of World War I soldiers has been isolated at UCSF from a patient who had been on an international vacation.

8 Jun 2007