Epidemiology News and Research

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SU2C, MRA announce new Dream Team dedicated to melanoma research

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and SU2C's scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), today announced a new Dream Team dedicated to melanoma research. Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D., and Patricia M. LoRusso, D.O., will lead the Dream Team project entitled "Personalized Medicine for Patients with BRAF Wild-Type (BRAFwt) Cancer."

15 Dec 2011

More than half of older patients with anemia do not need transfusions after hip surgery

More than half of the older, anemic patients in a New England Journal of Medicine study did not need blood transfusions as they recovered from hip surgery, according to new research co-authored by University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists.

15 Dec 2011

Alcohol intake linked to unsafe sex

It is known that unprotected sexual intercourse is the most common cause of HIV infection and finding ways to prevent unsafe sex is a major goal of public health efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS. It has not been clear whether unsafe sex associated with alcohol use actually led to HIV infection, or whether certain personality traits, such as sensation-seeking or risky behavior, led to both alcohol use and unsafe sex.

14 Dec 2011

Children of childhood cancer survivors do not have increased risk for birth defects

A large, retrospective study of the children of childhood cancer survivors who were treated with radiation therapy and/or some forms of chemotherapy found that the offspring do not have an increased risk for birth defects compared to children of cancer survivors who did not receive such treatments.

14 Dec 2011

Lifestyle and environmental factors may increase risk of cancer

It has been well established that certain lifestyle habits relate to the risk of certain cancers (e.g., smoking and lung cancer). In a well-done analysis, the authors estimate the proportion of cancer in the population associated with a variety of lifestyle and environmental factors. They find that smoking has, by far, the largest effect on the risk of cancer, with 19.4% of cancer cases in the UK attributable to tobacco use.

14 Dec 2011

Vorinostat in addition to chemotherapy drugs improves remission rates in AML patients

Adding a drug that activates genes to frontline combination therapy for acute myeloid leukemia resulted in an 85 percent remission rate after initial treatment, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

14 Dec 2011

Mandatory vaccination policy increases healthcare worker flu vaccination rates

A California hospital raised its employee influenza vaccination rate above 90 percent by shifting from a voluntary vaccination program to one mandating all healthcare workers either get vaccinated or wear a mask at work for the entire flu season (December through March).

13 Dec 2011

Brain atrophy is evident in Parkinson's patients with MCI

Atrophy in the hippocampus, the region of the brain known for memory formation and storage, is evident in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with cognitive impairment, including early decline known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

13 Dec 2011

Intertwined diseases may both contribute to cognitive decline in Parkinson's

A method of classifying brain atrophy patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients using MRIs can also detect cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers also found that higher baseline Alzheimer's patterns of atrophy predicted long-term cognitive decline in cognitively normal Parkinson's patients.

13 Dec 2011

Patients on contact precautions more likely to develop delirium during hospital stay

A new study finds that patients who are moved into isolation during a hospital stay are nearly twice as likely to develop delirium, a potentially dangerous change in mental status that often affects hospital patients. Patients who began their stay in isolation were not at increased risk.

13 Dec 2011

Onyx announces data from three carfilzomib studies on RRMM

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced summaries of three poster presentations of single-agent carfilzomib, a next generation proteasome inhibitor, in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma at the 53rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

12 Dec 2011

TIME names Penn Nursing's autism research among Top 10 New Findings in Parenting

TIME magazine has named Penn Nursing's pioneering research on autism and low birthweight one of the "Top 10 New Findings in Parenting" of 2011. In October, Penn Nursing Professor Jennifer Pinto-Martin, PhD, MPH, and colleagues reported in Pediatrics that premature infants are five times more likely to have autism than children born at normal weight.

12 Dec 2011

Onyx receives FDA Standard Review designation for carfilzomib NDA to treat RRMM

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Standard Review designation to the New Drug Application (NDA) for carfilzomib for the potential treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

12 Dec 2011

PCI-32765 produces durable remissions in Phase I/II CLL clinical trial

A new, targeted approach to treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia has produced durable remissions in a Phase I/II clinical trial for patients with relapsed or resistant disease, investigators report at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011

Panel recommends close monitoring and delay of treatment for localized, low-risk prostate cancer

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that many men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer should be closely monitored, permitting treatment to be delayed until warranted by disease progression.

9 Dec 2011

Ovary removal in younger women may lead to low-bone mineral density, arthritis

Having both ovaries removed before age 45 is strongly associated with low-bone mineral density and arthritis in later years, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins oncologists and epidemiologists. The analysis covered several thousand women who took part in a U.S. government-sponsored, multiyear national health study, and excluded women whose ovaries were removed due to cancer.

9 Dec 2011

Women with non-melanoma skin cancers more likely to have smoked cigarettes

Women who have non-melanoma skin cancers are more likely to have smoked cigarettes compared to women without skin cancer, said researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., who published study results in a recent issue of Cancer Causes & Control.

9 Dec 2011

Nighttime-lights imagery can pinpoint disease hotspots

Normally used to spot where people live, satellite images of nighttime lights can help keep tabs on the diseases festering among them, too, according to new research.

9 Dec 2011

Girls suffer more frequently from chronic pain than boys

Children who suffer from persistent or recurring chronic pain may miss school, withdraw from social activities, and are at risk of developing internalizing symptoms such as anxiety, in response to their pain. In the first comprehensive review of chronic pain in children and adolescents in 20 years, a group of researchers found that more children now are suffering from chronic pain and that girls suffer more frequently from chronic pain than boys.

9 Dec 2011

Working night shifts may raise risk of diabetes: Study

About 26% percent of the American workforce, including health-care workers and sanitation staff, need to work night shifts. Earlier research has shown that regular night shifts may disrupt the circadian rhythm, raising the risk of heart disease, obesity, ulcers and even depression.

8 Dec 2011