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Morphine for cancer pain relief

Cancer patients are suffering unnecessarily because they wrongly believe that morphine and other opioids are only used as “comfort for the dying” and as a “last resort” rather than seeing them as legitimate pain killers that can improve their quality of life.

10 Dec 2007

Missing protein provides clue to ovarian cancer drug success

Scientists have discovered a protein which could improve the success rate of the tumour shrinking drug paclitaxel, in the treatment of ovarian cancer, a study reveals in Cancer Cell.

10 Dec 2007

Mediterranean diet and exercise each associated with lower death rate over 5 years

Eating a Mediterranean diet and following national recommendations for physical activity are each associated with a reduced risk of death over a five-year period, according to two reports in the December 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Dec 2007

Many Medicare beneficiaries not receiving colorectal cancer screening

A new study finds significant underuse of colorectal cancer screening procedures among Medicare beneficiaries.

10 Dec 2007

Living longer with obesity means heavier burden for hospitals

Living longer with obesity can lead to both longer hospital stays and more avoidable trips to the hospital, according to two new studies from Purdue University.

10 Dec 2007

Lipids in the brain an important factor for Alzheimer's disease

As the most common form of dementia in the Western world, Alzheimer's disease carries enormous implications for our ageing society.

10 Dec 2007

Keeping at-risk cells from developing cancer

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that cancers arising from epigenetic changes - in this case the inappropriate activation of a normally silent gene - develop by becoming addicted to certain growth factors.

10 Dec 2007

International team gets new award to research the causes of bladder problems that affect one in six adults

An international research project which aims to solve why some people feel the constant need to urinate - a condition that affects one in every six adults - has received a prestigious new £420,000 award from the leading UK-based urology journal and charity BJU International.

10 Dec 2007

Is there a developmental component to the risk for depression?

Psychiatrists remain divided as to how to define and classify the mood and anxiety disorders, the most common mental disorders.

10 Dec 2007

International initiative to study viruses implicated in type I diabetes launched in London

The Virus in Diabetes International Study Group (VIDIS Group) has announced its formation and plans to launch an initiative to study in detail the relation between viruses and type I diabetes in childhood.

10 Dec 2007

Growth factor receptor affects prostate cancer progression

Breeding mice with a gene for a cellular receptor that can be turned on and off-at will-not only enabled researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to show how prostate cancer progresses, but also provides a model for studying when a drug targeting a gene will have an effect on the cancer.

10 Dec 2007

Doctors trained on patient simulators exhibit superior skills

Senior internal medicine residents who are trained in critical resuscitation skills on patient simulators become more skilled than residents who undergo traditional training, according to new research.

10 Dec 2007

Depression screening for cancer patients too often falls between the cracks

Depression is known to be associated with cancer yet too many cancer patients are not screened for this mental disorder, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute and the Roudebush VA Medical Center.

10 Dec 2007

Decreasing access to cigarettes for youth in Minnesota study

New research in the December issue of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, shows that there was a decline in access to cigarettes from commercial venues from 2000 to 2003.

10 Dec 2007

Children with sickle cell disease, silent strokes show some relief with blood transfusions

A group of children who have sickle cell disease and who experience silent strokes showed some relief from the silent strokes with blood transfusion therapy, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

10 Dec 2007

Calcium in coronary arteries may be linked to increased risk for heart disease in low-risk women

About 5 percent of women considered low-risk for heart disease by current classification standards have evidence of advanced coronary artery calcium and may be at increased risk for cardiovascular events, according to a report in the December 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Dec 2007

Call for an early-warning avian influenza system

The international science community is not doing enough to track the many avian influenza viruses that might cause the next pandemic, a UC Davis researcher says in the journal Nature.

10 Dec 2007

Nicotine has significant effects on brain GABA

There is a clear link between GABA - a chemical substance of the central nervous system that inhibits neurons in the brain - and nicotine dependence, according to a study presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting.

10 Dec 2007

Stable sleep patterns and regular routines may improve outcomes in bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic-depressive disorder, is highly influenced by the circadian system - the body's internal clock - and a specific kind of psychotherapy may help decrease irregularities in the circadian system that can trigger key symptoms of bipolar disorder, according to a study presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting.

10 Dec 2007

Depression nearly triples the risk of death following a heart attack

...even when accounting for other heart attack risk factors, according to research presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting, which showed that among 360 depressed, post myocardial infarction patients followed for more than six years, those who did not recover from their depression in the first six months were more than twice as likely to die.

10 Dec 2007