Physical Activity News and Research

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Physical activity improves arthritis symptoms in obese mice

Adding another incentive to exercise, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found that physical activity improves arthritis symptoms even among obese mice that continue to chow down on a high-fat diet.

27 Sep 2011

University of Utah develops video game to help children with cancer

Even super heroes need a chance to get better, especially if they've been fighting their arch-nemesis and a robotic crab that just won't go away. At least, that's the premise behind a video game developed at the University of Utah to help children with cancer during their treatment.

26 Sep 2011

U.N. meeting on NCDs concludes with pledges to fight chronic diseases

World leaders on Tuesday "pledged to take wide-ranging action to prevent millions of deaths from cancer, diabetes, and heart and lung disease by tackling the key causes -- smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise and unhealthy diets dominated by fast food," but the "declaration approved at the first-ever General Assembly meeting on chronic diseases which ended Tuesday left unanswered the question of coordinating an international response to what the leaders called 'a challenge of epidemic proportions,'" the Associated Press/CBS News reports.

22 Sep 2011

MD Anderson professor wins 2011 Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in Prevention

Lorna McNeill, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is the recipient of the 2011 Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in Prevention.

22 Sep 2011

First epidemiological study on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, in Montreal, Quebec, are about to launch the first epidemiological study on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

22 Sep 2011

NEJM publishes Boehringer Ingelheim's BIBF 1120 phase II trial on IPF

Boehringer Ingelheim's investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) BIBF 1120 demonstrated a positive trend in reducing lung function decline in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to phase II clinical trial results published today online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

22 Sep 2011

Sanofi-aventis sponsors People vs. Cancer initiative

Sanofi-aventis Canada is proud to be the national sponsor of People vs. Cancer, a speaking tour of three Canadian universities featuring Stephen Lewis, former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations and United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

22 Sep 2011

Exercise helps teens quit smoking

Research has shown that a program that combines counseling with physical activity may offer teens a more effective way to stop smoking. Less than 5 percent of those who were assigned to a brief smoking cessation intervention had quit smoking after three months. But, in the group of teens that received smoking cessation counseling coupled with physical activity, almost 14 percent were off cigarettes at the three-month mark. And, the findings were most dramatic for boys. Nearly a quarter of the boys in the combination group had quit smoking at the end of three months.

20 Sep 2011

Vigorous exercise results in stronger bones, reduced diabetes risk and less visceral fat

Cells in bone, fat and the pancreas appear to be talking to each other and one thing they likely are saying is, "Get moving."

20 Sep 2011

WHO, WEF reports examine cost of treating and preventing, economic burden of NCDs

Low-income countries "could introduce measures to prevent and treat millions of cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and lung disease for a little as $1.20 per person per year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday" in a report released on the eve of the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) taking place this week in New York, Reuters reports.

20 Sep 2011

Chronic diseases could cost $47 trillion over the next 20 years: Report

A latest report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests that the global economic impact of the five leading chronic diseases -- cancer, diabetes, mental illness, heart disease, and respiratory disease - could reach $47 trillion over the next 20 years.

19 Sep 2011

Intelligent t-shirt patient biomonitoring platform

Using this garment-based patient biomonitoring platform allows us to register a number of the patient's physiological parameters in a non-intrusive manner. "The information gathered by an intelligent t-shirt using e-textile technology is sent, without using wires, to an information management system, which then shows the patient's location and vital signs in real time", explain the UC3M researchers.

19 Sep 2011

ESC urges European heads of state to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases

The European Society of Cardiology, through the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA), has urged European heads of state "to show leadership" and long-term commitment to the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases at today's "high level meeting" of the UN General Assembly in New York.

19 Sep 2011

A good laugh truly the best medicine: Study

British researchers carried out experiments in which volunteers watched either comedy clips from Mr. Bean or Friends or non-humorous items such as golf or wildlife shows while their resistance to mild pain was monitored. Another test was conducted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the volunteers watched either a stand-up comedy show or a theatrical drama.

15 Sep 2011

Loyola tests new pressure-sensing catheter to treat atrial fibrillation

Loyola University Medical Center is testing a high-tech catheter device that's intended to improve outcomes of patients treated for atrial fibrillation, the most common irregular heartbeat.

15 Sep 2011

Diabetes epidemic grips the world

Experts are horrified with the rise of numbers of diabetics worldwide. A staggering 366 million people around the world have either Type 1 or 2 diabetes, says the International Diabetes Federation. The disease has taken a deadly toll, causing 4.6 million deaths each year, or one death every seven seconds. The number of sufferers was pegged at 285 million worldwide in 2009. Since then, China reported 92.4 million people with the condition, more than double the federation’s estimate. The diabetes epidemic is also heavy on healthcare spending, to the tune of $465 billion a year to fight the disease.

14 Sep 2011

Practical NCD guide for everyone to improve their health

The world's health professions have launched an easy-to-use, practical guide to help individuals and their health professionals reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - conditions which currently account for 60% of global deaths.

14 Sep 2011

African-Americans have higher risk of high blood pressure earlier

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13 Sep 2011

CEO Roundtable on Cancer bestows Gold Standard accreditation to Memorial Sloan-Kettering

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation, recognizing the center's commitment to reducing cancer risk by promoting healthy lifestyle choices, encouraging early detection through cancer screenings, and ensuring access to quality treatment for their own employees and their covered family members, as well as the patients whom they serve.

12 Sep 2011

Non-communicable disease epidemic a global problem

Later this month the United Nations will convene a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases. The world's global health news has been so dominated by infectious culprits - HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza - that it's easy to forget just how big a toll conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart and lung disease take say experts.

9 Sep 2011