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Text messages help smokers quit: Study

A behavioral study has found that motivational text messages sent to smokers' mobile phones can double their chances of giving up tobacco. The “txt2stop” trial at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by the Medical Research Council tested the effects of inspirational text messages designed to encourage quitting on almost 3,000 smokers. Participants were twice as likely to banish their habit as another group sent texts unrelated to smoking.

30 Jun 2011

Non-smoking women more likely to be obese: Study

According to the latest research non-smoking women are more likely to be obese and die of associated illnesses than those who smoke. About 8,000 women were recruited to the Renfrew and Paisley study from 1972 to 1976. Of these, 40% had never smoked.

30 Jun 2011

Lung cancer screenings reduce risk of dying by 20%: Study

A lnew study shows some smokers' lives could be saved by screening with lung scans and the chances improve further if there is a false alarm.

30 Jun 2011

NLST: CT screening reduces lung cancer specific mortality by 20%

Current and former heavy smokers can now be screened more effectively for lung cancer. Results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) revealed that detecting small lung cancers with computed tomography (CT) reduces lung cancer specific mortality by 20 percent.

30 Jun 2011

'Non-finger wagging' approach could encourage teens to reduce marijuana use

Nearly a third of high school students in the United States report smoking marijuana. Despite the mixed messages about the safety of marijuana, smoking grass is risky behavior for teens, who are, after all, still developing.

30 Jun 2011

Mobile phone text messages help smokers to beat addiction

Mobile phones could hold the key to people giving up smoking after a programme involving sending motivational and supportive text messages to smokers doubled quit rates at six months.

30 Jun 2011

NLST: CT scans more effective in reducing lung cancer death rates

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) is the first scientific study that provides clear evidence that CT screening significantly reduces the death rate due to lung cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Diet sodas and artificial sweeteners may not be healthy alternatives

In the constant battle to lose inches or at least stay the same, we reach for the diet soda. Two studies presented June 25 and 27 at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in San Diego suggest this might be self-defeating behavior.

29 Jun 2011

Prototype small molecule drugs could suppress hepatitis C

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

29 Jun 2011

EAS, ESC develop new European guidelines to manage dyslipidaemias

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), driven by the global pandemics of obesity and diabetes, poses a daunting challenge to clinicians in the 21st century. Despite progress, there is still much to be done to improve the control of dyslipidaemia, a key risk factor.

28 Jun 2011

Black church members report better quality of life than general population

Health disparities between black Americans and the rest of the nation have been well-documented in medical journals. But one study shows that blacks who identify as members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church actually report a better quality of life than the average American.

28 Jun 2011

Lean gene and heart disease risk

According to a new study published Sunday, being lean may not always lead to a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes. The researchers have successfully identified a gene linked both to having a lean body and to a higher risk of metabolic diseases.

27 Jun 2011

Voluntary conversation decreases marijuana use among teenagers

Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used by teenagers and adults around the world. Nearly a third of high school students in the United States report smoking it, and most high schoolers say they have access to the drug.

27 Jun 2011

Mortality, morbidity rates linked with AF remain 'unacceptably high' despite new treatments

Despite recent advances in the treatment of heart rhythm disturbances, mortality and morbidity rates associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) remain "unacceptably high", according to a new report.

27 Jun 2011

ACS to honor Brookhaven Lab's senior chemist for brain research

Joanna Fowler, a senior chemist and director of radiotracer chemistry, instrumentation, and biological imaging at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, is one of 23 women from around the world who has been chosen to receive a Distinguished Women in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Award, sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

27 Jun 2011

'Predatory' marketing pattern geared to lure young African Americans into becoming smokers

Tobacco companies increased the advertising and lowered the sale price of menthol cigarettes in stores near California high schools with larger populations of African-American students, according to a new study from the Stanford School of Medicine.

24 Jun 2011

Cocaine contaminated with livestock de-worming drug causes painful purpura

If the obvious reasons for avoiding recreational drug use aren't off-putting enough, physicians have yet another detrimental consequence to add to the list - crusty, purplish areas of dead skin that are extremely painful and can open the door to nasty infections.

24 Jun 2011

Birth defects more prevalent in mountaintop coal mining areas

Birth defects are significantly more common in areas of mountaintop coal mining and are on the rise as the practice becomes more common, according to a study by researchers at Washington State University and West Virginia University.

24 Jun 2011

Psychosocial stress may enhance lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution in children

Psychosocial stress appears to enhance the lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution (TRP) in children, according to new research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

24 Jun 2011

Orient Europharma to initiate CEL-SCI's Multikine Phase III trial in head and neck cancer

CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that its Taiwanese partner, Orient Europharma, has concluded the Site Initiation Visit for the first Taiwanese clinical center in CEL-SCI's Phase III clinical trial for Multikine, the Company's flagship cancer immunotherapy. The first center is called Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital and is located in Taipei, Taiwan.

24 Jun 2011