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Lower wealth, education and income associated with increased stroke up to age 65

Higher wealth is linked with a lower risk of stroke in Americans between the ages of 50 and 64, but does not predict strokes in those over age 65, researchers reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

24 Apr 2008

Self-referring physicians behind increase in diagnostic imaging

Physicians who refer patients to their own facilities or machines for scans account for much of the increase in diagnostic imaging ordered for privately insured patients said a Baylor College of Medicine expert in a commentary that appears in the current issue of the journal Medical Care.

24 Apr 2008

Early Exit: Estimating and explaining early exit from drug treatment

Almost a quarter of the most problematic drug-users in some areas exit drug treatment programmes before they've even completed 30 days reports a new study published in BioMed Central’s open access Harm Reduction Journal.

24 Apr 2008

Pralatrexate for T-cell lymphoma

The fifth leading cause of cancer in the United States, lymphoma is made up of more than 40 rare and highly diverse diseases that target the body's lymphatic system. Lymphomas include both one of the fastest growing cancers -- Burkitt's lymphoma, which can double in size in as little as a day -- and one of the slowest, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

24 Apr 2008

Hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b shows promise

The hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b, when given as low-dose maintenance therapy, can prevent disease progression in certain patients who failed previous interferon-based hepatitis C therapies and have advanced liver disease, according to findings from a large, four-year study presented today at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

24 Apr 2008

Mitochondrial dysfunction and redox signaling in atrial tachyarrhythmia

Researchers at the University Hospital of Magdeburg (Germany) have discovered that atrial tachycardia is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress followed by the activation of the NF-kB signalling pathway with induction of NF-kB target gene expression in atrial tissue.

24 Apr 2008

Metabolic genes tied to inflammatory predictor of heart disease and stroke risk

Two new studies provide evidence that differences in people's blood levels of C reactive protein (CRP) stem in part from natural variation in known metabolic genes. The researchers report their findings in the May American Journal of Human Genetics, a publication of Cell Press.

24 Apr 2008

Racial disparities in smoking cessation treatment

A new study from the American Cancer Society finds black and Hispanic smokers are less likely than whites to receive and use smoking cessation advice and aids.

24 Apr 2008

Smokers more depressed

The risk of suffering depression increases 41% in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers. This was the conclusion of a study undertaken with 8,556 participants by scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA), and which demonstrates in a pioneering way the direct relationship between tobacco use and this disease.

24 Apr 2008

Doctors should consider alternatives to antibiotics for sinusitis

When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.

24 Apr 2008

Interventions for enhancing medication adherence

Patients often do not take the medicines their doctors prescribe, and a new review of existing research suggests that there is no proven way to get them to follow directions for long periods.

24 Apr 2008

Blacks on Medicaid carry heavier cancer burden than whites do

African-American patients receiving Medicaid benefits have markedly higher rates of breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer than whites on Medicaid according to a recent study.

24 Apr 2008

Multiple studies demonstrate use of hyperthermia therapy in treating pancreatic cancer

BSD Medical Corporation has began to report highlights from 204 abstracts summarizing presentations at the International Congress on Hyperthermic Oncology (ICHO) conducted this month in Munich, Germany

24 Apr 2008

Do patients have equal access to coronary angiography?

Seven in ten patients who have suspected angina are not given appropriate testing and are more likely to suffer from serious heart problems as a result, according to a study published on bmj.com (25 April).

24 Apr 2008

Teenage health in Europe

After three years of work, the EU funded research programme HELENA has revealed its initial results. It concludes that amongst European adolescents, approximately 27% of males and 20% of females are either overweight or obese. It also reveals for the first time at European level, food intake and physical activity patterns for adolescents.

23 Apr 2008

An assessment of fixed-capacity models of visual working memory

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but humans may have even less to work with than previously thought. University of Missouri researchers found that the average person can keep just three or four things in their "working memory" or conscious mind at one time. This finding may lead to better ways to assess and help people with attention-deficit and focus difficulties, improve classroom performance and enhance test scores.

23 Apr 2008

20% of adolescents smoke

As many as 20% of adolescents from 11 to 17 years of age smoke. This was the result of the nationwide German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), performed by the Robert Koch Institute and presented by the sociologist Thomas Lampert in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2008; 105[15]: 265-71).

23 Apr 2008

Teenage suicides: Study advocates greater family support

Teenage suicide is often perceived as the result of rejection of family, significant others and of society. Families affected by teenage suicide often look back for warning signs and clues in order to make sense of the tragedy. With the recent teenage suicides in Bridgend, South Wales, there have been demands for improved suicide prevention strategies. However little attention is paid to those families who have already lost their teenage sons or daughters.

22 Apr 2008

Life expectancy declines in some U.S. populations

Although life expectancy has been increasing in the U.S. for most people, there is a growing disparity in mortality depending on race, income and geography, according to a study published on Monday in the online journal PLoS Medicine, the New York Times reports.

22 Apr 2008

NIH study reveals incidence, precursors and psychiatric sequelae of major psychiatric disorders

A new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) presents results on the first onset of substance use disorders (i.e., alcohol and drug abuse and dependence) and major mood and anxiety disorders, based on Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

22 Apr 2008