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Exercise and mental health: an interview with Professor Nanette Mutrie

Perhaps we should first of all clear up the definition of exercise. In public health terms it is more common to use the phrase ‘physical activity’ because this phrase encompasses all kinds of movement- indeed anything we do above sitting and resting levels.

21 Dec 2012

Teen smoking falls to record low, study finds

Cigarette smoking among U.S. teenagers dropped to a record low in 2012, a decline that may have been partly driven by an increase in the federal tobacco tax, researchers said.

21 Dec 2012

Oscillation of gene activity may underlie how embryos grow in proportion

From a single-cell egg to a fully functional body: as embryos develop and grow, they must form organs that are in proportion to the overall size of the embryo. The exact mechanism underlying this fundamental characteristic, called scaling, is still unclear. However, a team of researchers from EMBL Heidelberg is now one step closer to understanding it.

21 Dec 2012

Shift-and-persist strategies, supportive role models may reduce physiological burden of poor teens

Low-income teenagers who have supportive role models and engage in adaptive strategies have lower levels of a marker for cardiovascular risk than low-income teens without such resources, according to a new study.

21 Dec 2012

Dragonfly capable of higher-level thought processes when hunting its prey

In a discovery that may prove important for cognitive science, our understanding of nature and applications for robot vision, researchers at the University of Adelaide have found evidence that the dragonfly is capable of higher-level thought processes when hunting its prey.

20 Dec 2012

Cancer-related mortality increased in psychiatric patients

The incidence of cancer is lower in psychiatric patients than the general population, but associated mortality rates are higher, researchers report.

20 Dec 2012

Bariatric surgery rates dropping in adolescents

Rates of bariatric surgery in adolescents have plateaued since 2003, despite childhood obesity being on the increase, suggest US study findings.

20 Dec 2012

The war on terror: High rates of stoma creation after colorectal injury

Over one third of military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan who sustain colorectal injury undergo fecal diversion, show coalition force data.

20 Dec 2012

French method successful for clubfoot

Researchers have demonstrated the efficacy of the “French” functional method for correcting congenital idiopathic clubfoot, with the majority of patients achieving a good result, often without surgery.

20 Dec 2012

Radical surgery has lasting benefits for epileptic children

Hemispherectomy in children with medically refractory epilepsy offers a high rate of long-term seizure control, report US researchers.

20 Dec 2012

Slushy spares kidney during partial nephrectomy

US researchers report the success and feasibility of a novel method of carrying out partial nephrectomy in kidney patients, using minimally invasive surgery.

20 Dec 2012

Eating a meal together as a family helps children eat more healthily

Study results suggest that eating as little as one or two meals together as a family per week can significantly improve the amount of fruit and vegetables that children consume on a regular basis.

20 Dec 2012

Disparities in HIV care in Ontario

Researchers have found significant disparities in hospital admission rates for certain groups of individuals living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

20 Dec 2012

Bipolar subtypes show neurobiologic differences

Results from a Taiwanese study show that there are significant neurobiologic differences between patients with bipolar I and II disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Cannabis use linked to poorer cognition in dependent schizophrenia patients

Cumulative cannabis use is negatively associated with cognition in men with schizophrenia who are currently dependent on the drug, report researchers.

20 Dec 2012

Coffee habit improves survival chances with oral cancer

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day lowers the risk for death from oral/pharyngeal cancer by almost half compared with drinking none, according to US study findings.

20 Dec 2012

Palliative care consultation may benefit heart failure patients

Symptomatic heart failure patients experience a high prevalence of pain and symptom burden akin to the experiences of cancer patients, say researchers, who report that a palliative care consultation in this population could reduce these factors.

20 Dec 2012

Primary opponensplasty superior to osteosynthesis

Primary opponensplasty in toe transfers provides active restoration of thumb opposition and significantly better restoration of tripod pinch than does static opposition with osteosynthesis , research suggests.

20 Dec 2012

CBT boosts response in medication-resistant depression

Patients with depression who have not responded to pharmacologic treatment should be offered cognitive behavioral therapy, suggest the results of a randomized trial conducted in a primary care setting.

20 Dec 2012

Antibiotic amoxicillin ineffective for treating cough according to European trial

The antibiotic amoxicillin, that doctors typically prescribe for common lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) such as cough and bronchitis, is no more effective at relieving symptoms than the use of no medication, even in older patients. The findings from the largest randomised placebo controlled trial of antibiotics for acute uncomplicated LRTI to date are published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

20 Dec 2012