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LVHT more common in afro-Caribbean athletes

Left-ventricular hyper-trabeculation (LVHT) - a feature of certain cardiomyopathies (chronic disease of the heart muscle) - has been found to be more common in black, male athletes according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology.

19 Apr 2012

Veterans with killing experience more likely to report suicidal thoughts

The experience of killing in war was strongly associated with thoughts of suicide, in a study of Vietnam-era veterans led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco.

19 Apr 2012

Scientists identify hypervirulent Salmonella bacteria

UC Santa Barbara researchers have discovered Salmonella bacteria that are up to 100 times more capable of causing disease. Their findings may help prevent food poisoning outbreaks that continue to plague public health and the food industry.

19 Apr 2012

Link between insomnia and severity of perceived tinnitus symptoms

For the more than 36 million people plagued by tinnitus, insomnia can have a negative effect on the condition, worsening the functional and emotional toll of chronic ringing, buzzing, hissing or clicking in the head and ears, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

19 Apr 2012

Brain size and IQ secret may lie in genes: Study

The study, conducted by a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide, measured the size of the brain and its memory centers in thousands of MRI images from 21,151 healthy people while simultaneously screening their DNA. According to the researchers, a variant in a gene called HMGA2 affected the brain size, as well as a person's intelligence.

18 Apr 2012

Blood test to diagnose depression in adolescents

Researchers have developed a blood test that can diagnose depression in teens, a step they hope will lead to a better way to identify the disorder in young people. At present diagnosing depression depends entirely on a patient's willingness to report symptoms. For teens, the diagnosis is particularly challenging, given the natural emotional ups and downs of adolescence.

18 Apr 2012

Testosterone may help heart failure patients: Study

The researchers used testosterone patches and injections that improved the breathing and exercise abilities of people with heart failure, a chronic inability of the heart to pump enough blood to the rest of the body. Although most of the study participants were men, the researchers said the results would likely apply to women as well, through much smaller doses of testosterone.

18 Apr 2012

PCMD chosen as collaborator in new NIHR School for Public Health Research

The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) is one of just eight health research institutions in England to be chosen as a collaborator in the new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research.

18 Apr 2012

Streamlining federal restrictions on low-risk clinical comparative effectiveness research

In an opinion article published in this week's theme edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association focusing on comparative effectiveness research, a team of Johns Hopkins University bioethicists argues forcefully for streamlining federal restrictions on at least some low-risk clinical comparative effectiveness research, instead of easing them - as is now proposed - solely for low-risk social and behavior research involving surveys, interviews and focus groups.

18 Apr 2012

US DoD awards UC researchers $3.7M grant to study circadian rhythms

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) have received a four-year, $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for investigations into circadian rhythms that could lead to enhanced understanding of disease treatments, trauma care and human combat performance.

18 Apr 2012

NSCLC drug regimen approved in 2006 does not improve survival for older patients

Analysis of a drug regimen approved by the F.D.A. in 2006 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (bevacizumab added to the standard chemotherapy regimen carboplatin and paclitaxel) finds Medicare insured patients age 65 years and older who received this regimen did not have improved survival compared to patients who received the standard treatment of carboplatin and paclitaxel alone, according to a study in the April 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Apr 2012

Excessive alcohol use associated with lower self-reporting of maturity

Tipping back one too many cocktails during an individual's early 20s doesn't correlate to a personal sense of immaturity; however if this habit doesn't stop as they reach age 30, young adults can feel psychologically underdeveloped, according to a University of Missouri study. Helping young adults acknowledge their mental impulse to "sober up" as they mature can improve substance abuse intervention programs.

18 Apr 2012

Voluntary testing, counseling for HIV decreases unprotected sex acts among cocaine, heroin users

Voluntary testing and counseling (VT/C) for HIV or sexually transmitted infections (STI) among cocaine and heroin users who were treated in the emergency department (ED), accompanied by referral to drug treatment, was associated with reduction in unprotected sex acts and fewer sex acts while high according to researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC).

18 Apr 2012

Study explains why women are more prone to knee injuries than men

Women are more prone to knee injuries than men, and the findings of a new study suggest this may involve more than just differences in muscular and skeletal structure - it shows that males and females also differ in the way they transmit the nerve impulses that control muscle force.

18 Apr 2012

Patients, health care professionals invited to improve comparative clinical effectiveness research

More involvement by patients, clinicians and others in the health care community in developing comparative clinical effectiveness research studies will make such studies far more useful in clinical decision-making, according to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, in an article published in the April 18 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on comparative effectiveness research.

18 Apr 2012

Frequent but moderate consumption of alcohol before and after heart attack may improve health outcomes

The Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) is a prospective cohort study of 51,529 US male health professionals. During the follow up of these men between 1986 to 2006, published in the European Heart Journal, 1,818 men were confirmed with incident non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) - a non fatal heart attack.

18 Apr 2012

Addiction to opioids has higher risk of death than alcohol or other drugs

People with an opioid addiction had the highest risk of death when compared with rates for alcohol and other drugs, according to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

18 Apr 2012

Though costly, helicopter trips save lives of seriously injured trauma patients

Seriously injured trauma patients transported to hospitals by helicopter are 16 percent more likely to survive than similarly injured patients brought in by ground ambulance, new Johns Hopkins research shows.

18 Apr 2012

Study sheds light on why ageing makes us more susceptible to gum disease

New research from Queen Mary, University of London in collaboration with research groups in the USA sheds light on why gum disease can become more common with old age.

18 Apr 2012

Role of inability to express emotions in cancer

A review published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics raises the issue of the role of the inability to express emotions in cancer. Several interesting hypotheses emerge such as a possible link between alexithymia and the immune system, between alexithymia and quality of life, or between alexithymia, anxiety and depression.

18 Apr 2012