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Importance of residual thymopoiesis in aged adults

Doctor Manuel Leal is managing the Experimental Immune Virology Laboratory (in Virgen del Rocío University Hospital and Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), where clinic and basic science researchers work) where he leads a project to establish the functional nature of the thymus gland in adults. So far, it has been proven that this gland keeps on producing lymphocytes in the old age (Ferrando-Martínez et al. AGE, in press), which is a novelty because until very recently it was considered that this organ lost its immune capacity after the puberty.

22 Sep 2009

Patients with higher levels of vitamin D are less likely to die from skin cancer

New research shows higher levels of vitamin D may help improve survival for both bowel and skin cancer patients.

22 Sep 2009

Gene variant shows a strong gender bias for cancer predisposition

Cancer predisposition resulting from the presence of a specific gene variant shows a strong gender bias, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have demonstrated.

22 Sep 2009

Research reveals that thin people influence the way others around them eat

Thin friends who eat a lot could put your waistline at risk, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, which examines how other peoples' weight and food choices influence how much we eat.

22 Sep 2009

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

22 Sep 2009

New study reveals that large abdominal fat cells contribute to type 2 diabetes in women

Middle-aged women with large abdominal fat cells have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life compared to women with smaller fat cells. Waist circumference divided by body height can also be used to determine which women are at risk. This is shown in a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

21 Sep 2009

Researchers find new technique for long-term treatment of DVT

Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) is a serious condition that involves the formation of a blood clot inside of a deep vein usually in the legs. A patient with DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood thinners) however researchers have found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may play a more central role in the long-term treatment of DVT, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

21 Sep 2009

Postmenopausal women benefit as much from exercise as younger women

In two papers based on the experiments and published in recent months, UC Berkeley researchers report that postmenopausal women can achieve the same health benefits from regular, vigorous exercise as younger women do.

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that allergies are a major health issue in Sweden

Asthma, nasal symptoms and eczema is a major public health problem in Sweden, not least among young people. Half of all teenagers are affected in Västra Götaland County in West Sweden.

21 Sep 2009

Study: Suicides dependent on number of alcohol outlets

There is a strong relationship between drinking and taking one's own life. In any given year, people with alcohol dependence (AD) commit more than 20 percent of suicides in the general population; some 80 to 90 percent of AD suicides are by men, mostly white. A new look at suicide and alcohol has found that both attempted and completed suicides occur at greater rates in rural communities with greater bar densities.

21 Sep 2009

ECG gating reduces patient radiation dose during CT angiography

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21 Sep 2009

Alcoholism in Hispanics dependent on gene/environment interaction

Hispanics with alcohol-induced problems - especially male Mexican Americans - have significantly worse health and welfare than those with other ethnic backgrounds. This study examined the influence of gene/environment interaction on alcoholism among Mexican Americans. Researchers have found that interaction between education and a polymorphism of the reward gene contribute to severe alcoholism among Mexican Americans.

21 Sep 2009

HIV mutates itself to escape antibodies

A study of how HIV mutates in response to immune system pressure by Emory Vaccine Center researchers shows that the virus can take several escape routes, not one preferred route.

21 Sep 2009

Early drinkers more susceptible to alcoholism

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21 Sep 2009

Young drinkers to be more susceptible to alcohol dependence

The age at which a person takes a first drink may influence genes linked to alcoholism, making the youngest drinkers the most susceptible to severe problems.

21 Sep 2009

Findings may yield new treatments for visual disorders

By testing formerly blind patients within weeks of sight restoration, Sinha and his colleagues found that subjects had very limited ability to distinguish an object from its background, identify overlapping objects, or even piece together the different parts of an object. The patients gradually improved over time, and the new study suggests that dynamic information - that is, input from moving objects - is critical to the brain's ability to learn to segregate objects from their backgrounds (a task known as visual integration).

18 Sep 2009

Diabetic nerve pain: Most bothersome complication of diabetes

In a new online survey, eighty-five percent of people who experience diabetic nerve pain said that their pain was one of the top three most bothersome complications of their diabetes. Despite the fact that people with diabetic nerve pain recognize the condition's impact on their lives and eighty-four percent of those surveyed said they have discussed the condition with a healthcare provider, just slightly less than half of respondents (49 percent) were treating their pain.

18 Sep 2009

Study reveals that caregivers are unable to diagnose the pain levels affecting nursing home residents

Relatives and healthcare staff find it hard to diagnose pain levels in nursing home residents accurately, especially if they are cognitively impaired with illnesses such as dementia or unable to speak, according to a study in September issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

18 Sep 2009

Quebec research on contagious period of H1N1 patients to be presented

Members of a group of Quebec researchers will be presenting the preliminary results of their work on Influenza A (H1N1) tomorrow at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a prestigious international conference that the American Microbiology Association is currently presenting in San Francisco.

18 Sep 2009

Interim data from GORE PROPATEN Vascular Graft studies presented at the 2009 vascular meeting

W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) today announced that several physicians recently presented interim data from ongoing GORE PROPATEN® Vascular Graft studies to clinical audiences at the 2009 annual vascular meeting. The conference, the premier event hosted by the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), was held in mid-June in Denver, Colorado. One physician reported primary patency rates as high as 100 percent for below-knee bypasses.

17 Sep 2009