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Early junk food habit may impact IQ

Children who eat a healthy diet before the age of 2 years are more likely to have a higher IQ at age 8 years than those who eat a less healthy diet, show results published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

9 Aug 2012

Pay more than lip service to sun-screen advice for antihypertensive users

Users of common antihypertensive drugs, such as hydrochlorothiazide and nifedipine, may be at increased risk for developing lip cancer.

9 Aug 2012

Four predictors for relapse in FEP patients identified

Medication non-adherence, persistent substance use disorder, carers' critical comments, and poorer premorbid adjustment are significant predictors for relapse in patients treated for a first episode of psychosis, a review and meta-analysis of published studies shows.

9 Aug 2012

Frontal-amygdala connectivity alterations in BDI patients

Results from a US study suggest there is dysfunction in the neural networks responsible for emotion regulation among patients with bipolar I disorder, even during periods of euthymia.

9 Aug 2012

Pre-cesarean antibiotics cut infection risk

Administering prophylactic antibiotics before women undergo cesareans significantly reduces postsurgical infection rates, show US study findings.

9 Aug 2012

Risk model predicts illness after ambulatory surgery

A marked proportion of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery suffer postdischarge nausea and vomiting, say US scientists who have developed a simplified risk score to identify patients who may benefit from long-acting prophylactic therapy.

9 Aug 2012

Researchers urge shakeup to laparoscopic cholecystectomy timing

The tradition of delaying laparoscopic cholecystectomy after hospital admission for mild gallstone pancreatitis may be unnecessary, say the authors of a US study.

9 Aug 2012

Patient, not surgeon factors influence patient-centric outcomes after knee surgery

Patient factors are more important than anything surgeons can control during total knee replacement surgery in the prediction of patient-reported outcome measures, report UK researchers.

9 Aug 2012

Salvage surgery for oropharyngeal cancer needs due consideration

Japanese study results indicate a 5-year overall survival rate of 49% for oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with salvage surgery after initial treatment with chemoradiotherapy has failed.

9 Aug 2012

Patient cognition may affect EOL care intensity

Mild cognitive impairment in patients with advanced cancer may affect the intensity of end-of-life treatment and promote decision-making by caregivers, rather than patients, show US study results.

9 Aug 2012

Borderline personality disorder ‘not linked to psychosis transition’

The presence of borderline personality disorder is not associated with an increased risk for transition to full-blown psychosis in ultra-high risk patients, research shows.

9 Aug 2012

Dabigatran ‘still effective in obese’

The oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran is an effective thromboprophylactic therapy for patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement regardless of their body mass index, researchers assert.

9 Aug 2012

Organ donation: an interview with David Shaw

Most donors die in intensive care units, frequently after car accidents. Once it is clear that recovery is out of the question, families will be told that further treatment is futile and the issue of donation can be sensitively raised.

9 Aug 2012

Loyola to offer new radiotherapy system for cancer patients

A new radiotherapy system at Loyola University Medical Center will offer cancer patients shorter radiation treatments, with pinpoint accuracy and precision.

9 Aug 2012

Addressing food insecurity in the DRC

In this post in USAID's "Impact" blog, Jessica Hartl, information officer for the Office of Food for Peace, notes she "recently traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to visit food assistance programs implemented by" the office and asks, "[W]hy in countries so lush and ripe for agriculture were people so food insecure?"

9 Aug 2012

Normal weight teens who perceive themselves as fat are more likely to become obese

They're everywhere -- in magazines, on the Internet, on television-people with super-thin bodies who are presented as having the ideal body form. But despite the increasing pressure to be thin, more and more of us are overweight. Now, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that normal weight teens who perceive themselves as fat are more likely to grow up to be fat.

9 Aug 2012

Should 'health exchanges' be renamed?

The Wall Street Journal reports that the phrase confuses consumers in focus groups. Meanwhile, Papa John's CEO and founder John Schnatter, who is a fundraiser for Mitt Romney, told shareholders last week that the health care law is going to raise the company's costs, which he vowed to pass onto consumers.

9 Aug 2012

Link between physical fitness and iron or vitamin status in adolescents

Adolescence is an important time not only for growing but for acquiring healthy habits that will last a lifetime, such as choosing foods rich in vitamins and minerals, and adopting a regular exercise regimen. Unfortunately, several studies have shown that adolescents' intake of important nutrients, as well as their performance on standard physical fitness tests, has fallen in recent years.

9 Aug 2012

Recurrences of ovarian cancer can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET/CT

Due to the lack of studies, there is currently no proof that patients with ovarian cancer can benefit from positron emission tomography (PET) alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). As regards diagnostic accuracy, in certain cases, recurrences can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET or PET/CT than with conventional imaging techniques.

9 Aug 2012

Female voters are hot commodity for presidential candidates

On the campaign trail, President Barack Obama continues his efforts to shore up support among women voters, as GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney vies for working-class voters.

9 Aug 2012