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Plain cigarette packaging likely to reduce appeal of smoking for young people

While Australia has recently passed legislation to ban logos from cigarette packages and to make plain packaging mandatory, other countries are still considering whether or not to take similar measures. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health provides a report on the appeal of plain cigarette packs, compared to branded packs, among women in Brazil, and finds that plain packs reduce the appeal of their contents.

4 Sep 2012

PRISM technique as accurate as ELISAs in identifying proteins within biological samples

Combining two well-established analytic techniques and adding a twist identifies proteins from blood with as much accuracy and sensitivity as the antibody-based tests used clinically, researchers report this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online.

4 Sep 2012

Parkinson disease may share common pathogenic mechanisms with some cancers

A study that used a Utah genealogic database and a statewide cancer registry to examine the relationship between Parkinson disease (PD) and cancer suggests an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma in patients with PD and their relatives, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

4 Sep 2012

Nottingham scientists develop novel antimicrobial catheter

A novel antimicrobial catheter that remains infection-free for up to twelve weeks could dramatically improve the lives of long-term catheter users. The scientists who have developed the new technology are presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.

4 Sep 2012

High-dose vitamin D appears to help patients with TB recover more quickly

For decades before antibiotics became generally available, sunshine was used to treat tuberculosis, with patients often being sent to Swiss clinics to soak up the sun's healing rays. Now, for the first time scientists have shown how and why heliotherapy might, indeed, have made a difference.

4 Sep 2012

Prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking may promote obesity in adolescents

Prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking appears associated with an increased risk for adolescent obesity, and is possibly related to subtle structural variations in the brain that create a preference for eating fatty foods, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication.

4 Sep 2012

Obama defends health law, saying Romney would end its consumer protections

President Barack Obama slapped a "Romney doesn't care" label on his rival's health-care views Sunday and said Republicans want to repeal new protections for millions without offering a plan of their own. ... "Gov. Romney promised that on his first day in office he's gonna sit right down, grab a pen and repeal Obamacare," the president said.

4 Sep 2012

Exercise paves way to healthy old age

Middle-aged people who have a high level of physical fitness have a significantly lower and later incidence of chronic conditions in old age than those who are less fit, report researchers.

3 Sep 2012

Eat your greens for healthy sperm genes

Men who consume a high amount of certain nutrients may produce healthier sperm than men who do not, an effect that appears to be more pronounced in older men, report US researchers.

3 Sep 2012

Herpes virus eventually impairs glucose regulation

The common herpes virus cytomegalovirus may be a risk factor for the development of Type 2 diabetes among elderly individuals, show study findings.

3 Sep 2012

MRI lesions match site of recent-onset inflammatory back pain

Patients with recent inflammatory back pain who undergo examination with magnetic resonance imaging typically show inflammation at the site of their pain, a study confirms.

3 Sep 2012

Low blood pressure increases diabetes mortality risk

Tight blood pressure control fails to confer a survival benefit in patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and may even increase mortality risk when low blood pressure levels are achieved, UK investigators have discovered.

3 Sep 2012

$Noninvasive fractional flow reserve still out of reach$

Noninvasive fractional flow reserve still out of reach

A novel, noninvasive approach to determining fractional flow reserve failed to show sufficient diagnostic accuracy to meet the primary endpoint of the DeFACTO trial, but was more accurate for diagnosing coronary artery ischemia than computed tomography, reported the trial’s lead investigator.

3 Sep 2012

Novel scoring system shows sclerotherapy improves pain of venous malformation

Ethanol sclerotherapy reduces the signs and symptoms of venous malformation in the majority of patients after approximately two sessions, report Japanese researchers who used a novel scoring system to evaluate treatment outcomes.

3 Sep 2012

Obesity no barrier to knee replacement surgery

Health policy should not withhold total knee arthroplasty from patients on the basis of obesity, say UK researchers.

3 Sep 2012

Potassium-channel autoimmunity linked to chronic pain

A substantial proportion of patients with voltage-gated potassium channel-complex autoimmunity experience chronic idiopathic pain, although the specific antigenic complex associated with pain remains to be determined, conclude US scientists.

3 Sep 2012

Hospitalist-led ED reduces diversion, improves patient flow

Implementing a hospital medicine-led emergency department team could reduce the number of times such departments are forced to divert new patients because of a lack of beds, as well as improve patient flow, show study findings.

3 Sep 2012

Home-based care reduces mortality, institutionalization risk in elderly

Elderly individuals cared for at home under an intermediate care plan that focuses on high levels of support and rehabilitation are less likely to be relocated to an institution or to die than their peers who are treated with usual care, show study results from New Zealand.

3 Sep 2012

Relocating intensive care nurseries reduces late-onset sepsis rates

Relocating to a newly designed neonatal intensive care nursery significantly reduces severe late-onset sepsis rates in very-preterm and/or very-low-birthweight infants, although it remains relatively common, conclude Australian scientists.

3 Sep 2012

Usefulness of liver biopsy for CALI preoperative assessment questioned

Liver biopsy is not a reliable tool for preoperative assessment of chemotherapy-associated liver injuries except for steatosis, suggest study findings published in the Archives of Surgery.

3 Sep 2012