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Potential predictor of fast PD progression identified

The identification of genetic variants of the α-synuclein gene may help to predict which individuals with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease are likely to experience fast progression of motor symptoms, according to findings from a US-based genetic study.

14 Jun 2012

Surgeon, not hospital expertise affects spine surgery outcome

The risk for complications after spine surgery are significantly lower among patients treated by very high-volume surgeons compared with those treated by very low-volume ones, report US researchers.

14 Jun 2012

Cancer experts call for global action on diesel fumes

Diesel exhaust fumes have been classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, following a week-long meeting of international experts.

14 Jun 2012

Inadequate information encoding linked to poor language ability

Study findings suggest that the impaired ability to retain and repeat unfamiliar phoneme sequences in children with specific language impairment reflects inadequate encoding of phonologic information, rather than problems retaining encoded information.

14 Jun 2012

Oxidative stress linked to NSS severity in schizophrenia

The severity of neurologic soft signs negatively correlates with antioxidant superoxide dismutase activity in patients with schizophrenia, research shows.

14 Jun 2012

Tooth scaling reduces CV disease risk

Taiwanese study results show that undergoing tooth scaling significantly reduces the risk for future myocardial infarction, stroke, and total cardiovascular events.

14 Jun 2012

Prior chemotherapy extends postpalliative survival in pancreatic cancer

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer have a more favorable prognosis after palliative chemoradiotherapy if they have previously been treated with a gemcitabine-based therapy, say Danish researchers.

14 Jun 2012

Laparoscopy technique lights up invisible metastases

Fluorescence laparoscopy could be the way forward for cancer surgery and staging, say researchers writing in the Archives of Surgery.

14 Jun 2012

Preterm birth increases psychiatric disorder risk

Individuals born preterm are at increased risk for a range of psychiatric disorders in young adulthood, researchers report.

14 Jun 2012

Dark chocolate cuts CV risk in metabolic syndrome

Eating dark chocolate on a daily basis appears to decrease risk for cardiovascular events in patients with the metabolic syndrome, say researchers.

14 Jun 2012

Osteoporosis self-reports unreliable measure for case defintions

Self-reports of incident osteoporosis in middle-aged and older women should not be relied on for a case definition, suggest study findings showing poor-to-moderate validity for this measure.

14 Jun 2012

Targeting noradrenergic system combats gait freezing in Parkinson’s patients

Methylphenidate may be a useful treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease receiving subthalamic nucleus stimulation who experience gait hypokinesia and freezing, show findings from a randomized trial.

14 Jun 2012

Invuity closes $25M Series D round of financing

Invuity, a leading developer of state-of-the-art surgical visualization and illumination technology, has raised a $25 million Series D round of financing to expand the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the company's advanced medical devices.

14 Jun 2012

IBMT linked with positive structural changes in brain connectivity

A Texas Tech University scientist studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) said he and other researchers have confirmed and expanded on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique for a month and a minimum of 11 hours total.

14 Jun 2012

Medical Action fourth quarter net sales increase 3% to $108.2 million

Medical Action Industries Inc., a leading supplier of medical and surgical disposable products, today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

14 Jun 2012

$Single-leg approach safe and effective for children with hip and thigh fractures$

Single-leg approach safe and effective for children with hip and thigh fractures

Challenging a longstanding practice of casting both legs in children with hip and thigh fractures, a new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study shows that such fractures heal just as well in single-leg casts, while giving children greater comfort and mobility.

14 Jun 2012

Scientists discover one of the most important cellular mechanisms behind meningioma

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered one of the most important cellular mechanisms driving the growth and progression of meningioma, the most common form of brain and spinal cord tumor. A report on the discovery, published in the journal Molecular Cancer Research, could lead the way to the discovery of better drugs to attack these crippling tumors, the scientists say.

14 Jun 2012

Medicare Advantage enrollment goes up as premium costs decline

A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the enrollment increases were also due in part to seniors' reduced access to supplemental coverage as well as greater comfort with managed care.

14 Jun 2012

First inventory of microbial diversity in the world's oceans

The landmark publication this week of a "map" of the bacterial make-up of healthy humans has deep roots in an unexpected place: the ocean.

14 Jun 2012

African-American women with low SES more likely to develop obesity

Socioeconomic status across one's lifetime is related to weight gain and risk of obesity in African American women, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University. These findings currently appear online in the journal Ethnicity & Disease.

14 Jun 2012