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New SORL1 gene causes early-onset Alzheimer's

A new gene that causes early-onset of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by the research team of Dominique Campion at the Insert unit 1079 "Genetics of cancer and neuropsychiatric diseases" in Rouen.

5 Apr 2012

Rise in child asthma deaths concerning

Parents and carers of children with asthma are being urged to take the condition more seriously as new data reveals asthma-related deaths among under 15 year olds have more than doubled since 2006.

5 Apr 2012

Political cartoon: 'Cut Off?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Cut Off?" by John Cole.

4 Apr 2012

Elite athletes ambivalent on sports advertising

“Building on the resistance of elite athletes to promoting alcohol and junk food could transform the use of sport in sponsorship and advertising,” said Dr Anne Grunseit from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.

4 Apr 2012

Obesity may be under diagnosed using BMI scale

We have relied on body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height to weight, to categorize people as overweight and obese for decades. A new study, however, suggests the use of BMI may be leading us to underestimate the obesity rate.

4 Apr 2012

Ultrasound & MRI as additions to mammograms for breast cancer detection

A new study shows that annual mammogram screenings, combined with ultrasounds and MRIs, significantly increase the detection of cancer in women who had an elevated risk of breast cancer.

4 Apr 2012

Getting pregnant while on a diet may lead to an obese baby: Study

Researchers found in a study on sheep that giving ewes less food at the time of conception caused DNA changes in the brains of their young. The University of Manchester scientists suspect the findings may hold true for humans as well and could explain why twins are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

4 Apr 2012

No cancer risk with metal on metal hip replacements: Study

Cancer risk was just one of the fears linked to the implants. Regulators have already called for them to be monitored closely following reports of high failure rates. Tiny metal ions made up of cobalt and chromium are thought to break off from the implants and leak into the blood, with fears that this leads to muscle and bone damage, and neurological issues.

4 Apr 2012

Height and ovarian cancer link and diagnosis woes

A review of studies has revealed that taller women have a slightly higher risk of ovarian cancer. Obesity is also a risk factor among women who have never taken HRT, say international researchers. Previous studies have suggested a link, but there has been conflicting evidence.

4 Apr 2012

Woman left unattended burnt in a hospital shower

Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel is hearing evidence about the circumstances of Ms Proctor's death on February 22 - a week after she was first admitted. The court heard Ms Proctor was suffering from multiple illnesses including alcoholic liver disease and her mobility was severely restricted by the time she was hospitalized. She required assistance to move.

4 Apr 2012

Exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered how exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. Inorganic arsenic, which affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen.

4 Apr 2012

Anti-TAK1 agents may hold hope against highly aggressive KRAS mutant colon cancers

Anurag Singh, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine has been invited to present his recent work on targeted therapeutics for colon cancer at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

4 Apr 2012

Health care issues among women voters fueling Obama lead on Romney

A new poll finds that President Obama leads GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney among women in 12 swing states -- a finding fueled mostly by health care, the top issue for women, according to the poll.

4 Apr 2012

Trends in diagnostic coding may explain the cause of decline in pneumonia hospitalizations

Although data indicate that between 2003-2009 there was a substantial decline in the U.S. in hospitalizations for pneumonia and inpatient deaths, analysis suggests that trends in documentation and diagnostic coding, rather than improvements in actual outcomes, may explain much of the observed changes, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Apr 2012

AAN responds to IOM report, pledges to improve quality of life for epilepsy patients

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the world's largest organization of neurologists, is pledging to work with the entire epilepsy community to improve the quality of life for epilepsy patients in response to recent recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its report Epilepsy Across the Spectrum - Promoting Health and Understanding.

4 Apr 2012

Bare platinum coils vs. newer gel-coated coils for aneurysm treatment

Approximately 6 million Americans have brain aneurysms, a condition that occurs when a weak or thin spot develops on a blood vessel in the brain causing it to balloon. Often, these do not cause symptoms and go undetected, but every year an estimated 30,000 Americans experience a ruptured aneurysm that bleeds into the brain causing a life threatening injury.

4 Apr 2012

Relapse-free survival now easier to predict for several tumor stages

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have carried out a study to validate the utility of new tumor classification systems for staging and predicting relapse-free survival for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and who may be candidates for surgery.

4 Apr 2012

Reactivation of p53 may be a highly selective treatment modality for virally-induced lymphoma

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus and an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). PELs are aggressive lymphomas with reported median survival time shorter than six months after diagnosis.

4 Apr 2012

Post-operative complications after oesophageal cancer surgery may cause other health problems

Oesophageal cancer is a very serious form of cancer that, if not fatal, requires extensive surgery. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that when serious complications arise after surgery for oesophageal cancer, many patients suffer other health problems, such as breathlessness, fatigue, insomnia and eating problems, for five years afterwards.

4 Apr 2012

Wash. state suspends ER-payment plan; Penn. 'slashes' kids from Medicaid rolls

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has suspended a plan for the state's Medicaid agency to stop paying for certain emergency-room visits. The planned cuts, which were designed to reduce health-care costs and were set to go into effect April 1, drew opposition from hospitals and doctors, who said they would be stuck with bills for care they often would be legally required to provide.

4 Apr 2012