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Study links low vitamin D with early menstruation in young girls

A study links low vitamin D in young girls with early menstruation, which is a risk factor for a host of health problems for teen girls as well as women later in life.

12 Aug 2011

Single engineered protein blocks two related angiogenic receptors

Cancer needs blood. In fact, some cancer medications work solely to slow or prevent cancer cells from creating new capillaries, choking off their much-needed blood and nutrient supply to halt the growth of tumors.

12 Aug 2011

New source for sexual problems in men – buddies!

Social researchers have found that there may be a new source for sexual problems among middle-aged and older men and it could be the relationships between their female partners and the men's closest friends.

12 Aug 2011

Elderly individuals with higher BMI have shorter life expectancy

While some past studies have shown that persons carrying a few extra pounds in their 70s live longer than their thinner counterparts, a new study that measured subjects' weight at multiple points over a longer period of time reveals the opposite.

12 Aug 2011

Blood test early in pregnancy to detect baby’s gender

While carrying the child, a mother's blood has cell-free fetal DNA floating around in it, and it's possible to use this to test for the baby's sex. In a meta-analysis that covered more, the test was found to be 95% efficient in guessing the sex of the fetus — and it works from as early as seven weeks. As the fetus and the placenta develop, the amount of DNA present in the mother increases, boosting the accuracy of the test, which hits its peak at 20 weeks.

12 Aug 2011

Rise of NCDs is 'growing but under-addressed challenge' in developed and developing countries

"The rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)" is "a growing but under-addressed challenge in both the developed and developing world," Jean-Luc Butel, executive vice president and group president for Medtronic's international operations, writes in a Muskegon Chronicle opinion piece.

12 Aug 2011

New model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

By isolating cells from patients' spinal tissue within a few days after death, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new model of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

Scientists identify new therapeutic target for ADHD, other neuropsychiatric disorders

A biochemical pathway long associated with diarrhea and intestinal function may provide a new therapeutic target for treating ADHD other neuropsychiatric disorders, according to a team of scientists from China and the United States reporting Aug. 11 in Science.

12 Aug 2011

TCHP receives Texas HHSC's managed care renewed contracts

Texas Children's Health Plan (TCHP) has been tentatively awarded managed care renewed contracts by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

12 Aug 2011

Study examines link between spirit consumption and risk of acute pancreatitis

A study on the effect of different alcoholic beverages and drinking behaviour on the risk of acute pancreatitis was conducted, using the Swedish Mammography Cohort and Cohort of Swedish Men, to study the association between consumption of spirits, wine and beer and the risk of acute pancreatitis.

12 Aug 2011

State roundup: Debt deal and states; Ariz. judge appoves Medicaid plan

Many expensive programs are exempt from the trigger cuts, including most that are considered "mandatory," which means that some of the largest joint state-federal programs aren't vulnerable. Those include Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

12 Aug 2011

Mayo Clinic, ABTA to establish education program for brain tumor patients

The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) and Mayo Clinic are establishing a program to provide educational support for patients coping with the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors.

12 Aug 2011

Women with depression at higher risk of stroke

A new study published this week shows that depression puts middle-aged and older women at significant risk of suffering potentially debilitating strokes.

12 Aug 2011

FDA assigns PDUFA action date for review of Affymax peginesatide NDA

Affymax, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of March 27, 2012 for the review of the investigational agent peginesatide New Drug Application.

12 Aug 2011

Lower salt intake could prevent stroke, heart disease deaths

Speaking ahead of a United Nations High Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases, Professor Francesco Cappuccio from Warwick Medical School argues that lowering dietary salt intake has the potential to save millions of lives globally by substantially reducing levels of heart disease and strokes.

12 Aug 2011

Hi-tech tattoo that acts as heart, brain and muscle monitor

Researchers have designed a wireless electronic monitoring device so thin it can be applied to the skin like a temporary tattoo. It could one day be used to monitor heart, brain and muscle activity of patients without their even noticing.

12 Aug 2011

Women worst hit by smoking

A study published in the British medical journal `The Lancet' on Thursday revealed that the risk of developing coronary heart disease is 25% higher for women smokers compared with men.

12 Aug 2011

SIGMAR1 gene mutation associated with development of juvenile ALS

Researchers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have identified a mutation on the SIGMAR1 gene associated with the development of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

Researchers develop epidermal electronic system

Through a combination of careful theoretical modeling and precise micro-manufacturing, a team of engineers and scientists has developed a new type of ultra-thin, self-adhesive electronics device that can effectively measure data about the human heart, brain waves and muscle activity - all without the use of bulky equipment, conductive fluids, or glues.

12 Aug 2011

Study finds increase in amount of brown fat among lean children

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and Children's Hospital Boston have shown that a type of "good" fat known as brown fat occurs in varying amounts in children - increasing until puberty and then declining -- and is most active in leaner children.

12 Aug 2011