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Researchers study airway bypass procedure for severe emphysema

Researchers at Pulmonary Associates today announced the start of the EASE (Exhale Airway Stents for Emphysema) Trial, an international, multi-center clinical trial to explore an investigational treatment that may offer a new, minimally invasive option for those suffering with advanced widespread emphysema.

12 Feb 2008

Disability does not necessarily follow disease in living to old age

Researchers from Boston Medical Center's (BMC) New England Centenarian Study report that for a substantial proportion of their centenarian subjects, avoiding age-related diseases (i.e. stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes) may not be the key to their longevity; rather, the avoidance of disability may be a key feature in their exceptional survival.

12 Feb 2008

Toxic blue-green algae may provide new anti-cancer drugs

A collaborative team of researchers spearheaded by Dennis Carson M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has identified a potent new anti-cancer drug isolated from a toxic blue-green algae found in the South Pacific.

12 Feb 2008

Health care providers play key role in likelihood their patients are screened for colorectal cancer

The findings suggest that interventions targeting both the provider and the patient are needed to boost colorectal cancer screening rates, and in particular must take into account patient barriers such as concerns about payment and worries that cancer will be discovered.

12 Feb 2008

Prion infection of neurons increases the free cholesterol content in cell membranes

A new study published in the online open access journal BMC Biology suggests that disturbances in membrane cholesterol may be the mechanism by which prions cause neurodegeneration and could point to a role for cholesterol in other neurodegenerative diseases.

12 Feb 2008

Prenatal exposure to maternal antibodies linked to autistic behaviors in offspring

New research from the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute shows that an interaction between fetal brain cells and maternal antibodies could be linked with the repetitive behavior - also called stereotypies - that is characteristic of autism.

12 Feb 2008

Accuracy of online breast cancer information

A new study has found that one in twenty breast cancer web pages contained inaccurate information, and that web sites devoted to complementary or alternative medicine were fifteen times more likely to have false information.

12 Feb 2008

Coronary disease may be on the rise

A Mayo Clinic analysis of two decades of autopsy results shows a long-term decline in the prevalence of coronary disease has ended and the disease may be on the upswing.

12 Feb 2008

Penn childhood obesity researchers panelists at AAAS event

Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Health Prevention, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Virginia A. Stallings, MD, PhD, the Jean A. Cortner Endowed Chair in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Penn and Professor of Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will be part of a panel at a special public session, Understanding Obesity and Childhood at the 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston.

12 Feb 2008

Discovery of previously unknown mechanism that leads to cleft palate

By creating a genetic mutation in zebrafish, University of Oregon scientists say they've discovered a previously unknown mechanism for cleft palate, a common birth defect in humans that has challenged medical professionals for centuries.

12 Feb 2008

White seniors more likely to have signs of future eye disease than black seniors

White individuals older than 65 are more likely than black individuals to have characteristics that indicate they will develop more advanced forms of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

12 Feb 2008

New non-invasive imaging method for diagnosing osteoarthritis

Researchers at New York University and Tel Aviv University have developed a non-invasive imaging method that can be used to diagnose and monitor a number of diseases, including osteoarthritis and inter-vertebral disc degeneration, in their early stages.

12 Feb 2008

Most hypertension patients ignore recommended diet

A relatively small proportion of individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure) eat diets that align with government guidelines for controlling the disease, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Learning disabilities associated with language problems later in life

Individuals with a neurodegenerative condition affecting language appear more likely to have had a history of learning disabilities than those with other types of dementia or with no cognitive problems, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology.

12 Feb 2008

How red blood cells nuke their nuclei

Unlike the rest of the cells in your body, your red blood cells lack nuclei.

12 Feb 2008

Hypertension worsening in all states for women; stagnates for men

Uncontrolled hypertension rates in men and women vary across the country, but all states - especially in the south and including the nation's capital - should boost blood pressure control efforts, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 Feb 2008

New Handbook of Cancer Prevention

A new publication designed to help individuals, doctors and governments reduce the global burden of cancer has been announced by Europe's leading society for medical oncologists.

12 Feb 2008

Gene therapy protocol at UCSD activates immune system in patients with leukemia

A research team at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) reports that patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who were treated with a gene therapy protocol began making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells.

12 Feb 2008

Alpha-linolenic acid good for dry eye syndrome

Research conducted by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) Cornea Service Director and Harvard Medical School Professor Reza Dana, M.D., M. Sc., MPH, and colleagues at the Schepens Eye Research Institute have found for the first time that topical drop application of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) led to a significant decrease in clinical signs of dry eye syndrome (DES) in animal models.

12 Feb 2008