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Humble toothbrush helps stop ventilator-associated pneumonia

Hospital-borne infections are a serious risk of a long-term hospital stay, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a lung infection that develops in about 15% of all people who are ventilated, is among the most dangerous.

12 Dec 2008

Numbing drugs can have profound and long-term negative effects

A large proteomics study on the brains of newborn mice provides more evidence that numbing drugs often used in obstetric or pediatric medicine can have profound and long-term negative effects, even after minimal exposure.

12 Dec 2008

Teen smokers are more likely to experience obesity as adults

Remember the cool girls, huddled together in high school restrooms, puffing their cigarettes?

12 Dec 2008

Sales of soft drinks in U.S. increased dramatically in last twenty years

Over the past two decades, the number of adults consuming sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit drinks and punches has increased dramatically, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

12 Dec 2008

Success of anti-meth ads questioned by study

An independent review investigating the effectiveness of a publicly funded graphic anti-methamphetamine advertising campaign has found that the campaign has been associated with many negative outcomes.

12 Dec 2008

Study shows major pain research funding decline at NIH

Federal funding for pain research is declining sharply, more than 9 percent a year since 2003, according to a new study published in The Journal of Pain.

12 Dec 2008

Stressed-out mice reveal role of epigenetics in behavior

Research conducted by a team in Switzerland suggests that a family of genes involved in regulating the expression of other genes in the brain is responsible for helping us deal with external inputs such as stress.

12 Dec 2008

Biologist provides new theory on mechanisms that control molecular motors

Biologists have known for decades that cells use tiny molecular motors to move chromosomes, mitochondria, and many other organelles within the cell, but no one has been able to understand what "steers" these engines to their destinations.

12 Dec 2008

Link between childhood obesity and asthma

A Kansas State University graduate student has found a correlation between childhood obesity and asthma.

12 Dec 2008

Timothy syndrome provides clues about enzyme role in arrhythmias

A University of Iowa study provides insight into a calcium-sensing enzyme already known to play a role in irregular heartbeats and other critical functions.

12 Dec 2008

Novavax announces positive results in trial of seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate

Novavax, Inc. has announced favorable results from a Phase IIa human clinical trial of its seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate.

12 Dec 2008

New cause of atrial fibrillation found

A new study shows that atrial fibrillation--the most common form of sustained heart arrhythmia--can be caused in an unexpected way.

12 Dec 2008

Aromatase inhibitors most effective in preventing breast cancer from coming back

Two separate meta-analyses of clinical trials from around the world that tested tamoxifen against aromatase inhibitor drugs in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer have each reached the same conclusion: aromatase inhibitors are more effective in preventing breast cancer from coming back.

12 Dec 2008

Researchers find tamoxifen's power comes from endoxifen

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that a chemical known as endoxifen appears to be the primary metabolite responsible for the effectiveness of tamoxifen in treating breast cancer, and that it works against cancer in an entirely unexpected way.

12 Dec 2008

Food you eat can immediately impact cognitive behavior

A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates.

12 Dec 2008

Serious health problems related to late preterm births

More than half a million babies are born preterm in the United States each year, and preterm births are on the rise.

12 Dec 2008

New understanding on how the brain controls onset of puberty

A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Cukurova in Turkey have taken a major step to understanding how the brain controls the onset of puberty.

12 Dec 2008

New Georgia initiative to improve rural hospitals

Seven rural Georgia hospitals will participate in a new initiative designed to help increase their capacity to serve patients, improve the quality of their services and reduce costs.

12 Dec 2008

Inexperienced sex workers most at risk of sexual infections

Less experienced prostitutes are more likely to have sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

12 Dec 2008

New implantable hemodynamic monitor may help manage diastolic heart failure

An implantable hemodynamic monitor (IHM) may help to guide medical treatment in a large subgroup of patients with heart failure - those with diastolic heart failure (DHF), reports a study in the December Journal of Cardiac Failure, published by Elsevier.

12 Dec 2008