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Diets double the odds a teenage girl will begin smoking

Starting to diet seems to double the odds a teenage girl will begin smoking, a University of Florida study has found. UF researchers, who analyzed the dieting and smoking practices of 8,000 adolescents, did not find the same link in boys, who were also less likely than girls to diet, according to findings released Friday in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

3 Sep 2007

Genetic variant linked to human height discovered

It became clear nearly a century ago that many genes likely influence how tall a person grows, though little progress, if any, has followed in defining the myriad genes. Now an international research team brings light to this age-old question by pinpointing a genetic variant associated with human height - the first consistent genetic link to be reported.

3 Sep 2007

Genetic-based dosing in orthopedic patients beginning warfarin therapy

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients. But now the process can be faster and safer, thanks to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Sep 2007

Intrauterine contraceptive devices are underused in developed countries

Misconceptions around intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) mean that they are underused in developed countries, despite being a safe and effective form of contraception, says a women's health expert in this week's BMJ.

3 Sep 2007

Diacetyl is a respiratory hazard

Researchers in the Netherlands have identified a chemical agent that may be a, if not the, culprit in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), or “popcorn worker's lung,” a severe occupational lung disease first noted in 2001 among workers at an American plant that makes microwaveable popcorn.

3 Sep 2007

Cell that triggers symptoms in allergy attacks can also limit damage

A blood cell known as a troublemaker for triggering the itch and inflammation in allergy attacks, the mast cell, can also calm down the flare-ups, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

3 Sep 2007

Cancer patients describe what they seek from support groups

A new study finds that many cancer patients would prefer to receive information over emotional aid from support groups, although – over time – their needs could change. Although clinicians and others frequently advise cancer patients to join support groups to deal with the psychological consequences of their diagnosis, a minority of cancer patients actually joins.

3 Sep 2007

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defect (ASD) closure

A PFO and an ASD are congenital structural heart diseases characterized by a communication between heart chambers at the level of the wall (septum) separating them. These chambers are the left and right atrium as shown on the picture below. The right atrium receives (dark) oxygen-depleted blood from the great veins, while the left atrium receives (red) oxygen-rich blood from the lungs.

3 Sep 2007

The goals of platelet inhibition in acute coronary syndromes

Platelet activation and aggregation play important roles in the pathogenesis of cardiac ischemic events after either spontaneous plaque disruption in acute coronary syndromes or mechanical disruption of coronary artery plaques caused by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which could be considered an artificially induced acute coronary syndrome.

3 Sep 2007

Cell phone use after bedtime is prevalent among adolescents - contributes to poor sleep

The use of modern means of interpersonal and mass communication has become an essential part of being young. Technology has enabled two people to connect with each other virtually anywhere and at any time, a privilege that, according to new research, is often abused by youngsters and cutting into their sleep time.

3 Sep 2007

Teenage girls who are dieting are almost twice as likely to start smoking

Teenage girls who are dieting are almost twice as likely to start smoking regularly as girls who are not dieting, according to a new study of nearly 8,000 adolescents. With boys, cigarette availability rather than the desire to lose weight is a factor in the decision to give smoking a try.

3 Sep 2007

Abbott and AstraZeneca confirm Phase III clinical trials of Fenofibrate ABT-335 and Crestor as fixed-dose combination

Abbott and AstraZeneca confirmed they will advance the development of Abbott's next-generation fenofibrate ABT-335 and AstraZeneca's CRESTOR (rosuvastatin calcium) in a fixed-dose combination treatment into Phase III clinical trials.

3 Sep 2007

Left main stem angioplasty

The left main coronary artery supplies at least two thirds of the hearts blood supply. When it becomes narrowed it causes large areas of the heart to malfunction with subsequent severe anginal chest pain and breathlessness. Occlusion of the left main coronary is usually fatal within a matter of seconds.

3 Sep 2007

A drug-sensitive 'traffic cop' tells potassium channels to get lost

Our brains are buzzing with electrical activity created by sodium and potassium ions moving in and out of neurons through specialized pores. To prevent the constant chatter from descending into chaos the activity of these ion channels has to be tightly regulated.

3 Sep 2007

Baby's conception and birth influences mother's dreams

The conception and birth of a child are emotional events that influence the dreams of most new mothers. In a surprisingly high number of cases, this influence reflects negative aspects of maternal responsibility, depicting the new infant in dreamed situations of danger and provoking anxiety in the mother that often spills over into wakefulness.

3 Sep 2007

Immediate emergency angioplasty can save the lives of those experiencing MI

We have demonstrated that patients who have an acute myocardial infarction and are admitted to a hospital which has no possibility to perform direct angioplasty, benefit from being transferred immediately after having received thrombolytics to a hospital where angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI, often including stent implantation) can be immediately performed.

3 Sep 2007

Do we harm women when we treat them in the same way as men?

Half of the female population in the western world die of cardiovascular disease. Neither the women themselves, nor society at large recognizes this fact. Maybe because of this, research on women with acute coronary syndromes is scarce and thus we lack knowledge about the best way to properly treat women with an acute myocardial infarction.

3 Sep 2007

How to optimally prepare a patient for planned coronary angiography and subsequent angioplasty?

A Czech study compared two anti-clotting treatment regimens, currently used before coronary angiography / angioplasty to find the optimal balance between preventing ischemic versus bleeding complications of these procedures. The study was conducted in five Czech tertiary cardiology centers.

3 Sep 2007

Blood-flow detector software shows promise in preventing brain damage

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Cambridge University in England have designed an automated means of continuously tracking potentially dangerous changes in blood flow to the brain in real time, a system that shows promise for preventing brain damage and death in children with head injuries.

3 Sep 2007