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Optimal detection of glaucoma progression remains unclear

There is poor agreement between visual field testing and scanning laser polarimetry in the detection of glaucoma progression among healthy eyes, eyes with suspicion of glaucoma, and glaucomatous eyes, report US researchers.

7 Dec 2012

Pay for performance may have reduced UK mortality rates

The introduction in 2008 of a US-based “pay-for-performance” scheme into National Health Service hospitals in the northwest of the UK resulted in a significant decrease in mortality rates, particularly for pneumonia, study findings show.

7 Dec 2012

Noncoding DNA sequence required for epidermal differentiation

The differentiation of human epidermis is controlled and stabilized by a long noncoding RNA termed terminal differentiation-induced noncoding RNA acting through a post-transcriptional mechanism, the results of an innovative US study indicate.

7 Dec 2012

Diabetes drug may improve ovarian cancer survival

Women with ovarian cancer who are also receiving metformin for diabetes have significantly improved survival rates compared with their counterparts without diabetes, study findings show.

7 Dec 2012

Pesticides in tap water may increase food allergy risk

Having a high level of urinary dichlorophenols is associated with the presence of food sensitization and allergies, say researchers.

7 Dec 2012

Adiponectin level may underpin atherogenic haptoglobin phenotype

Researchers have suggested an active role for adiponectin in the pathophysiology of vascular disease in patients with diabetes, which depends on their haptoglobin phenotype.

7 Dec 2012

CRP40 may have pathogenic role in schizophrenia

Gene expression of catecholamine-regulated protein 40 is dysregulated in people with schizophrenia, study findings show.

7 Dec 2012

ADHD comorbidity confounds brain findings in bipolar disorder

Structural brain abnormalities found in patients with bipolar disorder may have been wrongly attributed to the condition and in fact be associated with comorbid attention–deficit hyperactivity disorder, US researchers believe.

7 Dec 2012

Cell phone dependence ‘just as real as substance addiction’

Cell phone and instant messaging addictions are similar to compulsive buying or substance addiction and are driven by materialism and impulsiveness, says a Baylor University study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions.

7 Dec 2012

Bypass option for ‘unclippable’ giant cerebral aneurysms

Extracranial–intracranial bypass is a “durable” treatment option for giant middle cerebral artery aneurysms that cannot be clipped, say US researchers.

7 Dec 2012

Bill would give FDA clearer authority over drug compounders

The bill, introduced in Congress, would also direct the Food and Drug Administration to train state regulators -- whose oversights may have contributed to the meningitis outbreak that sickened more than 500 and killed at least 36.

7 Dec 2012

Children's eyes at greater risk for permanent damage from sunlight

Anderson Cooper, host of "Anderson Live," was temporarily blinded for 36 hours following a two-hour boat trip in Portugal where the sun damaged and burnt his cornea. Eye health concerns like cataracts, skin cancer of the eyelids and melanoma in the retina can all result from sun-damaged eyes.

7 Dec 2012

Scientists identify underlying genetic cause for rare motor neurone disorder

Scientists have identified an underlying genetic cause for a rare disorder of motor neurones, and believe this may help find causes of other related diseases.

7 Dec 2012

GlobalPost reports on HIV/AIDS in Latin America

In its continuing series titled "The State of AIDS," GlobalPost examines the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, where "[m]ajor gains have been made in the fight against the spread of HIV" over the past decade, particularly in stopping mother-to-child transmission (MTCT).

7 Dec 2012

Ultrasound applied to fingertips can stimulate sensory pathways leading to the brain

A century after the world's first ultrasonic detection device - invented in response to the sinking of the Titanic -Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have provided the first neurophysiological evidence for something that researchers have long suspected: ultrasound applied to the periphery, such as the fingertips, can stimulate different sensory pathways leading to the brain.

7 Dec 2012

IRIN examines exclusive breastfeeding practices in Kenya

IRIN examines exclusive breastfeeding practices in Kenya, writing, "The country's push for exclusive breastfeeding appears to be working; according to the 2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 32 percent of babies are exclusively breastfed up to the age of six months, up from just 13 percent in 2003." Kenya hopes "a new law banning the promotion of infant formula ... will contribute to the government's push to encourage all mothers to breastfeed exclusively for at least six months," the news service writes.

7 Dec 2012

Stopping TB requires dedication of international community

Noting that the WHO's Global Tuberculosis Report shows "that access to care and treatment for tuberculosis [TB] has expanded substantially in the past two decades," Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes in an AlertNet opinion piece, "Not only is this good news for those countries that are most vulnerable to tuberculosis; it is also good news for the global community," as TB can be passed through the air.

7 Dec 2012