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Air pollution exposure in early life linked to autism

Exposure to air pollution in early life or during pregnancy puts children at risk for autism, show study findings.

29 Nov 2012

Structured hypertension care: VIPER lacks real bite

An intensive structured care program for hypertension management in primary care leads to some improvements in blood pressure control, results from the VIPER-BP trial show.

29 Nov 2012

Bipolarity common in major depressive episode patients

Results from an Egyptian study show that a substantial proportion of patients being treated for a major depressive episode may have underlying bipolarity.

29 Nov 2012

Patient adherence predicts ankle surgery healing

Focusing on postoperative care may be the optimal way of reducing healing complications following ankle fracture surgery, say US researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Imaging window into future for brain injury patients

A model based on quantitative diffusion tensor imaging findings predicts outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury better than current methods, shows a multicenter study.

29 Nov 2012

Reoperation not reliable indicator for hernia recurrence

Using reoperation rates as the indicator for recurrence after ventral hernia repair may underestimate the true recurrence rate, according to Danish study findings.

29 Nov 2012

Periodontal disease identified using salivary biomarkers

Markers of inflammation found in saliva could be used to identify periodontal disease in large epidemiologic surveys, avoiding the need for cumbersome and expensive tests, suggest researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Palliative care needs expanding

Individuals with late-stage Parkinson's disease and other related motor disorders experience severe symptoms of physical and psychologic distress, suggesting that current care is falling short, say UK researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Suicide ‘a major concern’ in childhood psychosis

Children and adolescents with a first episode of psychosis should be monitored closely for suicidal behavior, say researchers who found that more than 12% of such patients attempted suicide over a 24-month period.

29 Nov 2012

High–fructose corn syrup use linked to diabetes

Countries that have opted to use high-fructose corn syrup in their food and drink industry have a 20% higher mean prevalence of diabetes than countries that have minimal use of or do not use the sweetener.

29 Nov 2012

New antifungal drugs could be developed based on substance bacteria use to decompose mushrooms

Soft rot diseases cause a great deal of damage in agriculture, and turn fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms to mush. By using imaging mass spectrometry together with genetic and bioinformatic techniques (genome mining), German researchers have now discovered the substance the bacteria use to decompose mushrooms.

29 Nov 2012

International Men's Day opportunity to recognize volunteers for VMMC

Emmanuel Njeuhmeli, senior biomedical prevention adviser in the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog" that the first International Men's Day on November 19 was an opportunity to "recognize and celebrate the hundreds of thousands of men in East and Southern Africa who are stepping up for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) to protect their own health and that of their families."

29 Nov 2012

Mental health amongst top reasons why young people attend GPs in Mid West Ireland

A recent study of primary care support for youth mental health in the Mid West was undertaken by researchers at the Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (4i), Graduate Entry Medical School, UL (www.4i.ie). The researchers surveyed physicians in Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary and found mental health and family conflict represented the most frequent reasons why young people attended GPs.

29 Nov 2012

Combining statin treatment with better fitness improves survival in people with dyslipidaemia

Taking statins or being even modestly physically fit markedly improves survival in people with dyslipidaemia (abnormal levels of harmful blood fats/cholesterol), according to new research published Online First in The Lancet. But combining statin treatment with better fitness may do more to ward off death than either intervention alone.

29 Nov 2012

Blood test and gene sequencing combined to detect cancer

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have combined the ability to detect cancer DNA in the blood with genome sequencing technology in a test that could be used to screen for cancers, monitor cancer patients for recurrence and find residual cancer left after surgery.

29 Nov 2012

Lobectomy for primary lung cancer takes longer in obese patients

Lobectomy for primary lung cancer takes longer when a patient is obese, not only increasing the resources required to achieve a good outcome, but also adding to national health care costs, according to a study published in the December 2012 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

29 Nov 2012

Party lines on entitlement programs play role in 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

Congressional leaders signal they are making progress in "fiscal cliff" talks. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., urged his party to back an immediate extension of Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 and focus on tax breaks for higher-income people later. Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, said that Medicare and other federal health care programs should be part of long-term solutions, but not a short-term deal.

29 Nov 2012

Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies launches new blog for health and wellness

Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies is launching a new blog for health and wellness called According to Winnie, an informative and interactive online community where women can join conversations on healthcare, prevention and wellness, dieting, recipes, family health, and more.

29 Nov 2012

Myanmar can build more stable future by investing in vaccines, immunization

"For the first time, with support from the GAVI Alliance, a pentavalent vaccine was introduced in Myanmar this week that will defend children against five potentially fatal diseases," Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, adding, "Over the next six months, more than half a million children in the country will be protected from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B (hepB), and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

29 Nov 2012

PDE model identifies contaminants in water distribution networks

None of us want to experience events like the Camelford water pollution incident in Cornwall, England, in the late eighties, or more recently, the Crestwood, Illinois, water contamination episode in 2009 where accidental pollution of drinking water led to heart-wrenching consequences to consumers, including brain damage, high cancer risk, and even death. In the case of such catastrophes, it is important to have a method to identify and curtail contaminations immediately to minimize impact on the public.

29 Nov 2012