A recent study published in Epilepsia, the official journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), indicates that people who have uncontrolled seizures on the left side of their brains are more likely to have learning disabilities, in comparison to people who have seizures on the right side of their brains. Epilepsy, a neurological disorder associated with recurrent seizures, affects 0.5% to 1% of the population. In theU.S., about 2.5 million people have this disorder and about 9%

Study highlights need for better patient-physician communication about fertility

A new study shows that concern about infertility resulting from breast cancer therapy influenced treatment decisions in nearly one-third of young patients. The study – the largest to date to examine fertility concerns among young women with breast cancer – found that the majority of the women were very concerned about the ability to have a child as well as the impact that pregnancy might have on dis

Results of a new study in monkeys offer scientists a rare glimpse of how, on a molecular level, the smallpox virus attacks its victims. The findings shed light on how the virus caused mass death and suffering, and will help point the way to new diagnostics, vaccines and drugs that would be needed in the event of a smallpox bioterror incident.

The study, led by David Relman, M.D., of Stanford University, is now online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS

How do health professionals approach the complex and sensitive ethics of IVF and embryo research in their work?

While there is a great deal of public debate on contentious issues such as the ethics of stem cell research, egg sharing between couples, and the risk of multiple births, little is known about how professionals deal with these issues in day-to-day practice.

A study is to be conducted by University of York sociologist Dr Anne Kerr who specialises in the ethical a

Dartmouth Medical School cardiology researchers have discovered a new mechanism for what drives the growth of muscle tissue in the lining of injured heart vessels that can eventually lead to blockage. Their study, reported in the October 19 issue of the journal Circulation, raises important questions about the use of drugs that promote or prevent angiogenesis – the formation of blood vessels – to treat the condition.

Normal heart arteries have a muscle tissue layer inside their

Study presented at American Society of Plastic Surgeons annual scientific meeting

To the surprise of many people, the loss of fat and sun exposure play a bigger role than gravity in aging the face, according to a study presented today at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2004 conference in Philadelphia.

“People make assumptions about how the face ages because when they pull up on their facial skin, they look better,” said Val Lambros, MD, A

Children prenatally exposed to pollutants, such as motor vehicle exhaust, and postnatally exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) may be more likely to suffer from asthma and related symptoms early in life. A new study in the October issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that young children who are exposed to these pollutants may be significantly more likely to develop respiratory conditions at ages 12 and 24 months.

“A gr

Executives who downplay ethics and values in their decision making may also be the ones who prefer extraordinarily high salaries for themselves. By comparison, those executives who are more inclined to consider ethics and values in their decisions preferred more fair pay throughout their organizations.

Diane Swanson, associate professor of management and the von Waaden business administration professor at Kansas State University, said this is the most significant implication of

A study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry by an Italian group of investigators headed by Professor Giovanni A. Fava (University of Bologna) suggests, that with appropriate psychosocial interventions, half of the patients with recurrent depression could be still well and drug free six years after termination of treatment, instead of being linked to long term drug treatment.

A number of controlled trials have suggested that cognitive behavior st

Research in monkeys suggests that the type of progestin in hormone therapy could dramatically affect heart attack severity. The study, by a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researcher and colleagues, was reported today at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in Washington, D.C.

“One type of hormone therapy limited heart muscle damage to only 5 percent while another resulted in permanent damage to 35 percent of muscle,” said J. Koudy Williams, P

As interactions of cellular proteins increasingly take center stage in basic biomedical research, studies are revealing a complex molecular choreography with implications for human health and disease.

In a report currently appearing in the online issue of the journal Nature Cell Biology, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center describe – for the first time – how some proteins interact to ens

A new study finds support groups can relieve the anxiety and depression associated with carrying BRCA1 or 2 gene mutations, the so-called “cancer genes.” The results of the first study to investigate a support-group model intervention for women at high risk of breast cancer will be published in the November 15, 2004 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. A free abstract of this article will be available via the CANCER News Room upon online publication.

The treatment of obesity has proven that it can reduce the onset of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, high cholesterol levels, diabetes mellitus, and even erectile dysfunction.

And according to the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Gary Wittert, who is championing The Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study, there is a compelling argument for an aggressive intervention program given the high prevalence of obesity and the relationship to the aforementioned health problems

Doctors and other health-care professionals should be more aware of the association between infant crying and potentially abusive parental behaviour, conclude authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

Child abuse and neglect are important causes of child illness and death. An estimated 6 young infants per 100,000 die from the effects of child abuse each year; non-fatal infant morbidity could be up to 2000 times greater than this annual death rate. Sijmen A Reij

Allowing medical students to interact with patients earlier in their medical course would better prepare them for their future role as a doctor, suggest researchers in this week’s BMJ.

Traditionally, the foundation years of medical education have grounded students in biomedical sciences but offered little, if any, clinical exposure. A group of 64 medical students, staff, and curriculum leaders from three UK medical schools discussed the question: “What can experience add to

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh are launching a new two-year study aimed at improving treatment for three of Scotland’s most common life-threatening diseases: heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The study will recruit 1,000 adults from one of the remotest parts of the UK– the North Isles of Orkney. The islands have been chosen for the project because the people living there are isolated geographically, which means they share a more similar environment: there is less variety in