Mayo Clinic researchers have found that people who score in the upper 25 percent in anxiety level on a personality test have a moderately increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease decades later. They also found a similar link between pessimistic personalities and Parkinson’s.
“This is the first study that took a group of people with documented personality characteristics but no symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and showed that those with high levels of an anxious or pessimi
Some adults with mild persistent asthma may be able to adequately control their asthma by taking corticosteroids only when needed, instead of taking anti-inflammatory medication daily, according to new results from the Improving Asthma Control Trial (IMPACT). Conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Asthma Clinical Research Network, the one-year, multi-center study found that participants who were treated with corticosteroids intermittently based on symptoms had
OPTOMETRY researchers at Aston University’s new £10 million Academy of Life Sciences are currently undertaking ground-breaking research into the vision problems caused by diabetics – one of the leading causes of blindness and vision loss in the UK. So far, the study has been very successful with a large number of diabetic volunteers stepping forward to take part in the study, but the researchers still require some more Type 1 diabetics (insulin dependent patients usually diagnosed under the age
The use of statins before or after a stroke helps improve patient recovery after an ischemic stroke, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 57th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., April 9 – 16, 2005.
Patients on statins before a stroke were 1.6 times more likely to have a favorable outcome compared to patients never exposed to statins, according to the study. Those on statins after a stroke were 2.6 times more likely to have a favorable outc
New study findings show that traditional heart disease risk factors are more strongly associated with risk of death from cardiovascular disease than newer, emerging risk factors in older people with chronic kidney disease. These results from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded Cardiovascular Health Study will be published in the April 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Study participants with chronic kidney disease who also had diabetes,
Research at NYPH/Allen pavilion shows more than half of patients may be affected by factors external to heart
New research from Columbia University Medical Center is challenging the traditional explanation for the causes of the most common type of heart failure, traditionally called diastolic heart failure. The study of 145 patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion suggests that the most common type of heart failure is caused by health problems outside the hear
In a study of mothers with a history of preeclampsia, a hypertension complication in pregnancy affecting five percent of all women, researchers at Yale have found that these women have an increased lifetime risk for cardiovascular illness and death.
“Even when a mother’s blood pressure returns to normal after delivery, preeclampsia might increase her risk of life–threatening cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Edmund F. Funai, M.D., associate professor and co–chief, Divis
A study of a drug that reduces the pain of fibromyalgia and improves sleep is being published by a University of Kentucky physician in the peer-reviewed journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism.
The lead author of the study was Dr. Leslie Crofford, professor, UK College of Medicine, chief, Division of Rheumatology, and the Gloria W. Singletary Chair and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women’s Health
“Fibromyalgia is a debilitating condition affecting as many
A new study has found no link between use of cell phones and the risk of developing a brain tumor. The study is published in the April 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The Danish study questioned 427 people with brain tumors and 822 people without brain tumors about their cell phone use. The study found no increased risk for brain tumors related to cell phone use, frequency of use, or number of years of use.
“These results
Findings challenge age-based treatment guidelines
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and 48 eye centers across North America report that many children between the ages of 7 and 17 with amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” may benefit from treatments usually prescribed for younger children.
“Previously, many eye specialists thought treating amblyopia in older children would be ineffective, but we found that many teenagers responded to treatment,” says Michael Repka, M
Desert blooms–plants that flourish in arid areas after rains–might reduce water accumulation in soil should the climate shift toward wetter conditions, according to a study conducted by a team led by University of Texas at Austin hydrogeologists.
By the same token, such vegetation keeps water from reaching the water table deep below the surface in such areas. “Monitoring soil-water response to extreme El Niños in Nevada indicates that vegetation response will dampen the impact
Entrepreneurs who are quick to think along new lines, invest in new technology, and who dare to take risks are more successful than more traditional small-scale business people. This was found in a study carried out among 14 manufacturing companies mainly in the Mälaren Valley in central Sweden.
The focus of the study is on the so-called strategic resources of the companies and the purpose is to develop a model that identifies competitive advantages in small and medium-sized m
A Ugandan drug trial’s findings that the AIDS medication nevirapine is effective and safe in preventing HIV transmission from mother to unborn child during birth were well-supported, according to a new, independent analysis by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The IOM’s analysis of the design and methodology of the 1997 drug study in Uganda, called HIVNET 012, determined that policy-makers and other scientists can rely on the resulting data and conclusions, despite some flaws
An anti-poverty program in Milwaukee, Wisc., substantially increased marriage rates among single mothers who have never been married, according to research by New York University psychology professor Hiro Yoshikawa and Anna Gassman-Pines, a doctoral candidate in psychology. The findings, the result of an unprecedented five-year study of Milwaukee’s “New Hope Project,” will be presented on Sat., April 9, at the Society for Research in Child Development conference in Atlanta, Ga.
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A baby’s understanding of language may begin with its own name, which a baby uses to break sentences into smaller parts so it can learn other words, according to new research by Texas A&M University psychologist Heather Bortfeld, who studies language development in infants and children.
Bortfeld’s research, which appears in the upcoming April issue of “Psychological Science,” shows that babies use familiar words such as their names as a sort of “anchor” into the speech s
Study supports physical activity programs for preventing disability among elderly patients
Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Nearly 60 percent of Americans ages 65 and older suffer with some form of this progressive joint disease. For more than 1 in 10 sufferers, arthritis makes simple, everyday tasks, from walking up a flight of stairs to bathing and dressing, extremely difficult. By 2010, arthritis is projected to affect almost 40 million Americans
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