Women with breast cancer who receive unwanted support have more trouble adjusting to the disease than those who receive no support at all, a new study suggests.
Researchers Julie S. Reynolds and Nancy A. Perrin of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland report in the journal Health Psychology that the negative effect of unwanted support was more substantial to the women’s psychosocial adjustment to their illness than was the positiv
In a study of 33 HIV+ couples who engaged in frequent, unprotected sex, Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology researchers found no evidence of superinfection, the sequential acquisition of multiple HIV variants.
HIV is a highly mutable virus encompassing two quite different types around the world, HIV-1 and HIV-2. Within those types there are variations known as “subclades” that are typically subdivided further into genetically differentiated strains. The epidemic in the U.S. cons
Carnivores around the world are more at risk of extinction due to their own intrinsic biological attributes than from an increasing human population with whom they share their space, say scientists in a study published this week. Researchers looking at all 280 carnivore species around the world estimated the risk of their extinction by 2030 based on a variety of different threats.
They found that while a high human population density is associated with a high extinction risk, its importanc
Don’t categorically reject hormone replacement therapy (HRT) just yet: When women begin HRT before age 60, their risk of death is 39 percent less than women not on hormones, according to a new survey.
The findings are based on a Cornell University-Stanford University meta-analysis (a study of other previously published studies), which pooled the results of 30 clinical trials of HRT with almost 27,000 women.
“The results of our analysis indicate that the benefits of HRT outwe
Study suggests women with vulvodynia process pain differently
Women who experience pain in the genital area have often been told it’s all in their head. New research shows it may well be in the shins, arms and thumbs. Women with a condition called vulvodynia process pain differently, and these women are more sensitive to pain at other points in their body, researchers at the University of Michigan Health System found. Results of their study appear in the July issue of the journ
About 40 percent of Los Angeles County residents say they get no more than 10 minutes of continuous physical activity each week, according to a new report.
Women interviewed for the study were almost twice as likely as men to be physically inactive, say Antronette Yancey, M.D., M.P.H., of the UCLA School of Public Health and colleagues. Older and less educated residents, along with those born outside the United States, were also apt to be sedentary.
The findings appear in the Aug
A new study finds increasing evidence a virus may play a role in breast cancer. The study, published July 12, 2004 in the online edition of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, finds nearly three-quarters of a small sample of Tunisian breast cancer patients showed evidence of a virus similar to one known to cause breast cancer in mice, twice the rate seen in women in the United States. A free abstract of the study will be available via Wiley InterScience.
Viruses
Scientists studying mice have identified a possible strategy for slowing a rare, fatal childhood neurodegenerative disease known as Niemann-Pick type C, in which brain cells accumulate fat and die. The finding could also have implications for treating other neurodegenerative disease, they say.
In their study, published in the July issue of Nature Medicine, the team discovered that the synthesis of neurosteroid hormones in the brain — a process known as neurosteroidogenesis — is severely d
Researchers at The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania report success in monkeys of an innovative triple-vaccine strategy aimed at creating an effective anti-HIV vaccine regimen. In a test of the new approach, the scientists sought to maximize the immune response to a truncated HIV gene called Gag and succeeded in dramatically stimulating the production of CD8+ T cells responsive to Gag. Many scientists believe that CD8+ T cells will be an important key to creating an effective HIV
Frequent tanning bed users may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center say exposure to ultraviolet light may produce a “relaxing” effect that lures tanners back to the beds.
“We believe that ultraviolet light has an effect on mood that tanners value,” said Steven Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher. “This may be creating a reinforcing effect that influences tanning behavior.”
The research – involving 14
Study performed through Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems calls for an established test procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of VOC removal
A new study conducted through the Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (CoE) to evaluate the performance of room air cleaners has found that no single air-cleaning unit effectively removes all volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air and underscores the need to establish standards, test proce
OHSU study flies in face of belief that plasticity causes stem cells to transform
An Oregon Health & Science University study is defying a long-accepted assertion among many scientists that stem cells repair diseased tissue by transforming into other cell types in a process called plasticity.
The first study from OHSU’s new Oregon Stem Cell Center, published in the current issue of the journal Nature Medicine, found that mature macrophages derived from bone marrow stem
A new University of Southampton study concludes that kiwi fruit appears to be a significant food allergen capable of causing severe reactions, particularly in young children with other allergic reactions. The study, which was funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), highlights the increasing incidence of allergic reaction to the popular tropical fruit.
The research team believes that the increase in allergic symptoms can be explained by the demonstrable rise in the incidence of food aller
People who have early stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) could be more capable of learning than previously thought, according to two new studies supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. The promising studies suggest that some people with early cognitive impairment can still be taught to recall important information and to better perform daily tasks.
In a July 2004 report, researchers in Miami, FL, found mildly impaired AD patients who pa
In a knowledge-based economy, where new ideas and scientific knowledge are central to innovation and growth, investment in human resources in science & technology (S&T) is an essential factor to remain competitive. Europe is top of the class as the world’s biggest ‘S&T brain factory’ with graduate numbers (2.14 million in 2000) above that of the US (2.07 million) and Japan (1.1 million). In fact, 26% of all graduates in Europe come from an S&T field in comparison with 21% in Japan and 17% in the US.
A study of patients with kidney cancer has shown that radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive, kidney-sparing procedure, can be a successful treatment option for patients whose cancer has not spread beyond the kidney, report researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Results from the three year study, which evaluated 22 patients who received the treatment, are published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The treatment uses computed tomography to guide
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