Meta-analysis of epidemiological studies finds some support for a link
An analysis of 21 studies that have investigated the link between ovarian cancer and the consumption of milk products and lactose has found some support for the hypothesis that high intake is associated with increased cancer risk. The results of this analysis, published online August 5, 2005 in the International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), found th
Two minor changes in technique could make a major difference in the radiation dose used in survey CT scans, a new study shows. Survey scans are those that are performed before a regular CT scan, usually to plan for the examination.
The radiation dose in a survey scan can be as high as that of four chest X-rays, said Dianna D. Cody, PhD, associate professor in the department of imaging physics at The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. The radiation dose
Mothers-to-be with lower levels of the vitamin folate in their body during early pregnancy are more likely to have babies with lower, or less healthy, birth weights, a study has revealed.
Conversely, researchers from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, who examined nearly 1,000 women and their newborn babies, found that higher levels of folate (found in some vegetables, fruits and cereals, and also known as vitamin B9, or folic acid) were linked with increased birth weigh
Meta-Analysis of Epidemiological Studies Finds Some Support for a Link
An analysis of 21 studies that have investigated the link between ovarian cancer and the consumption of milk products and lactose has found some support for the hypothesis that high intake is associated with increased cancer risk. The results of this analysis, published online August 5, 2005 in the International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), found that
A UK-led team of astronomers reports today (August 4th) in Nature that they have tracked down an elusive population of black holes growing rapidly hidden behind clouds of dust. Their results suggest that most black hole growth takes place in dusty galaxies, solving astronomer’s headaches, as until now, the cosmic x-ray background suggested the existence of more growing black holes than they could find.
Growing black holes, known as quasars, are some of the brightest objects in the Universe
Obese people are less likely to receive preventive services such as mammograms, Pap smears and flu shots from health care providers, according to an analysis of health care data by Duke University Medical Center researchers.
The Duke study showed that, for a sample of white middle-aged women, as body mass index (BMI) went up, the odds of receiving mammograms and Pap smears went down. BMI is a measurement of body fatness based on weight adjusted for height. In data gathered in 20
American Heart Association rapid access journal report:
People with prehypertension are at much higher risk of heart attack and heart disease, according to a study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
“If we were to eliminate prehypertension, we could potentially prevent about 47 percent of all heart attacks,” said the study’s lead author Adnan I. Qureshi, M.D., professor and director of the Cerebrovascular Program in the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke
Research reported in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine for the first time looks at the role of exercise capacity in predicting a woman’s risk of mortality
Researchers have developed a nomogram (alignment chart) specifically for women that can be used to predict their expected exercise capacity at any given age, as well as demonstrated that the resulting measure is a predictor of the risk of death. Women whose exercise capacity was less than 85 percent the age-predicted va
Helps give mentally disabled children a better lease on life
Reconstructing severe facial deformities in children with mental disabilities can be a hard decision for parents. Insurance companies may consider some operations to be only for cosmetic purposes and refuse to cover them. However, craniofacial plastic surgery, to correct abnormalities of the face, skull and neck, may give these children significant psychological, social and emotional benefits that can help them attain
Prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the United States, is caused by changes in several tummor suppressor genes including PTEN and p53. Up to 70 percent of men with prostate cancer have lost one copy of the PTEN gene at the time of diagnosis, and p53 is absent in a high number of patients with advanced prostate cancer.
Scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found an unexpected effect of the interaction of these two genes in early s
Electrical exercise system gives paralysis sufferers power to recover strength
People affected by paralysis could enjoy more independence, better health and a higher quality of life thanks to an innovative system designed to improve fitness and increase arm strength.
It uses electrical signals to stimulate movement in arm muscles where function has been lost, making it possible to work an arm-exercise machine (similar to an exercise bike but worked by the arms).
Visceral leishmaniasis, which is the most severe form of that group of diseases, affects 500 000 people in the world each year. It is caused by a protozoan, Leishmania infantum, transmitted by sand fly bites. There is no vaccine for this disease, which can rapidly lead to death if no treatment is given. In the most heavily affected areas, the dog population is hit heavily by infection. It acts as parasite reservoir for humans.
Development of a vaccine for dogs could help brake transmission
The designers of heart disease trials should ensure that they recruit enough women to reveal reliably whether they are responding to the drugs in a different way from men, according to research published on line today (Tuesday, 2 August) in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal[1].
Women are under represented in most clinical studies, so the data and the results are less well documented for them, according to Dr Verena Stangl, senior author of the
What caused leprosy – a widely dreaded disease in medieval Europe – to fade from the scene? By the 16th century, the scourge had practically disappeared there.
The reason seems to be, say researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in London, that tuberculosis, a far more deadly disease, overtook leprosy, killing millions throughout Europe.
Their conclusion is based upon the examination of DNA from human remains from the ancient and medieval periods in Israel a
Discovery that oxidative stress from pollen is as important as antigen exposure could lead to new therapies
For a person with allergies or asthma, breathing in pollen can be a very bad thing. Within minutes of inhalation by someone sensitive to their effects, these tiny particles can trigger severe inflammation of the respiratory passages, producing uncontrollable sneezing, coughing, or extreme shortness of breath — symptoms agonizingly familiar to those who suffer from allergy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an abnormal thickening of the heart, affects more than 500,000 Americans, making it more common than better-known conditions such as Crohn’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Anorexia Nervosa. HCM involves a thickening of the heart muscle walls, particularly the wall (septum) that separates the two main pumping chambers. That thickening can affect blood flow into and out of the heart, which may lead to symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain, dizz
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