Prenatal efforts ineffective
The key to preventing postpartum depression may be individual support provided after birth by a health professional and tailored to a mother’s needs, says a University of Toronto researcher.
“Health professionals want to identify pregnant women who may be at risk for postpartum depression in hopes of initiating preventive strategies,” says U of T nursing professor Cindy-Lee Dennis. “But in my review of studies from around the world, I fo
Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine study focuses on peripheral arterial disease
Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are more likely to have a foot or leg amputated if they live in a region that has few vascular surgeons, according to a Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine study published in the July issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
“We found that areas of the country that had higher numbers of vascular surgeons had more bypass surgery
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined how serotonin decreases the body’s sensitivity to light and that exposure to constant darkness leads to a decrease in serotonin levels in the brain of fruit flies. These findings suggest that serotonin may play a role in maintaining circadian rhythm, as well as modulating light-related disorders such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Senior author Amita Sehgal, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at Penn and a Howard
Study shows significant benefit
Early screening of prostate cancer in asymptomatic men may reduce their risk of death from metastatic prostate cancer by as much as 35 per cent, researchers from the University of Toronto have found.
“Early screening with the prostate specific antigen (PSA) is quite controversial. There are many arguments both for and against the efficacy of this form of early screening,” says Vivek Goel, professor of public health sciences and health pol
A disease treatment programme started three years ago by Imperial College London has now treated over ten million African children and adults for schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections in six sub-Saharan countries.
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that leads to chronic ill-health affecting more than 200 million people in developing countries. Intestinal worms cause debilitating malnutrition, stunted growth and anaemia.
The Schistosomiasis Control Initiativ
People in their 50s who have normal blood pressure could live up to five years longer than those with hypertension (high blood pressure), an international study has found.
The study, which has been published in the current issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, tracked 3128 people who celebrated their 50th birthday while enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, which looks at risk factors for heart disease.
It was the first study of a larg
Household dust is the main route of exposure to flame retardants for people — from toddlers to adults — followed by eating animal and dairy products, according to a report in the July 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. Until this study, which is based on a computer model developed by Canadian researchers, scientists have been unsure exactly how people are being exposed.
PBDEs (polybromi
Significantly more and smaller liver tumors can be detected by contrast-enhanced MRI when compared to whole-body FDG PET, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 79 liver tumors in 30 patients. MRI detected all 79 of the lesions, of which 33 were less than 1 cm. PET detected 65 lesions, of which only 12 were less than 1 cm. In a per-lesion analysis, MRI had an accuracy rate of 75.5% compared to 64.1% for PET.
A new gait-stabilizing device called the Yaktrax Walker has shown to reduce the risk of injurious falls during winter months in older adults who are fall-prone, reports a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Yaktrax Walker is a plastic netting sized to conform to the bottom of a boot or shoe. Participants in the study were asked to wear the device outdoors over their normal winter footwear and kept a diary of any falls.
A total of 43 outdoor fall
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading reason given for death among infants one month to one year old. Studies have shown that sharing a bed with parents who smoke increases the risk of SIDS. A study in the July issue of The Journal of Pediatrics found a relationship between SIDS and bedsharing among infants less than 11 weeks old, even if parents are non-smokers.
David Tappin, MD, MPH and colleagues from University of Glasgow and Ecob Consulting evaluated 123 cases
Clinical trials have already shown that an MIT robotic arm can help stroke patients regain movement faster. Now MIT pioneers in the field of robotic therapy are hoping a robotic gym full of machines targeted at different parts of the body will significantly improve stroke patients’ movement in arms, wrists, hands, legs and ankles.
To that end the researchers have created a new Anklebot, and on July 1, MIT and the Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center established a
ADULT lifestyle has more influence on your chances of developing diabetes than childhood experience, according to new research whose findings contradict previously-held beliefs.
A team from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, studied 412 men and women and found that fatter adults were more likely to have increased insulin resistance, a risk marker for Type 2 diabetes.
Childhood factors, such as birth weight and nutrition, were found to have limited impact, whereas
Resulting in a plan to promote cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention measures across Europe, the European Commission’s (EC) Heart Health Conference convened representatives of health ministries, national cardiac societies, and heart foundations, and was organised by the EC’s Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection, and the Luxembourg Presidency in partnership with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
While the conference’s strategy was to reiterate the importance of conc
Imagine a future where medical schools are answerable to shareholders, where patients decide how doctors should be trained, or where academics compete on TV game shows to win research grants …
This could be the future of academic medicine by 2025, according to members of the International Campaign to Revitalise Academic Medicine (ICRAM), launched by the BMJ and partners in November 2003.
Their vision for the future is published simultaneously today by the BMJ (www.bmj.com
The use of antidepressants in patients who have suffered a heart attack appears to reduce the risk of recurrent events and cardiac death, according to a large, multi-center study conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The findings suggest that post-heart attack patients who suffer from depression should talk with their physicians about taking the medication.
“Our study provides much stronger evidence than we’ve ever had before that antidepressants are safe
Classification tool may better describe autism-related disorders, help evaluate treatments
A new classification tool may allow healthcare professionals treating children with autism and autism-related disorders to more systematically sort out the combination of traits in the condition, and to better predict how children may improve over time. If the model holds up to further study, it may also allow researchers to gauge the effectiveness of different autism treatments.
Feedback
