Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) improves mood, quality of life and activities of daily living in patients with major depression, according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, “Quality of life and function are improved in ECT patients as early as two weeks after the conclusion of ECT,” said Vaughn McCall, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and the lead author, writing in the November issue of the British Journal of
Mitochondrial remodeling in adipose tissue associated with obesity and treatment with rosiglitazone
Energy homeostasis is controlled by a complex series of cellular and hormonal interactions. White fat tissue has been shown by mouse-knockout studies and the identification of fat-specific secreted factors to be central to this process. Drugs for type 2 diabetes that enhance sensitivity to insulin, such as rosiglitazone, work through mechanisms that involve fat. Cell culture work
Smokers can add pre-cancerous growths in the colon to the host of increased health risks they face, according to two studies presented at the 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. Researchers at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center examined the relationship between polyps and dietary and recreational habits as well as medications in a prospective study of 157 patients with a mean age of 55 years and found smokers faced a significant risk of developing colon poly
In the first study to directly compare the emergence of antibiotic resistance following topical treatment between two antibiotics routinely prescribed for a common vaginal infection, researchers from the Magee-Womens Research Institute have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria more likely to develop with the drug clindamycin than metronidazole. The study is being published in the October issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Researchers followed 99 women be
SLU hepatologist to present findings at national conference in Boston
Interim study results indicate a certain drug combination treatment may suppress the hepatitis C virus more quickly than another. Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and six other research sites throughout the country found that combining the drug Pegasys® with ribavirin resulted in a greater reduction in hepatitis C viral levels than patients treated with Peg-Intron® and an equal dose of
Daily consumption drops
Employees in workplaces with no smoking restrictions smoke almost five more cigarettes daily than those whose workplaces completely ban smoking, says a study by the University of Toronto’s Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU). “Usually, the reason given for banning smoking in the workplace is to benefit non-smokers and this is a valid and important reason,” says OTRU’s Dr. Thomas Stephens. “What this study shows is that the bans also have health b
Children and adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) respond best to a combination of both psychotherapy and an antidepressant, a major clinical trial has found. Supported by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health, the study recommends that treatment begin with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), either alone or with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. The research spotlights the need for improved access to CBT, since m
A world-leading team of Canadian scientists thinks that diet may play a critical role in limiting the body’s absorption of the toxic heavy metal mercury, and they’re lining up to test the idea on themselves.
The scientists from the NSERC-funded Collaborative Mercury Research Network (COMERN) have identified dramatic differences in the extent to which mercury from eating fish is absorbed by people in a variety of small Canadian communities.
Since 2000, COMER
Long-term use of new non-calcium, non-aluminum phosphate binder maintains bone health status
Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY, LSE: SHP.L, TSE: SHQ CN) announces that long-term treatment with FOSRENOL® (lanthanum carbonate), a new non-calcium, non-aluminum phosphate binder, does not promote bone softening or cause harmful effects on bone, according to data presented today at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) annual meeting in St. Louis, Mo.
Even wit
Designing physical activity programs and interventions geared to breast cancer survivors will increase well-being and may improve prognosis, Yale researchers report in a recent issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
“Despite the evidence suggesting that regular physical activity can protect against weight gain, decrease breast cancer risk, and potentially improve breast cancer prognosis, efforts to encourage physical activity are not a routine part of the cancer t
Johns Hopkins researchers report potentially life-threatening hospital infections with bacteria resistant to the antibiotic methicillin can occur even if patients havent been treated with that drug. But, they add, these infections can be stopped with one of medicines oldest and most powerful antibacterial treatments: hand washing.
We know there is more to MRSA infection than just exposure to antibiotics, says infection control and antibiotic management expert Xiaoyan Song, M.D.,
The most populated country on the planet may also be heading towards the worst tobacco-related health crisis on the planet, say Tulane University researchers. More than 300 million Chinese adults either smoke or are exposed to cigarette smoke at work or at home.
“Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in China and worldwide,” says author Jiang He, chair of the epidemiology department at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “China is in
Symptoms of an enlarged prostate — known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) — can range from a weak, slow urinary stream, to hesitancy and straining to urinate, to an inability to empty the bladder completely, to more serious complications including recurrent urinary tract infections and kidney damage.
If a man lives long enough, he will almost certainly experience some degree of BPH. Although 50%–60% of men with this condition may never develop any symptoms, BPH can
The first step against infection is the detection of microorganisms capable of causing disease. This is done through the recognition of molecular structures not shared by the host, but also present in other harmless or even useful microbes. A question that has puzzled scientists for many years is how the host knows exactly against which microbes to mount an immune response. But now, in the November issue of Nature Immunology, scientists describe for the first time an ingenious bacteria-recogn
A new method for visual impairment treatment has been discovered by researchers of the Institute of Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences. The patients suffering from visual impairment can be helped if a healthy donor’s cerebrospinal fluid is introduced to the parent’s vertebral canal – this method is called liquortransfusion. Physiologists have determined that the method is effective even when prescription of visual impairment exceeds five years. Eyesight improves with 83 percent of patient
A spray that halves the healing time of burns and wounds is being designed for immediate use. Marina Murphy explains how the spray could be the difference between having a disfiguring scar or not in Chemistry & Industry magazine.
Tissue Therapies of Brisbane, Australia are developing an active ingredient that could help avoid the need for skin grafting sheets, significantly reduce scarring in children and help in healing chronic diabetic ulcers. ‘Our aim is to reduce healing time
Feedback
