Study finds antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks
Results from landmark PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial suggest clinicians should use proven therapies, such as high-dose statin therapy, to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Previous studies have found Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common bacterium that causes respiratory illness, may also be a risk factor for atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. Researchers and clinicians had hoped that treating C. pneumoniae wit
An under-recognized and usually asymptomatic condition called subclavian artery stenosis – an obstruction of arteries located under the clavicle, or collarbone – is important in the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Published in the August 4, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Card
Body tissues such as blood vessels, cartilage and skin—even whole organs such as kidneys, livers and hearts—could become more widely available for transplants as a result of a patent issued recently to Organ Recovery Systems of Chicago for a method to chill body tissues and organs well below freezing without forming ice crystals. The new process for tissue “vitrification”—-chilling tissue and organs to a disordered, glass-like solid without ice formation—-was developed with support from the Nationa
Work emphasizes need for stronger regulations of herbal drugs
In work that emphasizes the need for stronger regulations of herbal drugs, an international team of MIT scientists and colleagues has unraveled the yin and the yang of ginseng, or why the popular alternative medicine can have two entirely different, opposing effects on the body.
Conflicting scientific articles report that ginseng can both promote the growth of blood vessels (key to wound healing) and stymie tha
The risk of cancer mortality from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan is modest, but not negligible, and the risks resulting from elective annual scans are much higher, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Radiology.
The increasing popularity of elective, or self-referred, full-body CT screening has raised concerns regarding the radiation-related cancer mortality risk associated with full-body CT radiation exposure. Based on anecdotal evidence, t
On behalf of the Steering Committee of the American-Australian-African trial with DronedarONe In atrial fibrillation or flutter patients for the maintenance of Sinus rhythm
ADONIS trial findings presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich
The findings of the “American-Australian-African trial with DronedarONe In atrial fibrillation or flutter patients for the maintenance of Sinus rhythm” (ADONIS) trial, announced today at the annual meeting of the Europ
Kids with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) should spend some quality after-school hours and weekend time outdoors enjoying nature, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The payoff for this “treatment” of children, 5 to 18 years old, who participated in a nationwide study, was a significant reduction of symptoms. The study appears in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. “The advantage for green outdoor activities wa
People taking “ephedra-free” weight loss products that contain the herb Citrus aurantium, or Seville orange, may be doing more harm to their body than good, according to a new review published by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers.
The review, published in the September issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, found that no reliable scientific evidence supports the use of C. aurantium for losing weight. More importantly, high doses of the herb, which contains syne
Nature Immunology commentary highlights promising advances in the field Recent discoveries about the way that HIV infects cells are propelling the development of a broad spectrum of promising new antiviral drugs, according to an invited commentary on the topic in the current issue of Nature Immunology (August 27, 2004).
The assessment is made by Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) Director Warner Greene, MD, PhD, who also serves as professor of medicine, microbiol
The origins of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been studied with the help of data generated from close to 2000 patients with recent onset RA, who have been followed longitudinally be means of structured surveillance programs in Swedish Rheumatology and coordinated from the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital.
“One interesting finding is that smoking in the context of certain genetic predispositions, increases the risk for rheumatoid arthritis in a dramatic way, i.e
Torkel Klingberg’s group was the first to show that working memory can be improved by computerized training and they have mapped the changes in brain activity that occur as a result of this training.
Working memory is important for attention and other mental functions. It is impaired in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and in several other neurological diorders.
The scientists in Torkel Klingberg`s group have also shown changes in brain activity and
Two new findings in the field of primary prevention for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have recently been reported by a research group led by Professor Laura Fratiglioni at Karolinska Institutet: the first is that both high and low blood pressure increase the chances of developing dementia. The second is that an active and socially integrated lifestyle protects against dementia.
“These findings are not only of scientific relevance in the contribution they make to our understand
Loughborough University researchers have been awarded more than £200,000 to develop state-of-the-art tailor made implants for people requiring facial reconstructive surgery.
The Department of Health’s ‘New and Emerging Applications of Technology’ (NEAT) funding programme has awarded the University £234,761 for the 2 year project, which is being led by Dr Russell Harris of the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
The aim of the work is to research and
For millions of Americans, every day brings a new struggle against overwhelming pain and fatigue — and neither they nor their doctors know why.
The mysterious ailments that affect them have names like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Veterans Illness and vulvodynia. They cause symptoms like muscle aches, extreme tenderness, and ever-present tiredness. But no one really knows what causes such syndromes to start, why they linger, or how they can be controlled.
A landmark program seeking to bring the promise of genetic research into the “real world” is underway with the first DNA samples to be collected next year. The Guilford Genomic Medicine Iniative is a partnership involving Moses Cone Health System, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Duke University.
“This project is an excellent example of solid collaboration in search of a greater good,” Dennis Barry, CEO Emeritus, Moses Cone Health System, says. “After a year of int
Researchers show HIV patients may be infected with more than one type of HIV
Some HIV patients may be plagued by more than one type of HIV infection according to researchers at the McGill AIDS Centre, Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital and the McGill University Health Centre. They have shown that some patients may be susceptible to a second infection with another HIV virus including viruses resistant to drugs. This infection with a second HIV virus is called superinfect
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