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Post smoking weight gain correlates with nicotine dependence, serum lipid levels
Date: Aug-23-2013Smokers with more severe nicotine dependence are more likely to gain weight when they try to quit, according to research published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Koji Hasegawa and colleagues from Kyoto Medical Center, Japan. Even with nicotine replacement therapy, individuals can gain substantial amounts of weight when they quit smoking. Here, researchers studied weight gain patterns in individuals who successfully abstained from smoking after nicotine replacement therapy at a clinic...
Native savanna-grown fruits rich in bioactive compounds, antioxidants
Date: Aug-23-2013Native Brazilian fruits grown in arid climates and poor soil have similar antioxidant activity to conventionally grown Red Delicious apples, according to research published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Sandra Fernandes Arruda from the University of Brazil and colleagues from other institutions. Twelve fruit species grown on the Cerrado, a savanna with acidic soils, were compared to conventional Red Delicious apples purchased at local markets; the researchers found that several of these native species had higher proportions of bioactive compounds and pigments than the apples...
Comparison of pazopanib and sunitinib shows pazopanib offers better quality-of-life in advanced kidney cancer
Date: Aug-23-2013Two oral targeted drugs approved for metastatic kidney cancer worked equally well, but one proved superior in tolerability, according to results of a large international clinical trial led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Pazopanib (Votrient) and sunitinib (Sutent), both recently approved as first-line treatments for advanced renal cell cancer, had similar benefits in delaying progression of the disease, but the safety profile and many measures of quality of life favored pazopanib, suggesting a potential shift in standard of care in metastatic kidney cancer...
The societal benefits of knee replacement surgery highlighted by new health economics study
Date: Aug-23-2013The full impact of knee replacement surgery on both patients' lives and on society includes significant overall cost savings, according to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). Researchers found that for the average patient undergoing knee replacement surgery, the expense of surgery is offset by indirect savings of nearly $40,000. This translates to an average lifetime societal benefit of $10,000-$30,000. Most of the societal savings come from the patient's ability to maintain employment and increase earnings over a longer time in the workforce...
Good bacteria arrive from mother's gut via breast milk
Date: Aug-23-2013Scientists have discovered that important 'good' bacteria arrive in babies' digestive systems from their mother's gut via breast milk. Although this does confirm that when it comes to early establishment of gut and immune health, 'breast is best', a greater understanding of how babies acquire a population of good bacteria can also help to develop formula milk that more closely mimics nature...
Faulty 'switch' in brain may cause schizophrenia symptoms
Date: Aug-23-2013Scientists at The University of Nottingham have shown that psychotic symptoms experienced by people with schizophrenia could be caused by a faulty 'switch' within the brain. In a study published in the leading journal Neuron, they have demonstrated that the severity of symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations which are typical in patients with the psychiatric disorder is caused by a disconnection between two important regions in the brain - the insula and the lateral frontal cortex...
Method of mother's weight loss may impact long-term health of offspring
Date: Aug-23-2013New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) suggests that the healthy weight and glucose control women achieve through weight-loss surgery don't necessarily translate into health benefits for their future children. An animal study featured in the the journal Science Translational Medicine suggests that treatment with vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) weight loss surgery of a female rat prior to conception has no positive impact on - and could even impact negatively - the metabolic health of her offspring...
Mass drug administration in conjunction with insecticide-treated bed nets critical to global elimination of filariasis
Date: Aug-23-2013An international team of scientists have demonstrated that a simple, low-cost intervention holds the potential to eradicate a debilitating tropical disease that threatens nearly 1.4 billion people in more than six dozen countries. The researchers, including Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor James Kazura, MD, found that insecticide-treated bed nets reduce transmission of lymphatic filariasis to undetectable levels - even in the absence of additional medication. Their study appears in the August 22 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine...
Screening for dangerous stage of tuberculosis in Asia
Date: Aug-23-2013More than 20,000 people in Pakistan are being tested for the potentially deadly stage of tuberculosis using a new strategy developed at UC Davis Health System to effectively detect the disease in children for the first time. At least 600 million people in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are infected with the tuberculosis bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Each year at least three million people reach the potentially deadly stage called active TB. The condition is treatable with antibiotics, but conventional tests inevitably miss more than one out of three active cases...
Risky sex among bisexual African-American men reduced by new intervention
Date: Aug-23-2013A culturally tailored HIV prevention program developed and tested by investigators at UCLA and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has been shown to significantly reduce unprotected sex among bisexual black men. The innovative approach, called Men of African American Legacy Empowering Self, or MAALES, is described in an article in the peer-reviewed journal AIDS. The rate of HIV/AIDS among African-Americans is significantly higher than it is among any other ethnic or racial group...
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