Health News

C-Section Rates Steady For First Time In Decades

Date: Jun-27-2013
A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that the overall rate of Cesarean section (C-section) births has stopped increasing and has been steady from 2009 to 2011. C-section is a surgical procedure in which a baby is delivered through the mother's abdomen, the surgery usually takes about 30 - 45 minutes. Although C-section is relatively safe, it can pose some health risks for the mother and the baby. The rates of cesarean section procedures shot up between 1996 and 2009, from 20.7% of all births in 1996 to 32.9% in 2009. Approximately 1...

Vietnam War Vets With PTSD At Double The Risk For Heart Disease

Date: Jun-27-2013
Twin male Vietnam war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were at double the risk to develop heart disease compared with those without PTSD, according to new research supported by the National Institutes of Health. The current study is the first long-term analysis that examined the link between heart disease and PTSD using objective clinical diagnoses with cardiac imaging techniques, its findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Gary H. Gibbons, M.D...

Brain Addiction To Fast Carbs Is Real, Imaging Study Shows

Date: Jun-27-2013
Highly processed carbohydrates can trigger the same brain mechanism associated with substance addiction, researchers from the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (June 26th, 2013 issue). In other words, eating high glycemic foods, such as highly processed carbohydrates, can trigger overwhelming hunger and stimulate regions in the brain associated with reward and cravings...

Drug Combo Cuts Stroke Risk After TIA

Date: Jun-27-2013
A simple combination of two anti-clotting drugs, clopidogrel and aspirin, can cut the risk of a stroke in patients who have already experienced a mini-stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). This was the result of a phase 3 clinical trial conducted in China with the help of a US physician who says it could change the standard of care in the US. The investigators report their findings in the 26 June online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM. The trial took place at several sites in China and was designed in partnership with S...

Extractables & Leachables Europe 2013 Conference, 10-11 December 2013, London, UK, Call For Papers

Date: Jun-27-2013
Smithers Rapra are now accepting papers for the 2013 edition of their European Extractables & Leachables conference. Following from the previous success of E&L conferences held by Smithers Rapra, the 2013 forum is set to be the largest European event in the field of extractables and leachables to date. The programme will provide cutting-edge analysis of testing techniques and high-level insight into the global regulatory landscape, whilst providing extensive time for debate and networking...

Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine Shows Promise In Small Trial

Date: Jun-27-2013
A new type of "reverse" vaccine for type 1 diabetes has shown some promising results in a small trial. The DNA-based vaccine is designed to switch off the part of the immune system responsible for destroying the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. Its novelty lies in the fact it does the opposite of conventional vaccines, which are designed to boost immune responses...

Long-Term Individualized Instruction Improves Children's Reading Success

Date: Jun-27-2013
Students who consistently receive individualized reading instruction from first through third grade become better readers than those who don't, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. These findings come after a three-year study that followed several hundred Floridian students, who received varying amounts of individualized instruction, from first to third grade...

Nitric Oxide Repletion Of Stored Blood Improves Post-Procedural Outcomes

Date: Jun-27-2013
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have developed an unprecedented approach to restore nitric oxide (NO) to donated blood, a breakthrough that could dramatically reduce harmful effects from transfusions. Jonathan Stamler, MD, and colleagues from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and from Duke University Medical Center describe their findings in the journal PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America...

Small Proteins Unique To Melanoma Cells Rapidly Identified By New Screening Approach

Date: Jun-27-2013
Jamie K. Teer, Ph.D., assistant member of the Cancer Biology and Evolution Program at Moffitt Cancer Center, and colleagues have developed a new streamlined method to rapidly identify the genetic changes in small protein fragments unique to melanoma cancer cells. These fragments can be used as targets for tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes that have been shown to reduce cancerous lesions. The new approach is outlined in an article published online by Nature Medicine in May...

Increase In Hospitalization Of US Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Date: Jun-27-2013
The largest investigation to date has found a dramatic increase in the number of hospitalizations for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the past decade in the United States. The new study, published online and scheduled for the August 2013 print issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine, found a 65 percent increase in IBD hospital discharges from 2000 to 2009. The number increased from 11,928 discharges in 2000 to 19,568 discharges in 2009. IBD refers to a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine...