Health News

Reminder That Tobacco Companies Are Not Public Health Stakeholders

Date: May-30-2013
When assessing information presented by the tobacco industry, the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulatory bodies in other countries, should be aware that they are dealing with companies with a long history of intentionally misleading the public. They therefore should actively protect their public-health policies on smoking from the commercial interests of the tobacco industry and not consider the industry as a stakeholder, concludes a study by experts from the US and Germany published in this week's PLOS Medicine...

Operation Death Rates Higher At The End Of The Week and At Weekend

Date: May-30-2013
A higher death risk for patents who have elective surgery later in the week and on weekends has been found, compared with those earlier in the week, according to new research published in BMJ. Earlier studies have suggested a notably higher risk of death if admitted as an emergency patient during the weekend compared with weekdays. Additionally, other research has detailed the "weekend effect." The current study, the first to concentrate on day of elective surgery to report a "weekday effect" examined death rates for planned admissions by day of the week of procedure...

Women Have A Natural Bacterial Defense Against The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Infection

Date: May-30-2013
New treatments are possible using women's' natural probiotic defence against the world's most common sexually transmitted disease Women have a natural bacterium that fights against the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world, according to a study published online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. New therapeutic approaches could now be developed using the knowledge that a woman's natural protective barrier made up mostly of a lactic acid bacterium called lactobacilli could help prevent them from being infected with a common STI...

Predicting Hospitalization, Death For Kidney Dialysis Patients Using Simple 'Frailty' Test

Date: May-30-2013
Johns Hopkins scientists report that a 10-minute test for "frailty" first designed to predict whether the elderly can withstand surgery and other physical stress could be useful in assessing the increased risk of death and frequent hospitalization among kidney dialysis patients of any age. In a study described in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and published online, the Johns Hopkins investigators said dialysis patients deemed frail by the simple assessment were more than twice as likely to die within three years, and much more likely to be hospitalized repeatedly...

Advancing Understanding Of Brain Receptor May Help Fight Neurological Disorders

Date: May-30-2013
For several years, the pharmaceutical industry has tried to develop drugs that target a specific neurotransmitter receptor in the brain, the NMDA receptor. This receptor is present on almost every neuron in the human brain and is involved in learning and memory. NMDA receptors also have been implicated in several neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and depression. But drug companies have had little success developing clinically effective drugs that target this receptor...

Experiencing Bullying During Childhood Directly Increases The Likelihood Of Self-Harm In Late Adolescence

Date: May-30-2013
The analysis, led by researchers from the University of Warwick in association with colleagues at the University of Bristol, highlights that being bullied at primary school age can cause enough distress to significantly increase the risk of self-harming in later adolescence. Almost 5,000 participants in the Children of the 90s study were assessed for exposure to bullying between seven and ten years of age and later asked whether they had engaged in self-harm at sixteen to seventeen years...

Psychotherapeutic Interventions Benefit Patients With Depression

Date: May-30-2013
Treatments for depression that don't involve antidepressant drugs but rather focus on different forms of talking therapy (referred to as psychotherapeutic interventions) are all beneficial, with no one form of therapy being better than the others, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. These findings are important as they suggest that patients with depression should discuss different forms of non-drug therapy with their doctors and explore which type of psychotherapy best suits them...

Exercise-Induced Asthma Symptoms Reduced By Unique Omega-3 Supplement

Date: May-30-2013
An Indiana University study has found that a unique omega-3 supplement derived from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel significantly improved lung function and reduced airway inflammation in asthmatics who experience exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, also called exercise-induced asthma. Timothy Mickleborough, professor in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, said his findings are similar to his studies involving fish oil but required a much smaller dosage of the supplement...

Possible KRAS Downstream Target Identified For Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

Date: May-30-2013
While the mutated KRAS oncogene is associated with many cancers, it has not yet been successfully targeted by a therapeutic agent. Scientists are trying to find another way to target the gene by blocking signals from another protein downstream. A University of North Carolina School of Medicine team offers first evidence of the role of a protein called GSK-3 alpha in promoting oncogenic KRAS function. When the scientists inhibited GSK-3 in a model of pancreatic tumors, the team got a strong anti-tumor response, thus offering a potential therapeutic option...

Similar Damage Caused To Teeth By Soda And Illegal Drugs

Date: May-30-2013
Addicted to soda? You may be shocked to learn that drinking large quantities of your favorite carbonated soda could be as damaging to your teeth as methamphetamine and crack cocaine use. The consumption of illegal drugs and abusive intake of soda can cause similar damage to your mouth through the process of tooth erosion, according to a case study published in a recent issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). Tooth erosion occurs when acid wears away tooth enamel, which is the glossy, protective outside layer of the tooth...