Health News

Easing Of Regulations Encourages Renaissance In New Drugs For Rare Diseases

Date: May-15-2013
Once famously described as "orphan diseases, too small to be noticed, too small to be funded" in the Hollywood drama Lorenzo's Oil, rare diseases are getting unprecedented attention today among drug manufacturers, who are ramping up research efforts and marketing new medicines that promise fuller lives for children and other patients with these heartbreaking conditions...

Risk Of Coronary Artery Disease Increased By Job Stress, Unhealthy Lifestyle

Date: May-15-2013
People with job stress and an unhealthy lifestyle are at higher risk of coronary artery disease than people who have job stress but lead healthy lifestyles, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). To determine whether a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the effects of job stress on coronary artery disease, researchers looked at 7 cohort studies from a large European initiative that included 102 128 people who were disease-free during the 15-year study period (1985-2000). Participants, ranging in age from 17-70 (mean 44...

Possible New Acute Leukemia Marker Treatment Target Identified

Date: May-15-2013
A study has identified microRNA-155 as a new independent prognostic marker and treatment target in patients with acute myeloid leukemia that has normal-looking chromosomes under the microscope (that is, cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia, or CN-AML).  The study was led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James)...

Obesity-Related Dementia Is Projected To Rise In England

Date: May-15-2013
The rise in obesity in England if unchecked could lead to an estimated increase in dementia prevalence in over 65 year olds by 2050 from 5% to 7% (4,894 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 6,662 cases per 100,000), conclude researchers at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO), taking place in Liverpool, UK (12-15 May). Dementia is characterised by a decline in cognitive function in areas such as memory, attention and language and increases with age making it a significant challenge to healthcare...

Dysregulated Cytokine-Producing Cells In Immune Response

Date: May-15-2013
Cytokines are molecules produced by immune cells that induce the migration of other cells to sites of infection or injury, promote the production of anti-microbial agents, and signal the production of inflammatory mediators. These events are important for fighting infections. However, sometimes this process goes unchecked, resulting in unwanted inflammation that can damage tissues and organs...

Local Community Group Activities May Help Reduce Neonatal Mortality In Vietnam

Date: May-14-2013
Community groups in rural Vietnam comprised of local health workers, politicians and laywomen (Maternal and Newborn Health Groups) set up to tackle challenges to maternal and neonatal health may reduce the neonatal death rate after three years and increase antenatal care attendance, according to a study by researchers from Sweden and Vietnam published in this week's PLOS Medicine. These findings are important as they show that is it feasible to implement community-based activity into the public sector system at low cost...

Mental Health Must Be Incorporated Into Non-Communicable Disease Care

Date: May-14-2013
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mental disorders each constitute a huge portion of the worldwide health care burden, and often occur together, so they should be addressed together. These are the conclusions of the third article in a series published in PLOS Medicine that provides a global perspective on integrating mental health...

Implementation Research Is The Biggest Priority To Advance The Global Plan To Reduce Child Diarrhea

Date: May-14-2013
While considerable recent progress has been made against childhood diarrheal diseases, the number of children dying from diarrhoea remains unacceptably high. This week, PLOS Medicine publishes a report based upon the work of over 150 international experts who convened to review and discuss research priorities to address this global problem. Zulfiqar Bhutta from the Aga Khan University in Pakistan and colleagues report that the most important priority is for more research on implementation of known interventions...

Asymptomatic Carriage Of M. Pneumoniae Common In Children

Date: May-14-2013
The bacterium M. pneumoniae is carried at high rates in the upper respiratory tracts of healthy children and usual diagnostic tests cannot differentiate between such asymptomatic carriage and actual respiratory tract infection, according to a study by Dutch researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. These findings are important as they suggest that clinicians may need to reconsider the clinical significance of a positive test result for the presence of this bacterium...

No Significant Change Seen In Overall Smokeless Tobacco Use Among U.S. Youths

Date: May-14-2013
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Declines in smoking among youths were observed from the late 1990s. "However, limited information exists on trends in smokeless tobacco use among U.S. youths," writes Israel T. Agaku, D.M.D., M.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues. As reported in a Research Letter, the authors analyzed recent trends in prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among youths using the 2000-2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a biennial national cross-sectional survey of U.S...