Health News

Study Evaluates Long-Term Effectiveness Of Surgery For Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Date: May-14-2013
Results after seven years of follow-up suggest that women considering abdominal sacrocolpopexy (surgery for pelvic organ prolapse [POP]) should be counseled that this procedure effectively provides relief from POP symptoms; however, the anatomic support deteriorates over time; and that adding an anti-incontinence procedure decreases, but does not eliminate the risk of stress urinary incontinence, and mesh erosion can be a problem, according to a study in the May 15 issue of JAMA...

Dual Chamber ICDs Show Higher Risk Of Complications

Date: May-14-2013
Even though patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention often receive a dual-chamber ICD, an analysis that included more than 32,000 patients receiving an ICD without indications for pacing finds that the use of a dual-chamber device compared with a single-chamber device was associated with a higher risk of device-related complications and similar 1-year mortality and hospitalization outcomes, according to a study in the May 15 issue of JAMA...

Non-Smoking Hotel Rooms Do Not Protect Guests From Tobacco Smoke

Date: May-14-2013
Non-smoking hotel rooms with a partial smoking ban do not fully protect guests from harmful exposure to third-hand smoke, according to new research. The study was conducted by experts from San Diego State University (SDSU) and was published in the journal Tobacco Control. Georg Matt, professor of psychology at SDSU, said: "Our findings demonstrate that some non-smoking guest rooms in smoking hotels are as polluted with third-hand smoke as are some smoking rooms...

Salt Levels In Processed & Restaurant Foods Still Dangerously High

Date: May-14-2013
The dangerously high levels of salt in processed food and restaurant food remain the same despite many efforts from several public and private health agencies to change them, according to new research performed by Northwestern Medicine and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The finding, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, established that although overall sodium levels of processed foods decreased from 2005 to 2011, the decrease was just 3.5%. Restaurants did not perform well at all, documenting that sodium levels actually rose by 2.6% over the same time frame...

Angelina Jolie Has Double Mastectomy Because Of 87% Breast Cancer Risk

Date: May-14-2013
Actress Angelina Jolie, who carries a mutation in her BRCA1 gene, announced that she has had a double mastectomy. Women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a significantly higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. According to Angelina Jolie, her lifetime risk of developing breast cancer before having her breasts surgically removed was 87%. Having the BRCA1 mutation also means a 50% lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. According to scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, carrying the BRCA1 mutation may also be linked to other cancers...

Testing Carbon Monoxide In Pregnant Women Not Compulsory, UK Authorities Insist

Date: May-14-2013
Despite British media attempts to make it appear that all pregnant women will have to prove they do not smoke by taking a carbon monoxide test, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides guidance to ensure quality and value for money in the National Health Service, UK, insists that the "NICE does not call for the test to be made compulsory and women can choose not to have it." Some reports claim that the new "draft guidance" from NICE is "ill judged" and will undermine midwives' relationships with pregnant mothers...

Creabilis Announces Headline Results Of Its Phase 2b Trial Of Topical TrkA Kinase Inhibitor CT327

Date: May-14-2013
Clinically and Statistically Significant Reduction of Chronic Pruritus (Itch) Seen in Psoriasis Patients Creabilis, a late stage European dermatology company with a focus on chronic pruritus (itch), has announced headline results of its Phase 2b trial with its lead product, CT327, in psoriasis patients. CT327 is a novel, topical, TrkA kinase inhibitor developed using Creabilis' LSE (Low Systemic Exposure) technology that creates 'topical-by-design' drugs...

OGT Marks World Lupus Day With Announcement Of Novel Biomarker Panel To Support Earlier SLE Diagnosis

Date: May-14-2013
Superior sensitivity and specificity compared to current laboratory tests Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, has today announced the development of a novel autoantibody biomarker panel for improved diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The panel has been developed in partnership with King's College London, utilising OGT's proprietary protein array platform technology...

Smart Phone App To Increase Attentive Eating Helps Users Lose Weight As They Remember What They Eat

Date: May-14-2013
Paying attention to what we eat while we eat it, and then carefully recording food consumption using a smart phone, helps people lose weight, according to a new study. The research is being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO), being held in Liverpool (12-15 May), and is by Dr Eric Robinson, University of Liverpool, UK, and and colleagues.The study was funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) National School for Primary Care Research (NSPCR)...

Emotional Strategies Can Influence Anxiety

Date: May-14-2013
When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds? New research suggests that the way you regulate your emotions, in bad times and in good, can influence whether - or how much - you suffer from anxiety. The study appears in the journal Emotion. In a series of questionnaires, researchers asked 179 healthy men and women how they managed their emotions and how anxious they felt in various situations...