Health News

Women Whose First Pregnancy Was Ectopic Have Fewer Children, Increased Risk Of Another Ectopic Pregnancy

Date: Oct-19-2012
Women whose first pregnancy is ectopic are likely to have fewer children in the following 20-30 years than women whose first pregnancy ends in a delivery, miscarriage or abortion, according to results from a study of nearly 3,000 women in Denmark. In addition, these women have a five-fold increased risk of a subsequent ectopic pregnancy. The first study to look at long-term reproductive outcomes in women whose first pregnancy was ectopic is published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]...

Gender Differences In The Impact Of Autism

Date: Oct-19-2012
Men and women with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) may show subtle but significant differences in the cognitive functions impacted by the condition, according to new research published by Meng-Chuan Lai and colleagues from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK in the open access journal PLOS ONE. Though individuals with autism show sex-specific differences in serum biomarkers, genetics and brain anatomy, little is known about any sex-dependent differences in cognition caused by ASC...

Evidence Suggests That Meditation Should Be Included In Government-Sponsored Health Programs

Date: Oct-19-2012
More people still die from cardiovascular disease than any other illness. Dubbed the number one killer and the silent killer, modern medicine has been researching and incorporating complementary and alternative approaches to help treat and in some cases reverse and hopefully prevent this health problem at an earlier stage of the disease. One of those modalities is meditation...

For Small Kidney Masses, Active Surveillance Provides A Viable Alternative To Surgery

Date: Oct-19-2012
Active surveillance of small kidney masses is a safe and effective alternative to immediate surgery, with similar overall and cancer specific survival rates, according to a study published in the November issue of the urology journal BJUI. The technique is primarily used to treat elderly patients who have complex health issues or decline surgery. But researchers from the Department of Urology at Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK, say that the results of their study suggest that active surveillance could safely be extended to other selected patients...

Genetic Differences Can Influence Breast Cancer Risk From Low-Dose Radiation

Date: Oct-19-2012
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have identified tissue mechanisms that may influence a woman's susceptibility or resistance to breast cancer after exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation, such as the levels used in full-body CT scans and radiotherapy. The research could lead to new ways to identify women who have higher or lower risks of breast cancer from low-dose radiation. Such a predictive tool could help guide the treatment of cancer patients who may be better served by non-radiation therapies...

Risk For Pediatric ALL Likely Increases With Prolonged Formula Feeding, Delay In Solid Foods

Date: Oct-19-2012
Results of one study indicate that the risk for developing pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia increased the longer a baby was fed formula and the longer solid foods were delayed. "For every month that a child was fed formula, taking into account other feeding practices, we found that the risk for this type of cancer was higher," said Jeremy Schraw, a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, who presented the findings of an epidemiological study at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 16-19, 2012...

Emergency Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis Impacted By Race, Socioeconomics

Date: Oct-19-2012
Twenty-nine percent of patients with colorectal cancer in a nationally representative sample were diagnosed after an emergency, such as an obstruction or perforation of the bowel, according to data presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 16-19, 2012. In addition, African-Americans and those living in high-poverty areas were more likely to present with an emergency diagnosis. "Overall, there are high rates of emergency presentation of colorectal cancer in the United States," said Sandi L. Pruitt, Ph.D., M.P.H...

Lower-Leg Coordination Improved By Physical Activity, A Benefit For Both Young And Elderly

Date: Oct-19-2012
An Indiana University study that examined the effect of age and physical activity on lower leg muscle reflexes and coordination concluded that participation in physical activity was beneficial for lower leg muscle coordination across both sides of the body in both young and older study participants. Lower limb muscle communication is essential for everyday tasks, such as walking, balancing, and climbing stairs...

Brain Mechanisms Identified That Regulate Cocaine-Seeking Behavior

Date: Oct-19-2012
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified mechanisms in the brain responsible for regulating cocaine-seeking behavior, providing an avenue for drug development that could greatly reduce the high relapse rate in cocaine addiction. The research reveals that stimulation of certain brain receptors promotes inhibition of cocaine-associated memories, helping addicts to stop drug use. This inhibition is achieved through enhancing a process called "extinction learning," in which cocaine-associated memories are replaced with associations that have no drug "reward...

Soldiers, Athletes, Others May Benefit From Potential New Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment

Date: Oct-19-2012
A potential new treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), which affects thousands of soldiers, auto accident victims, athletes and others each year, has shown promise in laboratory research, scientists are reporting. TBI can occur in individuals who experience a violent blow to the head that makes the brain collide with the inside of the skull, a gunshot injury or exposure to a nearby explosion. The report on TBI, which currently cannot be treated and may result in permanent brain damage or death, appears in the journal ACS Nano...