Health News

Higher Workers' Comp Settlements Awarded To White Construction Workers In Illinois

Date: Oct-16-2012
White non-Hispanic construction workers are awarded higher workers' compensation settlements in Illinois than Hispanic or black construction workers with similar injuries and disabilities, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health...

Colorectal Adenoma Risk Unaffected By Folic Acid, Vitamins B6 And 12

Date: Oct-16-2012
Combined folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 supplements had no statistically significant effect on the risk of colorectal adenoma among women who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Between 28% and 35% of the U.S...

For Low-Risk Prostate Cancer, Surgery Or Radiation, Not Monitoring, Most Often Sought

Date: Oct-16-2012
Few physicians recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer rather than pursuing surgery or radiation, according to a Mayo Clinic study presented at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association's annual meeting in Chicago. Mayo Clinic urologists also discussed findings on enlarged prostates, bladder cancer and other research...

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment Lowers Blood Pressure In Men

Date: Oct-16-2012
A new study suggests that when prescribed by physicians in routine practice and used appropriately by patients, treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could reduce blood pressure in men with hypertension. "All types of patients may benefit from this treatment, even those with other chronic medical conditions," said Bharati Prasad, MD, MS, the study's principal investigator. "It's important to now do a prospective study enrolling different types of patients with sleep apnea...

2 Tests Developed For Rapid Diagnosis Of Antibiotic Resistance

Date: Oct-16-2012
With their excellent sensitivity and specificity, the use of these extremely efficient tests on a world-wide scale would allow us to adapt antibiotic treatments to the individual's needs and to be more successful in controlling antibiotic resistance, particularly in hospitals. These works were published in two international reviews: Emerging Infectious diseases and The Journal of Clinical Microbiology...

Bladder Regeneration Discovered In Mammal Model

Date: Oct-16-2012
While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals. Now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine report on the regenerative process that enables rats to re-grow their bladders within eight weeks. In PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, online publication, the scientists characterize this unique model of bladder regeneration with the goal of applying what they learn to human patients...

Fruit Fly Genome Offers New Insights Into The Forces That Shape Genetic Variation

Date: Oct-16-2012
When ancestral humans walked out of Africa tens of thousands of years ago, Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies came along with them. Now the fruit flies, widely used for genetics research, are returning to Africa and establishing new populations alongside flies that never left - offering new insights into the forces that shape genetic variation. That's one of the findings from two new papers published this month by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and their colleagues that describe the genomes of almost 200 strains of the tiny flies...

Hope For New Autoimmune Disease Treatment Using Rare Immune Cells

Date: Oct-15-2012
A new study in mice where researchers replicated a rare type of immune cell in the lab and then infused it back into the body, is raising hope for a new treatment for severe autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers, from Duke University Medical Center in the US, write about their work on a type of B cell, in a paper that was published online in Nature at the weekend. B Cells B cells are immune cells that create antibodies to attack unwanted pathogens like bacteria and viruses...

Insufficient Sleep Increases Insulin Resistance At A Molecular Level

Date: Oct-15-2012
If you are not getting sufficient sleep at night, your body's fat tissue may start to act in a similar way to the fat found in obese or diabetic people. Scientists have known that the chance of developing insulin resistance, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes becomes greater with insufficient sleep.  For example, one study from earlier this month indicated that if teenagers increase the amount of sleep they get each night, they may improve their insulin resistance and prevent the future onset of diabetes...

Males' Childhood ADHD Results In Poor Outcomes During Adulthood

Date: Oct-15-2012
Young boys who are diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) often grow up to become men who have lower educational scores, and worse social and economic outcomes, than those who are not diagnosed with the condition during childhood, according to a recent study published in Archives of General Psychiatry. The report's background information states that ADHD affects about 5% of the population worldwide. Therefore, the "long-term outcomes" of childhood diagnosis of ADHD is concerning. The 33-year follow-up trial, conducted by Rachel G Klein, Ph.D...