Health News

Natural Defence Against Infection Discovered In The Cornea

Date: Sep-26-2012
Exposed tissue surfaces, including skin and mucous membranes, are under constant threat of attack by microorganisms in the environment. The layer of cells that line these areas, known as epithelial cells, are the first line of defense against these pathogens, but the underlying molecular mechanisms that allow them to repel microbes are unknown...

Inner City Infants Have Different Patterns Of Viral Respiratory Illness Than Infants In The Suburbs

Date: Sep-26-2012
Children living in low-income urban areas appear especially prone to developing asthma, possibly related to infections they acquire early in life. In a new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, available online, researchers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison investigated viral respiratory illnesses and their possible role in the development of asthma in urban versus suburban babies. The differences in viral illness patterns they found provide insights that could help guide the development of new asthma treatments in children...

Novartis Announces Two CHMP Positive Opinions For New Indications Of Galvus® And Eucreas® Combined With Other Diabetes Treatments

Date: Sep-26-2012
Novartis has announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued two positive opinions for new indications for the use of Galvus® (vildagliptin) and Eucreas® (vildagliptin and metformin) in combination with other treatments for type 2 diabetes patients1. The first positive opinion was for vildagliptin in combination with insulin, with or without metformin, for patients with type 2 diabetes when diet, exercise and a stable dose of insulin do not result in glycemic control1...

Reproducing Nature's Elusive Complexity Using New Chemistry Technique

Date: Sep-26-2012
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown how to synthesize in the laboratory an important set of natural compounds known as terpenes. The largest class of chemicals made by living organisms, terpenes are made within cells by some of the most complex chemical reactions found in biology. The new technique, described in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry, mimics a crucial but obscure biochemical phenomenon that allows cells to make terpenes...

Researchers Manipulate Neurons In Worms' Brains And Take Control Of Their Behavior

Date: Sep-26-2012
In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's brain, instruct it to turn in any direction they choose, and even to implant false sensory information, fooling the animal into thinking food was nearby...

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: 25 September 2012 Online Issue

Date: Sep-26-2012
1. Evidence Review: Behavioral Counseling Interventions Can Reduce Problem Drinking  Alcohol misuse is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States after tobacco use and being overweight. About 30 percent of the U.S. population admits to alcohol misuse, with most engaging in what is considered risky drinking, or drinking more than is recommended during a given time period. Researchers reviewed 23 randomized, controlled trials that lasted at least six months in duration to evaluate the effect of behavioral counseling interventions on reducing alcohol misuse...

The Benefits Of Treatment For Alcoholism Reach Their Famiiles Too

Date: Sep-26-2012
The financial effects of alcoholism on the family members of addicts can be massive, but little is known about whether treatment for alcoholism reduces that financial burden. A study of 48 German families published online in the journal Addiction reveals that after twelve months of treatment, family costs directly related to a family member's alcoholism decreased from an average of 676.44 euros (529.91 pounds, 832.26 US dollars) per month to an average of 145.40 euros (113.90 pounds, 178.89 dollars) per month. Put another way, average costs attributable to alcoholism decreased from 20.2% to 4...

Risk Of Pregnancy Complications Increased If Mother Born Preterm: Risk Almost Double For Women Born Under 32 Weeks

Date: Sep-26-2012
Women who were born preterm are at increased risk of complications during pregnancy compared to those born at term, and the risk almost doubles for mothers born before 32 weeks, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Pregnancy complications include gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia or eclampsia. The findings are based on a study of 7405 women born preterm and 16 714 women born at term between 1976 and 1995 in the province of Quebec. Of the preterm women, 554 were less than 32 weeks at birth and 6851 were at 32 weeks' gestation...

The Implications Of Increase In Female Family Physicians And The Effects On Patient Care And The Profession

Date: Sep-26-2012
With more women in family medicine in Canada, what does this mean for the specialty and the profession, for patients and for society, asks a Salon opinion piece in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Female family physicians (FPs) now outnumber males, with 50.6% of the profession now female; this trend will continue as older, mainly male, physicians retire. These changing demographics will have implications for the way medicine is practised and for patients. Female FPs practise differently than men, working fewer hours (47 v...

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: September 24, 2012

Date: Sep-26-2012
New insight into hyperporlactinemia-associated infertility Hyperprolactinemia, the presence of abnormally high levels of the hormone prolactin, is a well-established cause of infertility in women in their 20s and 30s. This hormone imbalance is frequently associated with low levels of gonadotrophic-releasing hormone (GnRH), a lack of ovulation, and a decrease in menstruation; however, the molecular mechanisms by which excess prolactin causes infertility are unclear...