Health News

The Hidden Cost Of False-Positive Mammograms

Date: Jun-18-2012
False-positive mammogram results deter women from attending further screening appointments and undermine the effectiveness of breast cancer screening programs, according to a study published in the 18 June issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. Dr Elizabeth Wylie from BreastScreen WA, and coauthors found that 70.7% of Western Australian women with a true-negative screening result returned to screening within 27 months compared with 67.6% of women who received a false-positive result (when a mammogram is positive but there is no breast cancer found with further tests)...

How Often Does Early Breast Cancer Metastasise?

Date: Jun-18-2012
Women diagnosed with early breast cancer can now be offered important information about prognosis according to the authors of research published in the June 18 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. One in ten Australian women diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer will go on to develop the metastatic form of the disease within 5 years - but if the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or adjacent tissue, the risk rises to 1 in 6, according to Dr Sarah Lord from the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney and coauthors...

Children Learn Persistence From Fathers, Study Shows

Date: Jun-18-2012
When the going gets tough, the tough ought to thank their fathers. New research from Brigham Young University shows that dads are in a unique position to help their adolescent children develop persistence. BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 families over several years. And over time, the persistence gained through fathers lead to higher engagement in school and lower rates of delinquency. "In our research we ask 'Can your child stick with a task? Can they finish a project? Can they make a goal and complete it?'" Day said...

Smokers' Recall Of Warning And Health Risks Related To Smoking Improved By Graphic Warning Labels

Date: Jun-18-2012
In a first of its kind study in the U.S., researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that the addition of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging can improve smokers' recall of the warning and health risks associated with smoking. The new findings are published online-first in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine...

New Study Shows Gestational Exposure To BPA Leads To Behavioral Changes For 4 Generations

Date: Jun-18-2012
Exposure to low doses of Bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation had immediate and long-lasting, trans-generational effects on the brain and social behaviors in mice, according to a recent study accepted for publication in the journal Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society. BPA is a man-made chemical present in a variety of products including food containers, receipt paper and dental sealants and is now widely detected in human urine and blood. Public health concerns have been fueled by findings that BPA exposure can influence brain development...

Doctors Ditching Pharma Due To Increased Scrutiny

Date: Jun-18-2012
Many doctors in the US are shying away from invitations to work with pharmaceutical companies due to increased public scrutiny of these controversial relationships, according to an article in the June 18 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. The article by health journalist Ray Moynihan explains that in the US, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act 2009 requires every payment to a health professional be published online. But in Australia "darkness remains", with new proposals for increased transparency nowhere near as comprehensive as the US law...

One Third Of Australians Short On Vitamin D

Date: Jun-18-2012
Almost one in three Australian adults has inadequate vitamin D status, according to a new position statement published in the 18 June issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. Professor Caryl Nowson, Chair of Nutrition and Ageing at Deakin University, and coauthors wrote that vitamin D status had increasingly become a "significant public health issue in Australia and New Zealand" since the previous position statement released in 2005...

Stroke Treatment Using Stem Cells Shows Early Promise In Controversial Trial

Date: Jun-17-2012
A controversial stem cell treatment for stroke is showing promising signs in the early results of a small safety trial. Speaking at an international conference last week, the researchers warn that it is still early days, but so far five of the six patients who have received doses of the stem cells have shown some improvement and there have been no side effects. The hope is that the treatment, by repairing damaged brain tissue, will one day help stroke patients regain some movement and ability to speak...

Policy Changes For 'Underprepared' Prison System Essential For Increase In Elderly Prisoners

Date: Jun-17-2012
Soaring numbers of older, sicker prisoners are causing an unprecedented health care challenge for the nation's criminal justice system, according to a new UCSF report. As the American penal system confronts a costly demographic shift toward older prisoners, the authors call for an overhaul in health care practices for elderly inmates who disproportionately account for escalating medical expenses behind bars. The recommendations include screening for dementia among prisoners, improved palliative care, and standard policies for geriatric housing units for infirm inmates...

How Stomach Bacterium Avoids Acid Revealed By Atomic-Resolution View Of A Receptor

Date: Jun-17-2012
University of Oregon scientists have discovered how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori navigates through the acidic stomach, opening up new possibilities to inactivate its disease-causing ability without using current strategies that often fail or are discontinued because of side effects. Their report - online ahead of regular publication July 3 in the journal Structure - unveils the crystal structure of H. pylori's acid receptor TlpB. The receptor has an external protrusion, identified as a PAS domain, bound by a small molecule called urea and is poised to sense the external environment...