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Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News
Structure Of 'Magic Mint' Receptor Solved At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body.	23 Mar 2012
More Effective Pain Killers And Anti-Addiction Medicines Likely Following Discovery Of Atomic Structure Of Molecule That Binds To Opioids In The Brain Scientists have for the first time determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human opioid receptor, a molecule on the surface of brain cells that binds to opioids and is centrally involved in pleasure, pain, addiction, depression, psychosis, and related conditions.	23 Mar 2012
New Drug Use Consequences Test For Primary Care Physicians Validated By Researchers Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have conducted a study on a modified version of the Short Inventory of Problems (SIP) to help promote early intervention and treatment for patients with drug use in primary care.	23 Mar 2012

Alzheimer's / Dementia News
Experts Challenge FDA Over Approval For New Dose Of Alzheimer's Drug In a report published on bmj.com a team of experts argue that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval for a new 23 mg dose of Donepezil (a drug for Alzheimer's disease), has "breached the FDA's own regulatory standard" and has resulted in "incomplete and distorted messages" about the medication.	23 Mar 2012
Predicting Future Disease Patterns In Dementia Years Before They Occur Using Computer Model Of Prion-Like Spread Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed a computer program that has tracked the manner in which different forms of dementia spread within a human brain. They say their mathematic model can be used to predict where and approximately when an individual patient's brain will suffer from the spread, neuron to neuron, of "prion-like" toxic proteins - a process they say underlies all forms of dementia.	23 Mar 2012
High Body Mass Index : Low Cognitive Performance Journal Age and Ageing has an article this week, showing that older adults with a high body mass index (BMI) are more likely to suffer from a lower cognitive function. The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, comments that:"Our findings have important public health implications.	23 Mar 2012
Brain Imaging Studies Suggest That Alzheimer's Disease Spreads Through Linked Nerve Cells Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia may spread within nerve networks in the brain by moving directly between connected neurons, instead of in other ways proposed by scientists, such as by propagating in all directions, according to researchers who report the finding in the journal Neuron.	23 Mar 2012

Anxiety / Stress News
Breast Cancer Patients Benefit From Stress Management A team of researchers led by Michael H. Antoni, director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology Research at the University of Miami (UM) has shown that a stress management program tailored to women with breast cancer can alter tumor-promoting processes at the molecular level.	23 Mar 2012
Stress-Induced Cortisol Facilitates Threat-Related Decision Making Among Police Officers Research by Columbia Business School's Modupe Akinola, Assistant Professor, Management, and Wendy Berry Mendes, Associate Professor, Sarlo/Ekman Endowed Chair of Emotion, University of California San Francisco in Behavioral Neuroscience examines how increases in cortisol, brought on by an acute social stressor, can influence threat-related decision making.	23 Mar 2012
Differences Revealed In Brain Function For Children With Math Anxiety Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time how brain function differs in people who have math anxiety from those who don't.A series of scans conducted while second- and third-grade students did addition and subtraction revealed that those who feel panicky about doing math had increased activity in brain regions associated with fear, which caused decreased activity in parts of the brain involved in problem-solving.	23 Mar 2012
Reliable Evidence For Links Between Social Status And Heart Disease In Humans Unlikely To Be Provided By Studies In Monkeys Studies in monkeys are unlikely to provide reliable evidence for links between social status and heart disease in humans, according to the first ever systematic review of the relevant research.	23 Mar 2012

Autism News
Identification Of Gene Expression Abnormalities In Autism A study led by Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has, for the first time, identified in young autism patients genetic mechanisms involved in abnormal early brain development and overgrowth that occurs in the disorder.	23 Mar 2012

Bones / Orthopedics News
Joint Pain Common Among Obese People The most recent News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reveals that in 2009, joint pain was experienced by 58% of obese adults aged 20+ in the USA and nearly 69% of extremely obese adults.	23 Mar 2012
Bisphosphonates May Have Protective Effect On Endometrial Cancer Low bone density medications, such as Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel, may have a protective effect for endometrial cancer, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital.Endometrial cancer affects more than 45,000 women a year in the U.	23 Mar 2012
Vast Geographic Variation In Hip Fracture Risk Revealed By New Study An extensive study of country-specific risk of hip fracture and 10-year probability of a major fragility fracture has revealed a remarkably large geographic variation in fracture risk. Even accounting for possible errors or limitations in the source data, there was an astonishing 10-fold variation in hip fracture risk and fracture probability between countries.	23 Mar 2012

Breast Cancer News
Some Breast Cancer Patients Spared Chemotherapy By New Genomic Test Testing a breast cancer tumour for its genomic signature can help identify which patients will need adjuvant systemic therapy (additional chemotherapy) after surgery, and spare its use in those for whom it is not necessary, according to the results of a study presented to the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8).	23 Mar 2012
5 Years Later, Radiotherapy For DCIS Still Protects Against Recurrence Radiotherapy treatment (RT) after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) [1] still has a major protective effect against recurrence more than 15 years later, according to the results of an international trial.	23 Mar 2012
Symptoms Of Treatment-Induced Menopause In Breast Cancer Patients Eased By Non-Drug Treatments Researchers from The Netherlands have found that the menopausal symptoms caused by giving chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to younger women with breast cancer can be ameliorated considerably through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)[1] and physical exercise (PE).	23 Mar 2012
Breast Cancer Patients Benefit From Stress Management A team of researchers led by Michael H. Antoni, director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology Research at the University of Miami (UM) has shown that a stress management program tailored to women with breast cancer can alter tumor-promoting processes at the molecular level.	23 Mar 2012
Potential To Predict And Detect Breast Cancer With The Help Of 'Obscurins' In Breast Tissue A new discovery published online in The FASEB Journal may lead to a new tool to help physicians assess breast cancer risk as well as diagnose the disease. In the report, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, explain how proteins, called "obscurins," once believed to only be in muscle cells, act as "tumor suppressor genes" in the breast.	23 Mar 2012
Circulating Tumour Cells Predict Chances Of Survival And Can Help Target Breast Cancer Treatment Detecting the presence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood of women with early breast cancer after surgery but before the start of chemotherapy can provide useful information about their chances of surviving the disease.	23 Mar 2012
Medical Staff Confuse Women With Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: Is It Breast Cancer, Or Not? Women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) need clear communication and tailored support to enable them to understand this complex breast condition, which has divided the medical profession when it comes to its perception and prognosis.	23 Mar 2012

Cancer / Oncology News
Predicting Chemo Side Effects - Understanding Individual Genetic Variations Researchers have discovered a method that allows scientists to predict which patients are most likely to suffer serious side effects from chemotherapy. The finding was made in the currently largest study ever on the effects of genetic variability on the toxicity of chemotherapy in breast cancer.	23 Mar 2012
Potential Combination Therapy For Esophageal Cancer Researchers have identified a non-traditional pathway for stimulating a cancer-promoting protein into the cell nucleus that could be a potential combination therapy for esophageal cancer. The finding suggests a resistance mechanism for new drugs that attack the Hedgehog pathway.	23 Mar 2012
In The Age Of Information, Physicians Are Still The Most Trusted Source For Parents Of Children With Cancer Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child's illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study.	23 Mar 2012
IBM Watson Computer To Assist Oncologists Watson, the IBM computer that gained fame by beating human contestants on the US television game show Jeopardy! in February 2011, is to play a new role in helping oncologists diagnose and treat cancer.	23 Mar 2012
Bisphosphonates May Have Protective Effect On Endometrial Cancer Low bone density medications, such as Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel, may have a protective effect for endometrial cancer, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital.Endometrial cancer affects more than 45,000 women a year in the U.	23 Mar 2012
Daily Aspirin - More Benefit Than Risk? Many people take a low dose of aspirin every day to lower their risk of a further heart attack or stroke, or if they have a high risk of either. While the anticipated benefit is a lower chance of vascular disease, taking daily aspirin is not without danger: for instance it raises the risk of internal bleeding.	23 Mar 2012
New Evidence Of Cancer-Causing Agent Present In Gaseous Phase Of Cigarette Smoke A team of researchers led by A. K. Rajasekaran, PhD, Director of the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research, has shown that a key protein involved in cell function and regulation is stopped by a substance present in cigarette smoke.	23 Mar 2012
Study Of Selenium Metabolism Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it possesses the anti-tumour properties that have been attributed to it and yet have not been verified through clinical trials.	23 Mar 2012

Cardiovascular / Cardiology News
Daily Aspirin - More Benefit Than Risk? Many people take a low dose of aspirin every day to lower their risk of a further heart attack or stroke, or if they have a high risk of either. While the anticipated benefit is a lower chance of vascular disease, taking daily aspirin is not without danger: for instance it raises the risk of internal bleeding.	23 Mar 2012
New Heart Attack Predicting Blood Test Developed A blood test that can predict whether a person is at high risk of suffering from a heart attack has been developed by researchers at Scripps Translational Science Institute, and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.	23 Mar 2012
Paramedics Can Play A Key Role In Speedy Care For Heart Attack Patients Health care practitioners have long understood the importance of "door to balloon" time for heart attack patients - the faster they can get the patient from the door of the hospital to a catheterization lab to open a clogged artery, the better the patient will do.	23 Mar 2012

Clinical Trials / Drug Trials News
Circulating Tumour Cells Predict Chances Of Survival And Can Help Target Breast Cancer Treatment Detecting the presence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood of women with early breast cancer after surgery but before the start of chemotherapy can provide useful information about their chances of surviving the disease.	23 Mar 2012

Conferences News
KOL Management & MSL Best Practice In Europe Conference, 2-3 July 2012, Basel, Switzerland SMi are proud to present their 4th annual KOL Management & MSL Best Practice in Europe conference taking place on 2nd & 3rd July 2012, in Basel, Switzerland. The 2012 event will bring together senior Pharma executives and key opinion leaders to discuss current issues in the field.	23 Mar 2012
7th Annual ADMET Conference, 9-10 July 2012, London SMi are proud to present their 7th annual ADMET conference on 9th & 10th July 2012 in London, ADMET studies perform a vital role in the drug discovery process. This conference will address the barriers that are currently faced by the PK/PD community and also how recent discoveries have improved the understanding of the mechanisms involved in ADME-Tox.	23 Mar 2012
Generics, Supergenerics And Patent Strategies Conference, 14-15 May 2012, London Strategic considerations for developing a value added genericThe pharmaceutical generics industry is a fast moving and is a consistently expanding one. With the much referenced patent cliff rapidly approaching, all businesses are looking to generics for a source of additional revenue.	23 Mar 2012

COPD News
Improved Understanding Of COPD The third most deadly disease in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs.	23 Mar 2012

Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery News
Inhibitor Causing Male Pattern Baldness Discovered A study published in Science Translational Medicine, from the University of Pennsylvania, explains that scientists looking for the holy grail in beauty treatment have discovered an abnormal quantity of a protein, called Prostaglandin D2, present in the scalp of bald men, that they think may be responsible for their hair loss.	23 Mar 2012

Dentistry News

The Oral Health Care Workforce: Multipronged Research On Dental Therapy During the 41st Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 36th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, a symposium titled "Building the Oral Health Care Workforce: Multipronged Research on Dental Therapy" took place to help attendees understand opportunities for effective utilization of new workforce models in nontraditional settings within the oral health care community.

23 Mar 2012

Depression News
Structure Of 'Magic Mint' Receptor Solved At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body.	23 Mar 2012
Those Without A Sense Of Smell Suffer Enhanced Social Insecurity People born without a sense of smell experience higher social insecurity and increased risk for depression, according to a study published Mar. 21 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.The authors of the study, led by Ilona Croy of the University of Dresden Medical School in Germany, investigated 32 individuals born without a sense of smell, known as isolated congenital anosmia.	23 Mar 2012

Dermatology News
Inhibitor Causing Male Pattern Baldness Discovered A study published in Science Translational Medicine, from the University of Pennsylvania, explains that scientists looking for the holy grail in beauty treatment have discovered an abnormal quantity of a protein, called Prostaglandin D2, present in the scalp of bald men, that they think may be responsible for their hair loss.	23 Mar 2012

Ear, Nose and Throat News
Potential Combination Therapy For Esophageal Cancer Researchers have identified a non-traditional pathway for stimulating a cancer-promoting protein into the cell nucleus that could be a potential combination therapy for esophageal cancer. The finding suggests a resistance mechanism for new drugs that attack the Hedgehog pathway.	23 Mar 2012
Sudden Hearing Loss - First National Guidelines Published The first national treatment guideline for sudden hearing loss has been developed by a panel of 19 medical experts led by Robert J. Stachler, M.D., an otolaryngologist in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.	23 Mar 2012
Those Without A Sense Of Smell Suffer Enhanced Social Insecurity People born without a sense of smell experience higher social insecurity and increased risk for depression, according to a study published Mar. 21 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.The authors of the study, led by Ilona Croy of the University of Dresden Medical School in Germany, investigated 32 individuals born without a sense of smell, known as isolated congenital anosmia.	23 Mar 2012

Eye Health / Blindness News
Discovery Of New Functions Of Brain Regions That Are Responsible For Seeing Movement When observing a fly buzzing around the room, we should have the impression that it is not the fly, but rather the space that lies behind it that is moving. After all, the fly is always fixed in our central point of view.	23 Mar 2012

Fertility News

Maternal-Fetal Interactions And A Successful Pregnancy Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. Gerard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Universite Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine Beclere, Clamart Cedex, France (now in Hopital Saint Louis, Paris), trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders.

23 Mar 2012

Genetics News
Predicting Chemo Side Effects - Understanding Individual Genetic Variations Researchers have discovered a method that allows scientists to predict which patients are most likely to suffer serious side effects from chemotherapy. The finding was made in the currently largest study ever on the effects of genetic variability on the toxicity of chemotherapy in breast cancer.	23 Mar 2012
Identification Of Gene Expression Abnormalities In Autism A study led by Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has, for the first time, identified in young autism patients genetic mechanisms involved in abnormal early brain development and overgrowth that occurs in the disorder.	23 Mar 2012
Some Breast Cancer Patients Spared Chemotherapy By New Genomic Test Testing a breast cancer tumour for its genomic signature can help identify which patients will need adjuvant systemic therapy (additional chemotherapy) after surgery, and spare its use in those for whom it is not necessary, according to the results of a study presented to the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8).	23 Mar 2012

Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News
Affordable Care Act's Patients' Bill Of Rights: Nearly All States Have Taken Action As the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that 49 states and the District of Columbia have already taken action supporting the law's implementation, such as passing legislation, issuing regulations or other guidance, or actively reviewing insurer filings.	23 Mar 2012

Hearing / Deafness News
Sudden Hearing Loss - First National Guidelines Published The first national treatment guideline for sudden hearing loss has been developed by a panel of 19 medical experts led by Robert J. Stachler, M.D., an otolaryngologist in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.	23 Mar 2012

Heart Disease News
New Heart Attack Predicting Blood Test Developed A blood test that can predict whether a person is at high risk of suffering from a heart attack has been developed by researchers at Scripps Translational Science Institute, and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.	23 Mar 2012
Reliable Evidence For Links Between Social Status And Heart Disease In Humans Unlikely To Be Provided By Studies In Monkeys Studies in monkeys are unlikely to provide reliable evidence for links between social status and heart disease in humans, according to the first ever systematic review of the relevant research.	23 Mar 2012

HIV / AIDS News
Study Of Selenium Metabolism Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it possesses the anti-tumour properties that have been attributed to it and yet have not been verified through clinical trials.	23 Mar 2012

Immune System / Vaccines News
Maternal-Fetal Interactions And A Successful Pregnancy Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. Gerard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Universite Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine Beclere, Clamart Cedex, France (now in Hopital Saint Louis, Paris), trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders.	23 Mar 2012
Powerful Immunosupressant Cells Obtained From Cheek Tissue Could Be Key To Immune System Disease Powerful new cells created by Cardiff University scientists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system.While the body's immune system protects against many diseases, it can also be harmful.	23 Mar 2012

Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses News
New Strain Of Whooping Cough Causing Concern Australia's prolonged whooping cough epidemic has entered a disturbing new phase, with a study showing a new strain or genotype capable of evading the vaccine may be responsible for the sharp rise in the number of cases.	23 Mar 2012

Irritable-Bowel Syndrome News
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Returning Veterans Last August, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented a new assessment rule for disability benefits, given that a high rate of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experience irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.	23 Mar 2012

IT / Internet / E-mail News
In The Age Of Information, Physicians Are Still The Most Trusted Source For Parents Of Children With Cancer Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child's illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study.	23 Mar 2012
IBM Watson Computer To Assist Oncologists Watson, the IBM computer that gained fame by beating human contestants on the US television game show Jeopardy! in February 2011, is to play a new role in helping oncologists diagnose and treat cancer.	23 Mar 2012
Predicting Future Disease Patterns In Dementia Years Before They Occur Using Computer Model Of Prion-Like Spread Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed a computer program that has tracked the manner in which different forms of dementia spread within a human brain. They say their mathematic model can be used to predict where and approximately when an individual patient's brain will suffer from the spread, neuron to neuron, of "prion-like" toxic proteins - a process they say underlies all forms of dementia.	23 Mar 2012
Video Capture And Other Automated Systems Lead To Reduction In Medical Errors USC Marshall study finds video capture and other automated systems cut down medical errors and minimize the tendency to operate outside normal procedures.The Conrad Murray case can obfuscate that the vast majority of grave medical errors happen in hospitals - the places we think are most safe - and are often the result of bad systems.	23 Mar 2012

Lung Cancer News
New Evidence Of Cancer-Causing Agent Present In Gaseous Phase Of Cigarette Smoke A team of researchers led by A. K. Rajasekaran, PhD, Director of the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research, has shown that a key protein involved in cell function and regulation is stopped by a substance present in cigarette smoke.	23 Mar 2012

Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma News
Plerixafor Improves Acute Myeloid Leukemia Chemo Efficacy According to a study published in the journal Blood, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have demonstrated that an investigational drug called plerixafor makes chemotherapy more effective in treating acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.	23 Mar 2012

Medical Devices / Diagnostics News
IBM Watson Computer To Assist Oncologists Watson, the IBM computer that gained fame by beating human contestants on the US television game show Jeopardy! in February 2011, is to play a new role in helping oncologists diagnose and treat cancer.	23 Mar 2012

Medical Students / Training News
Workshop Aims To Reduce Mortality In Childbirth For Malian Mothers In the hope of reducing maternal mortality in a region where 1 woman in 31 loses her life as she carries or gives birth to her baby*, a workshop was organized in Mali by the Global Health Initiative of the University of Montreal Superhospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and the Government of Mali's Ministry of Health.	23 Mar 2012

Menopause News
Symptoms Of Treatment-Induced Menopause In Breast Cancer Patients Eased By Non-Drug Treatments Researchers from The Netherlands have found that the menopausal symptoms caused by giving chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to younger women with breast cancer can be ameliorated considerably through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)[1] and physical exercise (PE).	23 Mar 2012

MRI / PET / Ultrasound News
Brain Imaging Studies Suggest That Alzheimer's Disease Spreads Through Linked Nerve Cells Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia may spread within nerve networks in the brain by moving directly between connected neurons, instead of in other ways proposed by scientists, such as by propagating in all directions, according to researchers who report the finding in the journal Neuron.	23 Mar 2012

Neurology / Neuroscience News
Anxiety Makes Brain Poor At Math For Some Children A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine is published this week in Psychological Science showing that children who experience difficulty with math exhibit an altered brain function from anxiety.	23 Mar 2012
More Effective Pain Killers And Anti-Addiction Medicines Likely Following Discovery Of Atomic Structure Of Molecule That Binds To Opioids In The Brain Scientists have for the first time determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human opioid receptor, a molecule on the surface of brain cells that binds to opioids and is centrally involved in pleasure, pain, addiction, depression, psychosis, and related conditions.	23 Mar 2012
Discovery Of New Functions Of Brain Regions That Are Responsible For Seeing Movement When observing a fly buzzing around the room, we should have the impression that it is not the fly, but rather the space that lies behind it that is moving. After all, the fly is always fixed in our central point of view.	23 Mar 2012
New Mechanism Revealed For How The Cerebellum Extracts Signal From Noise Research at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) has demonstrated the novel expression of an ion channel in Purkinje cells - specialized neurons in the cerebellum, the area of the brain responsible for movement.	23 Mar 2012

Nursing / Midwifery News
Workshop Aims To Reduce Mortality In Childbirth For Malian Mothers In the hope of reducing maternal mortality in a region where 1 woman in 31 loses her life as she carries or gives birth to her baby*, a workshop was organized in Mali by the Global Health Initiative of the University of Montreal Superhospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and the Government of Mali's Ministry of Health.	23 Mar 2012

Nutrition / Diet News
Study Of Selenium Metabolism Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it possesses the anti-tumour properties that have been attributed to it and yet have not been verified through clinical trials.	23 Mar 2012

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News
Combating Childhood Obesity, The Budget Case - Rep. Ron Kind and Donna Katen-Bahensky Parents' biggest health concern nowadays is the obesity epidemic that affects one-third of American children. Their concerns are shared by policymakers, business leaders and health care professionals, who recognize that childhood obesity is not just a serious health epidemic, but that it also represents a serious problem for the budget.	23 Mar 2012
Joint Pain Common Among Obese People The most recent News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reveals that in 2009, joint pain was experienced by 58% of obese adults aged 20+ in the USA and nearly 69% of extremely obese adults.	23 Mar 2012
High Body Mass Index : Low Cognitive Performance Journal Age and Ageing has an article this week, showing that older adults with a high body mass index (BMI) are more likely to suffer from a lower cognitive function. The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, comments that:"Our findings have important public health implications.	23 Mar 2012

Pain / Anesthetics News
Structure Of 'Magic Mint' Receptor Solved At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body.	23 Mar 2012
Anesthesia And Unconsciousness: NIST Findings Awaken Age-Old Question Why does inhaling anesthetics cause unconsciousness? New insights into this century-and-a-half-old question may spring from research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).	23 Mar 2012
More Effective Pain Killers And Anti-Addiction Medicines Likely Following Discovery Of Atomic Structure Of Molecule That Binds To Opioids In The Brain Scientists have for the first time determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human opioid receptor, a molecule on the surface of brain cells that binds to opioids and is centrally involved in pleasure, pain, addiction, depression, psychosis, and related conditions.	23 Mar 2012

Pediatrics / Children's Health News
Anxiety Makes Brain Poor At Math For Some Children A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine is published this week in Psychological Science showing that children who experience difficulty with math exhibit an altered brain function from anxiety.	23 Mar 2012
Combating Childhood Obesity, The Budget Case - Rep. Ron Kind and Donna Katen-Bahensky Parents' biggest health concern nowadays is the obesity epidemic that affects one-third of American children. Their concerns are shared by policymakers, business leaders and health care professionals, who recognize that childhood obesity is not just a serious health epidemic, but that it also represents a serious problem for the budget.	23 Mar 2012
In The Age Of Information, Physicians Are Still The Most Trusted Source For Parents Of Children With Cancer Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child's illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study.	23 Mar 2012
Second Hand Smoke Exposure Affects Majority Of Fourth Graders More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.	23 Mar 2012
New Strain Of Whooping Cough Causing Concern Australia's prolonged whooping cough epidemic has entered a disturbing new phase, with a study showing a new strain or genotype capable of evading the vaccine may be responsible for the sharp rise in the number of cases.	23 Mar 2012

Pregnancy / Obstetrics News
Workshop Aims To Reduce Mortality In Childbirth For Malian Mothers In the hope of reducing maternal mortality in a region where 1 woman in 31 loses her life as she carries or gives birth to her baby*, a workshop was organized in Mali by the Global Health Initiative of the University of Montreal Superhospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and the Government of Mali's Ministry of Health.	23 Mar 2012
Maternal-Fetal Interactions And A Successful Pregnancy Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. Gerard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Universite Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine Beclere, Clamart Cedex, France (now in Hopital Saint Louis, Paris), trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders.	23 Mar 2012

Preventive Medicine News
Daily Aspirin - More Benefit Than Risk? Many people take a low dose of aspirin every day to lower their risk of a further heart attack or stroke, or if they have a high risk of either. While the anticipated benefit is a lower chance of vascular disease, taking daily aspirin is not without danger: for instance it raises the risk of internal bleeding.	23 Mar 2012

Primary Care / General Practice News
New Drug Use Consequences Test For Primary Care Physicians Validated By Researchers Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have conducted a study on a modified version of the Short Inventory of Problems (SIP) to help promote early intervention and treatment for patients with drug use in primary care.	23 Mar 2012
Video Capture And Other Automated Systems Lead To Reduction In Medical Errors USC Marshall study finds video capture and other automated systems cut down medical errors and minimize the tendency to operate outside normal procedures.The Conrad Murray case can obfuscate that the vast majority of grave medical errors happen in hospitals - the places we think are most safe - and are often the result of bad systems.	23 Mar 2012

Prostate / Prostate Cancer News
Hope For New Prostate Cancer Treatments A recent study conducted at Marshall University may eventually help scientists develop new treatments for prostate cancer, the most common malignancy in American men.The study, which focused on the effects of cadmium on the prostate, was conducted by Dr.	23 Mar 2012

Psychology / Psychiatry News
Anxiety Makes Brain Poor At Math For Some Children A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine is published this week in Psychological Science showing that children who experience difficulty with math exhibit an altered brain function from anxiety.	23 Mar 2012
New Research Shows That Holding A Gun Makes You Think Others Are Too Wielding a gun increases a person's bias to see guns in the hands of others, new research from the University of Notre Dame shows.Notre Dame Associate Professor of Psychology James Brockmole, who specializes in human cognition and how the visual world guides behavior, together with a colleague from Purdue University, conducted the study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Perception and Performance.	23 Mar 2012
Symptoms Of Treatment-Induced Menopause In Breast Cancer Patients Eased By Non-Drug Treatments Researchers from The Netherlands have found that the menopausal symptoms caused by giving chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to younger women with breast cancer can be ameliorated considerably through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)[1] and physical exercise (PE).	23 Mar 2012
Breast Cancer Patients Benefit From Stress Management A team of researchers led by Michael H. Antoni, director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology Research at the University of Miami (UM) has shown that a stress management program tailored to women with breast cancer can alter tumor-promoting processes at the molecular level.	23 Mar 2012
Stress-Induced Cortisol Facilitates Threat-Related Decision Making Among Police Officers Research by Columbia Business School's Modupe Akinola, Assistant Professor, Management, and Wendy Berry Mendes, Associate Professor, Sarlo/Ekman Endowed Chair of Emotion, University of California San Francisco in Behavioral Neuroscience examines how increases in cortisol, brought on by an acute social stressor, can influence threat-related decision making.	23 Mar 2012
Differences Revealed In Brain Function For Children With Math Anxiety Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time how brain function differs in people who have math anxiety from those who don't.A series of scans conducted while second- and third-grade students did addition and subtraction revealed that those who feel panicky about doing math had increased activity in brain regions associated with fear, which caused decreased activity in parts of the brain involved in problem-solving.	23 Mar 2012

Public Health News
New Research Shows That Holding A Gun Makes You Think Others Are Too Wielding a gun increases a person's bias to see guns in the hands of others, new research from the University of Notre Dame shows.Notre Dame Associate Professor of Psychology James Brockmole, who specializes in human cognition and how the visual world guides behavior, together with a colleague from Purdue University, conducted the study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Perception and Performance.	23 Mar 2012
Affordable Care Act's Patients' Bill Of Rights: Nearly All States Have Taken Action As the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that 49 states and the District of Columbia have already taken action supporting the law's implementation, such as passing legislation, issuing regulations or other guidance, or actively reviewing insurer filings.	23 Mar 2012
Paramedics Can Play A Key Role In Speedy Care For Heart Attack Patients Health care practitioners have long understood the importance of "door to balloon" time for heart attack patients - the faster they can get the patient from the door of the hospital to a catheterization lab to open a clogged artery, the better the patient will do.	23 Mar 2012
In States That Allow Conjugal Visitation, Sexual Offenses Between Inmates Occur Less Frequently Could widespread conjugal visitation reduce sexual offending in prisons? It's a possibility, according to Stewart D'Alessio and his team from Florida International University in the US. Their work shows that in states where conjugal visits are permitted, there are significantly fewer instances of reported rape and other sexual offenses in their prisons.	23 Mar 2012
Stress-Induced Cortisol Facilitates Threat-Related Decision Making Among Police Officers Research by Columbia Business School's Modupe Akinola, Assistant Professor, Management, and Wendy Berry Mendes, Associate Professor, Sarlo/Ekman Endowed Chair of Emotion, University of California San Francisco in Behavioral Neuroscience examines how increases in cortisol, brought on by an acute social stressor, can influence threat-related decision making.	23 Mar 2012
Video Capture And Other Automated Systems Lead To Reduction In Medical Errors USC Marshall study finds video capture and other automated systems cut down medical errors and minimize the tendency to operate outside normal procedures.The Conrad Murray case can obfuscate that the vast majority of grave medical errors happen in hospitals - the places we think are most safe - and are often the result of bad systems.	23 Mar 2012

Radiology / Nuclear Medicine News
5 Years Later, Radiotherapy For DCIS Still Protects Against Recurrence Radiotherapy treatment (RT) after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) [1] still has a major protective effect against recurrence more than 15 years later, according to the results of an international trial.	23 Mar 2012

Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals News
Experts Challenge FDA Over Approval For New Dose Of Alzheimer's Drug In a report published on bmj.com a team of experts argue that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval for a new 23 mg dose of Donepezil (a drug for Alzheimer's disease), has "breached the FDA's own regulatory standard" and has resulted in "incomplete and distorted messages" about the medication.	23 Mar 2012

Respiratory / Asthma News
Second Hand Smoke Exposure Affects Majority Of Fourth Graders More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.	23 Mar 2012
New Strain Of Whooping Cough Causing Concern Australia's prolonged whooping cough epidemic has entered a disturbing new phase, with a study showing a new strain or genotype capable of evading the vaccine may be responsible for the sharp rise in the number of cases.	23 Mar 2012

Seniors / Aging News
High Body Mass Index : Low Cognitive Performance Journal Age and Ageing has an article this week, showing that older adults with a high body mass index (BMI) are more likely to suffer from a lower cognitive function. The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, comments that:"Our findings have important public health implications.	23 Mar 2012

Sexual Health / STDs News
First National Survey Of OB-GYN Sex History Screening Practices Confirms Narrow Focus How often does your doctor ask about your sexual life?Unfortunately, the answer may be: not often enough. Leaving the subject off the check-up checklist could mean missing an important link to overall wellness.	23 Mar 2012
In States That Allow Conjugal Visitation, Sexual Offenses Between Inmates Occur Less Frequently Could widespread conjugal visitation reduce sexual offending in prisons? It's a possibility, according to Stewart D'Alessio and his team from Florida International University in the US. Their work shows that in states where conjugal visits are permitted, there are significantly fewer instances of reported rape and other sexual offenses in their prisons.	23 Mar 2012

Smoking / Quit Smoking News
Improved Understanding Of COPD The third most deadly disease in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs.	23 Mar 2012
Second Hand Smoke Exposure Affects Majority Of Fourth Graders More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.	23 Mar 2012
New Evidence Of Cancer-Causing Agent Present In Gaseous Phase Of Cigarette Smoke A team of researchers led by A. K. Rajasekaran, PhD, Director of the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research, has shown that a key protein involved in cell function and regulation is stopped by a substance present in cigarette smoke.	23 Mar 2012

Statins News
Improved Understanding Of COPD The third most deadly disease in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs.	23 Mar 2012

Stem Cell Research News
Powerful Immunosupressant Cells Obtained From Cheek Tissue Could Be Key To Immune System Disease Powerful new cells created by Cardiff University scientists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system.While the body's immune system protects against many diseases, it can also be harmful.	23 Mar 2012

Tropical Diseases News
Dengue Virus - Targeting Enzymes and Lipids According to a study published in the March 22 issue of the Open Access Journal PLoS Pathogens, enzymes and biochemical compounds called lipids that are targeted and altered during infection by the dengue virus have been identified by a team of researchers from Purdue University.	23 Mar 2012

Tuberculosis News
TB Rate Lowest Since 1953, USA The rate of new TB (tuberculosis) cases in the USA in 2011 was the lowest since 1953, when official records began, says a new report issued by MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), CDC.	23 Mar 2012

Veterans / Ex-Servicemen News
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Returning Veterans Last August, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented a new assessment rule for disability benefits, given that a high rate of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experience irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.	23 Mar 2012

Women's Health / Gynecology News
Bisphosphonates May Have Protective Effect On Endometrial Cancer Low bone density medications, such as Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel, may have a protective effect for endometrial cancer, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital.Endometrial cancer affects more than 45,000 women a year in the U.	23 Mar 2012
First National Survey Of OB-GYN Sex History Screening Practices Confirms Narrow Focus How often does your doctor ask about your sexual life?Unfortunately, the answer may be: not often enough. Leaving the subject off the check-up checklist could mean missing an important link to overall wellness.	23 Mar 2012

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