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Chitin compound causes allergic inflammation

The beetle's back and the crab's shell owe their toughness to a common compound called chitin that now appears to trigger airway inflammation and possibly asthma, UCSF scientists have found.

24 Apr 2007

Depression linked to development of diabetes in older adults

Older adults who have had symptoms of depression,whether those symptoms occurred once, increased or remained steady over a 10-year period,may be more likely to develop diabetes than those without depressive symptoms, according to a report in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Apr 2007

No strong evidence of racial disparities in survival between African-Americans and Caucasians with colon cancer

Correcting social, economic and healthcare inequalities may have the most significant impact in reducing survival differences in colorectal cancer (CRC) between African Americans and Caucasians, according to a new study.

24 Apr 2007

Discovery of new virus

Scientists in the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues in the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia and 454 Life Sciences have discovered a new virus that was responsible for the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia.

24 Apr 2007

Obesity may be associated with disability in workers

Obese individuals appear more likely to file workers, compensation claims for injuries on the job, according to a report in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Apr 2007

Neither induced abortion nor miscarriage associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women

Neither induced abortion nor spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) appears to be associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women, according to a report in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Apr 2007

Migraine associated with increased risk of subsequent major cardiovascular disease in men

Men with migraine headaches may be at an increased risk for major cardiovascular disease and especially heart attacks, according to a report in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Apr 2007

Exercise reduces risk for Parkinson's disease

The risk of developing Parkinson's disease may be reduced with moderate to vigorous exercise or other recreational activities, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 , May 5, 2007.

24 Apr 2007

European Congress on Obesity deals with bariatric surgery techniques, outcomes and metabolic benefits

Europe is facing a "major health and social burden" as the obesity epidemic reaches crisis point, experts warned.

24 Apr 2007

Abbott continues drug blacklist in Thailand, says AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation has chastised Abbott Laboratories for its 'quid pro quo' offer to the Government of Thailand to lower its price for Abbott's key AIDS drug, Aluvia (a heat-stable tablet version of Kaletra) to approximately USD$800 per patient per year -- an offer contingent upon Abbott's demand that Thailand immediately halt issuing compulsory licenses for the generic manufacture of this lifesaving drug.

24 Apr 2007

Latest food scare in the U.S.A. - ground beef contaminated with E. coli

In the latest food scare in the United States seven brands of frozen ground beef have been recalled because it is feared some of it may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

22 Apr 2007

Financial incentives for physicians mean better care for patients

Researchers led by Amanda Gilmore, M.P.H., set out to determine if patients who saw physicians participating in a quality-based incentive program were more likely to receive recommended care compared to patients who saw physicians who did not participate.

21 Apr 2007

M. D. Anderson wins $8.3-million to research environmental causes of major diseases

An $8.3-million federal grant to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Science Park - Research Division addresses the complex interplay between such varied factors as genetics, diet, and environmental exposure to toxins that cause cancer, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases.

21 Apr 2007