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Heart disease of the left main coronary artery is often an inherited condition that clusters in families

Moreover, they discovered that initially healthy siblings of a person with the condition were 2.5 times more likely to go on to develop some form of heart disease than were siblings of a patient with heart disease that did not relate to the left main coronary artery.

4 Oct 2007

Gene-chip studies provide new leads in treating abnormal lung development in premature newborns

Some 20 to 40 percent of extremely premature infants suffer abnormal lung development leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems.

4 Oct 2007

Learning from the Toronto SARS outbreak

Locked doors, full masks and gowns, questionnaires and line-ups at the hand washing stations - getting health-care services during SARS wasn't easy.

4 Oct 2007

Big bucks for cooling therapy trial for children with brain injuries

An investment of $11.5 million is being made into a clinical trial to examine a therapy for children with brain injuries.

3 Oct 2007

Day surgery for brain tumours on the NHS in Britain

A new brain surgery procedure could mean in the future that people in Britain with brain tumours may be offered day surgery under local anaesthetic on the National Health Service (NHS).

3 Oct 2007

Additional biopsy-scoring data may help determine prostate cancer prognosis

Men with certain scores and patterns based on prostate cancer biopsy were found to be at higher risk of PSA-failure, suggesting that this measurement could help predict the risk of prostate cancer recurrence, according to preliminary research published in the October 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Oct 2007

Default options for medicine, healthcare

Anyone who has ever tried to set up an internet account or wants to make a purchase on a company's website, has experienced the ‘default option,' an event or condition that will be set in place if no alternative is actively chosen.

3 Oct 2007

Over 60's do well after liver transplantation

Patients who undergo liver transplantation at age 60 or above have 1-year and 5-year survival rates similar to those of younger patients and they experience fewer episodes of rejection.

3 Oct 2007

Major gender gap in use of life-saving heart device

Women who might have benefited from the use of an implantable heart monitor following a cardiac arrest were far less likely than men to have one prescribed, according to experts at the Duke University Medical Center.

3 Oct 2007

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators underused in women, minorities with heart failure

Many Americans hospitalized for heart failure are coming up short when it comes to getting the therapy they need - especially women and minorities, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

3 Oct 2007

Discovery of genetic roadblock could lead to novel treatments for type 2 diabetes

A team of Mount Sinai Hospital researchers has found that a “genetic roadblock” identified in a recent study could pave the way toward novel treatments for type 2 diabetes.

3 Oct 2007

Algorithms for defibrillators

When an adult suffers a cardiorespiratory arrest the rapid application of an electrical discharge with a defibrillator can avoid sudden death in many cases. Nevertheless, defibrillation also has its impediment or enemy: time.

3 Oct 2007

Connecticut Catholic Bishops agree to comply with law requiring hospitals to dispense EC to rape survivors

Connecticut's Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday said that the state's four Catholic hospitals will comply with a law (SB 1343) that takes effect Monday and requires all hospitals in the state to dispense emergency contraception to rape survivors, the Hartford Courant reports (Keating, Hartford Courant, 9/28).

2 Oct 2007

Medicare part B premiums to increase by 3.1% in 2008 to $96.40 per month

CMS on Monday announced that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers physician visits and outpatient hospital care, will increase by $2.90, or 3.1%, to $96.40 in 2008 -- the smallest increase since 2000, when the premium remained the same, the New York Times reports.

2 Oct 2007

New York announces funds for hospitals to be closed or merged

The 23 hospitals and seven nursing homes in New York state that will be closed or merged with other facilities will receive more than $360 million to pay for legal costs associated with the closures and to pay debts, state health officials said, the New York Times reports (Kershaw, New York Times, 9/29).

2 Oct 2007

Early stage drug shows promise against cancer cells from young patients

A new drug has shown promising pre-clinical activity against cells from several types of children's cancers, scientists reveal at the National Cancer Research Institute Conference in Birmingham today (Tuesday).

2 Oct 2007

Another bird flu victim in Indonesia takes the death toll to 86

Though experts are investigating how the man contracted the virus, it is unclear how he could have come into contact with sick poultry as keeping backyard poultry has been banned by the Jakarta government since February.

2 Oct 2007

Poor health care access common among youth leaving foster system

Youth who have been homeless for any period of time after leaving the foster care system appear to have more problems accessing health care than those with stable housing situations, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Oct 2007

Panic attacks may increase risk of heart attack or stroke in older women

Older women who experience at least one full-blown panic attack may have an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke and an increased risk of death in the next five years, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Oct 2007

Noninvasive tests for cirrhosis may help to avoid liver biopsy

Newer ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging tests yield encouraging initial results in diagnosing fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis of the liver, according to three studies in the October issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

2 Oct 2007