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Markers for premature birth risk at the molecular level

For the first time, researchers have successfully profiled the amniotic fluid metabolome (the sum of all metabolic processes occurring in the amniotic fluid), in order to identify which women who have experienced preterm labor are also at risk for delivering a premature baby.

10 Feb 2005

Sudden emotional stress can result in severe but reversible heart muscle weakness

Shocking news, such as learning of the unexpected death of a loved one, has been known to cause catastrophic events, such as a heart attack.

10 Feb 2005

Need for routine voluntary screening for HIV

A new cost-effectiveness analysis has led researchers from Duke University Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System to recommend that routine voluntary screening for HIV

10 Feb 2005

First evidence of cardiac progenitor cells

The first evidence of cardiac progenitor cells – rare, specialized stem cells located in the newborn heart of rats, mice and humans – has been shown by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. The cells are capable of differentiation into fully mature heart tissue.

10 Feb 2005

Expanded HIV screening can increase patient life span

Expanded HIV screening can increase patient life span, prevent the spread of the disease, and is cost effective, researchers at Yale, Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital report in the February 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

10 Feb 2005

Sex hormone progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone reduces stress

A steroid hormone released during the metabolism of progesterone, the female sex hormone, reduces the brain's response to stress, according to research in rats by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Atlanta's Center for Behavioral Neuroscience.

9 Feb 2005

Universities are effective sites for anti-smoking efforts

College campuses provide a captive audience for cigarette-makers, but a new review of tobacco intervention studies suggests that universities are also effective sites for anti-smoking efforts.

9 Feb 2005

How polychlorinated biphenyls open brain cells to Parkinson's assault

University of Rochester scientists investigating the link between PCBs, pesticides and Parkinson's disease demonstrated new and intricate reactions that occur in certain brain cells, making them more vulnerable to injury after exposures.

9 Feb 2005

Screening for toxoplasmosis for all pregnant women and newborns is necessary

Physicians found that signs, symptoms and identifiable risk factors are absent in more than half of the mothers of infants with congenital toxoplasmosis in a national study of children with this disease.

9 Feb 2005

Inserting corrective genes into the brain to fight Parkinson's disease

An international team of scientists has used gene therapy in two separate studies to renew brain cells and restore normal movements in monkeys and rats with a drug-induced form of Parkinson's disease.

8 Feb 2005

Traditional Indian medicine, herb Salacia oblonga may help treat diabetes

Herbs used in traditional Indian medicine to treat diabetes seems to lower blood sugar and insulin levels in a manner similar to prescription drugs, a new study reports.

8 Feb 2005

Many alcohol dependent HIV patients need assistance adhering to medications

Supervised medication delivery or simplified dosing regimens may be needed to ensure that HIV-infected patients with a history of alcohol problems stick to their medication regimens, according to a new study by researchers at Boston University Medical Center.

8 Feb 2005

Link between heart disease and periodontal bacteria

Researchers report this week that older adults who have higher proportions of four periodontal-disease-causing bacteria inhabiting their mouths also tend to have thicker carotid arteries, a strong predictor of stroke and heart attack.

7 Feb 2005

Findings could lead to new asthma treatment based on individual genetic profiles

Children who suffer from acute asthma attacks share a genetic profile that appears to be unique to these children, according to a new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The discovery opens the door to the possibility of designing treatments specifically tailored to children who suffer from the severest forms of asthma.

7 Feb 2005

Over-the-counter DHEA hormonal therapy may be an effective treatment for depression

The over-the-counter hormonal therapy known as DHEA may be an effective treatment of midlife-onset minor and major depression, according to a study in the February issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry. DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), an adrenal androgen and neurosteroid is available as a supplement in the U.S.

7 Feb 2005

HIV-infected parents peport limiting physical contact with their children

Over one-fourth of HIV-infected parents reported avoiding certain physical interactions, like hugging or kissing, with their children due to a fear of transmitting the disease or of contracting an infection from them, according to an article in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Feb 2005

Parents comfortable with vaccination for STIs for their children

Parents are generally accepting of the hypothetical scenario of vaccinating their adolescent children against infection, whether the infection is sexually transmitted or not, according to a study in the February issue of The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

7 Feb 2005

Parents happy to be informed about their child requesting prescribed contraceptives

Most parents surveyed felt laws requiring parental notification of minors requesting prescribed contraceptives were a good idea, while almost half viewed a minor’s right to obtain contraceptives without parental consent as a good idea, according to an article in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Feb 2005

Special distinction for the Pan American Journal of Public Health

The Publications Program of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has announced that the prestigious Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) has selected The Pan American Journal of Public Health for inclusion in its Social Science Citation Index and Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences.

7 Feb 2005

Special imaging study shows failing hearts are energy starved

Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the first time to examine energy production biochemistry in a beating human heart, Johns Hopkins researchers have found substantial energy deficits in failing hearts.

7 Feb 2005