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Risk of severe asthma episodes predicted from fluctuation analysis of airway function

A startling new study published in the science journal Nature this week (Nature Vol 438, issue 7068, pp 667-670) reveals that inhalers used by asthmatics for symptomatic relief of their condition might actually increase the likelihood of an acute attack.

30 Nov 2005

Under-active thyroid can increase heart failure risk

According to a new study older adults people who have an under active thyroid, or hypothyroidism, but with no symptoms, have an increased the risk of congestive heart failure.

30 Nov 2005

Feeling fat - it's all in the mind!

UK scientists believe they have identified the part of the brain that determines whether a person feels fat.

29 Nov 2005

Checking blood pressure at home gives better control

Researchers in Finland have found that self-monitoring of blood pressure at home leads to better control over high blood pressure than does standard monitoring at the doctor's office.

29 Nov 2005

Hard to quit smoking even after cancer is diagnosed

According to a new study many people with cancer continue to smoke after their diagnosis, even though they are told that smoking can significantly compromise the outcome of any treatment.

29 Nov 2005

Amygdala activation to interpersonal threat can be specifically linked to the severity of social anxiety symptoms

People suffering generalised social phobia experience increased brain activity when confronted with threatening faces or frightening social situations, new research shows.

28 Nov 2005

Prion protein codon 129 genotype prevalence is altered in primary progressive aphasia

Most people with a rare type of dementia called primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have a specific combination of prion gene variants, a new study shows.

28 Nov 2005

Chronic stress induces rapid occlusion of angioplasty

Chronic stress can induce rapid blocking of arteries after a balloon angioplasty procedure, according to research performed in animal studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Blocked coronary arteries after angioplasty affect 41 percent of patients who undergo the procedure and can lead to death.

28 Nov 2005

Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed

Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed and may improve memory function in some patients, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2005

Orbitofrontal thickness, retention of fear extinction, and extraversion

The relationship between the size of a brain structure and the ability to recover from traumatic experiences also may influence overall personality type, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

28 Nov 2005

Low doses of aspirin increase chance of developing ulcers

Aspirin has long been hailed as one of the most effective, low-cost ways to help guard against a heart attack or stroke. However, international medical researchers caution that low doses of aspirin also increase a patient's chance of developing an ulcer, often without warning signs.

28 Nov 2005

One-half of cancer patients continue to smoke after diagnosis

A pair of articles from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center makes the case that patients would receive better care if physicians and researchers would address the issue of tobacco use after a cancer diagnosis and monitor tobacco use during clinical trials that test new agents.

28 Nov 2005

A sign of the times - fat bums mean longer needles for that jab

It has to be a sign of the times, according to researchers fatter backsides are causing many drug injections to miss their mark, and are requiring longer needles to reach buttock muscle.

28 Nov 2005

MGH study finds first function for, promising flexibility in adult-born nerve cells

New brain cells that develop in the olfactory system of adult mice appear to play a role in the brain different from that of older neurons.

28 Nov 2005

Noise can increase risk of heart attack

New research published online in European's leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal, links exposure to chronic noise with an increased risk of heart attack.

28 Nov 2005

Stress can raise a person's lipid levels

There is good evidence to show that stress can increase a person's heart rate, lower the immune system's ability to fight colds and increase certain inflammatory markers but can stress also raise a person's cholesterol?

28 Nov 2005

Large-scale international study confirms value of blood test to diagnose heart failure

A large-scale international study has demonstrated the usefulness of a blood test to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of acute heart failure in emergency room patients and shows that the test also can identify patients at a higher risk for death.

28 Nov 2005

Lifestyle modification should be the first line of treatment for obesity

A new study shows that treatment with a lifestyle modification program of diet, exercise and behavioral therapy when used in combination with the weight loss medication sibutramine (Meridia) resulted in significantly greater weight loss among obese adults than treatment with the medication alone.

28 Nov 2005

Study links low level of response (LR) to alcohol to an area on chromosome 10

How a person "feels" the effects of alcohol is, in part, genetically influenced and relates to their risk for developing alcoholism.

28 Nov 2005

New findings in patients with pediatric kidney failure

Two studies just released by physicians at Texas Children's Hospital are addressing new findings in patients with pediatric kidney failure, and on the growing prevalence of high blood pressure in children.

28 Nov 2005