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Cigarette smoke exposure alters airway tissue in people with COPD

Cigarette smoke exposure fundamentally alters airway tissue from people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the cellular level, laying the groundwork for airway thickening and even precipitating precancerous changes in cell proliferation that may be self-perpetuating long after cigarette smoke exposure ends, according to Australian researchers.

28 Jul 2011

Relative muscle mass inversely linked with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.

28 Jul 2011

Study examines effect of unhealthy food outlets on adolescent junk food consumption

Got lots of fast food restaurants and other outlets that sell junk food in your neighborhood? Then your teen is more likely to nosh regularly on burgers and fries and wash them down with a soda.

28 Jul 2011

Study finds link between parental smoking and COPD

Studies have shown that family history is a risk factor for COPD, but have not accounted for family history of smoking. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, the University of Colorado, and National Jewish Health compared 821 COPD cases with 776 control smokers from the COPD Gene Study, capturing parental smoking and COPD histories, along with environmental tobacco smoke exposure.

28 Jul 2011

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass appears to reduce dietary fat intake

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most common type of bariatric surgery in the United States, is currently considered the most effective therapy for morbid obesity.

28 Jul 2011

Arterial spin labeling shows areas of brain activity in chronic low back pain patients

Research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain.

28 Jul 2011

World Bank urges China to address NCDs or face economic consequences

In a report released on Tuesday, the World Bank urged China to step up its efforts to fight non-communicable diseases (NCDs), "the main cause of death in the country, warning of rising health expenditure and an economic slowdown if rapid action is not taken," Reuters reports.

28 Jul 2011

Sorin Group's Mitroflow valve with PRT receives CE Mark approval

Sorin Group,, a global medical company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it received the CE Mark approval for the Mitroflow Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve with PRT.

28 Jul 2011

Reprogrammed kidney cells could make transplants and dialysis things of the past

Approximately 60 million people across the globe have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and many will need dialysis or a transplant. Breakthrough research published in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology indicates that patients' own kidney cells can be gathered and reprogrammed.

28 Jul 2011

Ironwood licenses worldwide rights to Depomed's Acuform drug delivery technology

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Depomed, Inc. today announced that Ironwood has licensed worldwide rights to utilize Depomed's Acuform gastric retentive drug delivery technology for an Ironwood early stage development program, continuing Ironwood's efforts to augment its development pipeline beyond linaclotide.

28 Jul 2011

Study finds harmful haloacetic acids in the urine of pool workers, swimmers

The first scientific measurements in humans show that potentially harmful haloacetic acids (HAAs) appear in the urine of swimmers within 30 minutes after exposure to chlorinated water where HAAs form as a byproduct of that water disinfection method.

28 Jul 2011

New report is setback for 9/11 responders and cancer costs

The report concluded that medical research does not prove that those working at the World Trade Center disaster site have an increased risk of developing certain forms of cancer.

28 Jul 2011

Chronic psychological stress linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's

Chronic psychological stress throughout a lifespan might increase an individual's risk for Alzheimer's and dementia later in life, according to research from the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University.

28 Jul 2011

Cognitive behavioral therapy and self-help may improve unexplained symptoms of pain, fatigue

A new type of therapy may help people with symptoms such as pain, weakness, or dizziness that can't be explained by an underlying disease, according to a study published in the July 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jul 2011

Yoga reduces symptoms of chronic pain in women with fibromyalgia

A new study by York University researchers finds that practicing yoga reduces the physical and psychological symptoms of chronic pain in women with fibromyalgia.

28 Jul 2011

Inspiration presents OBI-1 pivotal study data on hemophilia at 23rd ISTH congress

Ipsen today announced that its partner Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. presented data from its clinical development program for OBI-1, an intravenous (IV) recombinant porcine factor VIII product (rpFVIII), intended for the treatment of bleeding in people with hemophilia A with inhibitors and in people with acquired hemophilia.

28 Jul 2011

New research shows unique nature of human brain aging

Brains shrink in humans, potentially causing a number of health problems and mental illnesses as people age, but do they shrink to the same extent in the closest living relatives to humans--the chimpanzees? New research says no, making the extreme amount of brain shrinkage resulting from normal aging in humans unique.

28 Jul 2011

New LEAP technique can restore heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation

A high-amplitude, and often painful, electrical shock is the only currently available method for treating certain cases of chronic cardiac arrhythmia. But now a new technique using much weaker impulses has been developed by an international team of physicists and cardiologists, including Alain Pumir, CNRS researcher at the ENS Lyon physics laboratory.

28 Jul 2011

Noninvasive brain computer interface could turn thoughts into motion

"Brain cap" technology being developed at the University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts into motion. Associate Professor of Kinesiology José 'Pepe' L. Contreras-Vidal and his team have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars.

28 Jul 2011

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery can lead to effective weight loss

Imperial College London. The findings, published in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, suggest a new mechanism by which some types of bariatric surgery lead to long-term weight loss.

28 Jul 2011