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E-cigarettes may function as "gateway drug" to marijuana and cocaine

Like conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) may function as a "gateway drug"—a drug that lowers the threshold for addiction to other substances, such as marijuana and cocaine—according to the 120th Shattuck lecture, presented to the Massachusetts Medical Society by Columbia researchers Denise and Eric Kandel and published today in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

4 Sep 2014

Clinical trial to assess safety and efficacy of novel monoclonal antibody for CLL patients

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in partnership with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and Celgene Corporation, a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company, have launched a phase 1 human clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of a novel monoclonal antibody for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

4 Sep 2014

Scientists identify genetic mutations in endometrioid endometrial carcinoma

Parents of twins often tell them apart through subtle differences such as facial expression, moles, voice tone and gait. Similarly, physicians treating women with endometrial cancer must be able to distinguish between different versions of this disease form that, on the surface, appear the same.

4 Sep 2014

Research to determine whether messages about drinking provide clear warnings

Alcohol industry magazine ads reminding consumers to "drink responsibly" or "enjoy in moderation" fail to convey basic public health information, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4 Sep 2014

Artificial cells to devour undesirables: an interview with Dr. Takanari Inoue

If junk is not removed, pathological conditions can develop. For example, in one condition, the neutrophil count significantly decreases. Neutrophils remove pathogens and people with a reduced neutrophil count are more prone to infection, especially to rare bacteria that wouldn’t cause infection under normal conditions.

3 Sep 2014

Short-term antiinflammatory treatment may reduce airway hyperresponsiveness

Short-term treatment with budesonide and montelukast may decrease airway hyperresponsiveness to exercise and mannitol challenge in children and adolescents with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, Swiss study data show.

3 Sep 2014

Dyspnoea in COPD patients heralds worse outcomes

Breathlessness is a common finding in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and signals an increased risk of exacerbations, study findings indicate.

3 Sep 2014

CAT score useful for predicting COPD exacerbations

The likelihood and imminence of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation in high-risk patients could be predicted using the COPD assessment test score, study findings indicate.

3 Sep 2014

Asthma medication adherence strategies identified

Keeping asthma medication in the bathroom and incorporating its use into daily routines are strategies associated with good medication adherence in older adults with asthma, US research shows.

3 Sep 2014

Electroconvulsive therapy combats treatment-resistant schizophrenia

The use of electroconvulsive therapy improves the chances of a treatment response in patients with continued schizophrenia symptoms despite use of antipsychotic medication, a randomised trial shows.

3 Sep 2014

Type 2 diabetes adds to hospital mortality risk in bipolar patients

Type 2 diabetes is a major contributor to mortality in patients with bipolar disorder who are admitted to general hospitals, a study shows.

3 Sep 2014

Distinct features of COPD–asthma overlap syndrome identified

US researchers have shown that patients with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma have more exacerbations, less emphysema and more airway disease than patients with COPD alone.

3 Sep 2014

Scientists find epigenetic link between mother's diet and offspring's risk of future obesity

Many research studies have made it clear that a mother's eating habits prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and during lactation have a profound impact on her offspring and their propensity for developing weight problems, including obesity.

3 Sep 2014

USPSTF lung cancer screening recommendations in high-risk Medicare beneficiaries is cost effective

Questions regarding effectiveness, infrastructure and cost effectiveness of low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening of those at high risk for lung cancer have now been answered. Medicare should rapidly provide full national coverage for these exams.

3 Sep 2014

Study: Sexual risk behaviors of young Hispanic people vary with degree of acculturation

A new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that the sexual risk behaviors of young Hispanic people living in the U.S. vary considerably with their degree of acculturation (as defined by where they were born and the language they speak).

3 Sep 2014

One-two punch designed to knock out most dangerous brain cancer

University of Michigan Health System doctors have started testing a unique new approach to fighting brain tumors -- one that delivers a one-two punch designed to knock out the most dangerous brain cancer.

3 Sep 2014

Researcher discovers that aspirin prevents first attack

The first researcher in the world to discover that aspirin prevents a first attack, Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, has published a comprehensive review in the current issue of the journal Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine.

3 Sep 2014

New regulatory component in infectious bacterium helps explain ability to survive in human body

The discovery of a new regulatory component in an infectious bacterium could aid efforts to explain its ability to survive in the human body, report microbiologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and University of Maryland, College Park, in the journal Science.

3 Sep 2014

Researchers call for implementation of taxes and subsidies to improve dietary quality

In a Viewpoint published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a team of Boston researchers call for the implementation of taxes and subsidies to improve dietary quality in the United States.

3 Sep 2014

Measuring levels of sex hormones in patients' blood may identify risk of sudden cardiac arrest

Measuring the levels of sex hormones in patients' blood may identify patients likely to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, a heart rhythm disorder that is fatal in 95 percent of patients.

3 Sep 2014