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Comorbidities common among patients with COPD

Comorbidities are common among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and a number of these comorbidities are independently associated with an increased mortality risk, according to a new study.

4 May 2012

Study captures positive experiences of people with bipolar disorder

The problems of living with bipolar have been well documented, but a new study by Lancaster University has captured the views of those who also report highly-valued, positive experiences of living with the condition.

4 May 2012

Blond gene among Solomon islanders baffles researchers

It is known that skin and hair color is mostly inherited from parents but whole populations have evolved to share certain traits. It is also known that people who live closer to the equator have darker skin and hair colour to protect against the Sun. The exception is found in the Solomon Islands, an archipelago east of Papua New Guinea which has the highest proportion of natural blonds outside of Europe despite being just south of the equator.

3 May 2012

Repeated blows to the head associated with long term cognitive, pathologic changes

NFL great Junior Seau's apparent suicide might shock the sports world, but to neurosurgeons and neurologists accustomed to seeing an increase in the incidence of concussions, especially among football players, the news isn't as surprising.

3 May 2012

Portfolio theory applied to basic science research portfolio

Researchers suggest that application of Nobel-prize-winning portfolio theory could provide objective funding allocations that would improve risk/reward trade-off in years of life lost.

3 May 2012

Increased maternal intake of choline better for the baby

Pregnant women may have added incentive to bulk up on broccoli and eggs now that a Cornell University study has found increased maternal intake of the nutrient choline could decrease their children's chances of developing hypertension and diabetes later in life.

3 May 2012

Infants show less accurate emotion recognition for other-race faces than own-race faces

Results of a new study reported recently by psychology researcher Lisa Scott and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst confirm that although infants are born with equal abilities to tell apart people within multiple races, by age 9 months they are better at recognizing faces and emotional expressions of people within groups they interact with most.

3 May 2012

State of health, not age, should decide treatment for cancer

In a study of patients 65 and older with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), younger patients were more likely to receive treatment than older patients, regardless of overall health and prognosis.

3 May 2012

Study to understand, prevent and reverse radicalization of young people

A University of Maryland-led team of international experts will investigate ways to understand, prevent and reverse the radicalization of young people in destabilized areas of the world, and to keep them from embracing terror as a political tool.

3 May 2012

Event launches report on U.S. global health R&D

A post on the Global Health Technologies Coalition's (GHTC) "Breakthroughs" blog describes an event to launch a recent report from GHTC and Policy Cures on "data on U.S. investments over the past 10 years in global health research and development (R&D)."

3 May 2012

Sleep adequately to maintain healthy weight

The genes behind weight gain may work overtime with lack of sleep says the study in this week's issue of the journal Sleep. In the study, neurologist Dr. Nathaniel Watson of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center in Seattle looked at the height, weight and sleep habits of 604 pairs of identical twins and 484 fraternal twins with an average age of 37.

3 May 2012

Dopamine linked to willingness to work for a monetary reward

A new brain imaging study has shown that an individual’s willingness to work hard to earn money is strongly influenced by the chemistry in three specific areas of the brain. Researchers claim that this could have important implications for the treatment of attention-deficit disorder, depression, schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness characterized by decreased motivation.

3 May 2012

Lay health workers can make a great contribution to care but they need to be cared for

Sixteen years after apartheid the public health system in South Africa continues to be plagued by health worker shortages. "But lay health workers can make a great contribution to care", says Karen Daniels at Nordic School of Public Health. But they also need greatly to be cared for. Here thesis explores how ordinary people trained to assist in health care is an option to tackling this crisis.

3 May 2012

Sleep deprivation may affect surgeons' ability to tackle unexpected events

Sleep-deprived surgeons can perform a previously learned task or learn a new task as well as surgeons who are rested, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. However, in sleep-deprived surgeons, the brain must work harder, which could lead to problems during unexpected events.

3 May 2012

A better understanding of link between glycemic variability and psychological disorders needed

When blood sugar levels in diabetes are poorly controlled, patients tend to have more complications such as depression and other mood disturbances, including anxiety and anger, and a lower overall quality of life.

3 May 2012

NJIT professor receives $340,000 NIH grant to investigate membrane proteins

NJIT Associate Professor Edgardo Farinas has been awarded today a three-year $340,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to investigate spores as a protein display platform for the directed evolution of membrane proteins.

3 May 2012

Europe becoming 'hotspot' for emerging infections, study suggests

"Europe is becoming a 'hotspot' for emerging infections as those typically confined to tropical climates are making their way north, according to research that links climate change to the global spread of disease," the Financial Times reports.

3 May 2012

Researchers to examine how climate change may affect humans, societies

A new grant to awarded George Mason University's Center for Social Complexity will allow researchers to examine how climate change may affect humans and societies over the next 100 years.

3 May 2012

Paper explores links between neuronal avalanches and spike time-dependent plasticity

The brain's neurons are coupled together into vast and complex networks called circuits. Yet despite their complexity, these circuits are capable of displaying striking examples of collective behavior such as the phenomenon known as "neuronal avalanches," brief bursts of activity in a group of interconnected neurons that set off a cascade of increasing excitation.

3 May 2012

Why research should be hacked - The case for open source clinical trials

Australian researchers are calling for the open sharing of clinical trial data in the medical research community, saying it would be instrumental in eliminating bottlenecks and duplication, and lead to faster and more trustworthy evidence for many of our most pressing health problems.

3 May 2012