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Research on rare cancers

A cancer diagnosis can be a life-changing event. Many questions arise, with one of the first being, "Where should I be treated?" Patients diagnosed with rare cancers may have difficulty finding a physician knowledgeable in treating their type of cancer.

11 Apr 2011

Government shutdown would hurt America's spirit of innovation

It is important that the United States begin to live within its means and address the federal deficit. But APS believes that as a nation we need to be smart about how we do it. Cutting spending across the board without a clear understanding of what it means for America's future jeopardizes the very future we want to secure for our children.

11 Apr 2011

Study unravels how interferon-induced factors inhibit viruses

When viruses attack, one molecule more than any other fights back. Interferon triggers the activation of more than 350 genes, and despite the obvious connection, the vast majority have never been tested for antiviral properties.

11 Apr 2011

Study on 'health halo effect'

Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student in Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, has been fascinated with a phenomenon known as "the halo effect" for some time.

11 Apr 2011

Study: Patients with glaucoma experience psychological problems

Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest issues facing patients with glaucoma - the second leading cause of blindness worldwide after cataracts - according to research in the April issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing. People also worry about how the eye disease, which can be hereditary, will affect other members of their family.

11 Apr 2011

Food insecurity can affect children's school performance

Food insecurity not only compromises your health and resilience. It brings along poor school attendance and educational attainment that thwart your future chances in life. Researchers from the Institute of Tropical Medicine for the first time confirmed this, in two thousand Ethiopian teenagers.

11 Apr 2011

Viral infection likely to encourage pneumonia spread

Bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis are only able to spread when individuals are infected with flu, says a scientist reporting at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate. The work could have implications for the management of influenza pandemics and could help reduce incidence of pneumococcal infections in very young children, who are more susceptible to disease.

11 Apr 2011

Tai chi, green tea may help reduce inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women

C.S. Lewis, the famous author and Oxford academic, once proclaimed "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." We sip it with toast in the morning, enjoy it with sweets and biscuits in the afternoon, and relax with it at the end of the day.

11 Apr 2011

Positive link between 100% fruit juice intake and reduced risk of chronic diseases

Drinking 100 percent fruit juices could have protective health benefits similar to those of whole fruits, according to research presented in a literature review yesterday at the 2011 Experimental Biology meeting.

11 Apr 2011

Childhood cancer survivors' cognitive problems linked to poor sleep and fatigue

A new analysis has found that childhood cancer survivors often suffer from sleep problems and fatigue, which negatively impact their attention and memory. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that addressing sleep hygiene among survivors of childhood cancer may help to improve their cognitive health.

11 Apr 2011

Alcohol misuse in pregnancy linked to high risk of premature birth

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight. But there are conflicting reports about how much alcohol, if any, it is safe for a pregnant woman to drink. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth looked at the amounts of alcohol women drank during their early pregnancy and showed the effect this had on their babies.

11 Apr 2011

Scientists identify novel mechanism to control cancer spread

Saint Louis University researchers have identified a novel mechanism to control the traffic of cells and fluid from tissues to lymphatic vessels. It may be possible to harness this mechanism to fight cancer spread from one organ to another organ and improve the effectiveness of vaccines.

11 Apr 2011

Blueberry polyphenols can reduce obesity

The benefits of blueberry consumption have been demonstrated in several nutrition studies, more specifically the cardio-protective benefits derived from their high polyphenol content.

11 Apr 2011

Study: Unemployment linked to high risk of death in men than women

In a meta-analysis of 42 studies with data on 20 million people regarding the relationship between unemployment and the risk of death, a team of researchers at Stony Brook University found that the risk of death was 63 percent higher in those who experienced an episode of unemployment than those who did not.

11 Apr 2011

Air pollution on freeways may lead to brain damage: Study

Earlier research has shown that air pollution from cars and trucks on Southern California freeways – that contains soot, pavement dust and other toxic substances - can cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, cancer and premature death. Now a new study has shown that exposure to pollution particles roughly one-thousandth the width of a human hair may lead to brain damage in mice, including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. The study comes from University of Southern California and is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

10 Apr 2011

Reduction in alcohol prices increases alcohol-related mortality

Does a reduction in the price of alcohol result in an increase in deaths due to alcohol? This was the subject of a study following a significant reduction in taxes in Finland in 2004 (30% for spirits, 3% for wine).The abolition of import quotas by the EU in 2004 also made it possible to import from other member countries and this led to an increase of approximately 10% in alcohol consumption in Finland.

8 Apr 2011

Real-time brain feedback can help gain greater control over thoughts

As humans face increasing distractions in their personal and professional lives, University of British Columbia researchers have discovered that people can gain greater control over their thoughts with real-time brain feedback.

8 Apr 2011

Survivors of severe critical illness requiring intensive care do not regain physical or psychological health

A unique and richly detailed long-term study of survivors of severe critical illness requiring intensive care found that even those who were previously healthy, young and working did not regain the physical or psychological health they had before their illness.

8 Apr 2011

An essential 'cookbook' for clinical trials

For academic medical faculty unfamiliar with national and international regulations, the prospect of initiating and managing a clinical trial can be intimidating. The development of protocols and case report forms, compliance with regulatory requirements, the monitoring of clinical trials as well as the responsibilities of documentation are just some of the tasks the sponsor-investigator is faced with.

8 Apr 2011