Medical Research News

RSS

National Alzheimer's plan to include more research funding

The Obama administration wants to spend just over half a billion dollars on Alzheimer's research next year, hoping to battle back against what could become the defining disease of the aging baby-boom generation. ... The move is part of the administration's development of the first National Alzheimer's Plan, a congressionally-ordered strategy that will combine research toward better dementia treatments with steps to help overwhelmed families to better cope today.

8 Feb 2012

Research!America 2012 National Health Research Forum to be held on Mar. 14

Research!America 2012 National Health Research Forum-a unique interactive gathering of top policy makers. This discussion brings together heads of federal agencies for health research, as well as nationally recognized leaders from industry, academia and patient advocacy.

8 Feb 2012

Communities with small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations

Counties and parishes with a greater concentration of small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations - with lower rates of mortality, obesity and diabetes - than do those that rely on large companies with "absentee" owners, according to a national study by sociologists at LSU and Baylor University.

8 Feb 2012

Scientists discover how individual MST neurons function

When you are about to collide into something and manage to swerve away just in the nick of time, what exactly is happening in your brain? A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, McGill University shows how the brain processes visual information to figure out when something is moving towards you or when you are about to head into a collision.

8 Feb 2012

Changes in economy affect orthopedic trauma volume

Previous studies have found that human behavior during a recession is remarkably different than that during a bullish economy. For example, people tend to spend more time focused on working and less time engaging in leisure and recreation activities, resulting in fewer motor vehicle and other accidents.

8 Feb 2012

Study describes molecular pathway that controls rest and activity rhythms

The molecular pathway that carries time-of-day signals from the body's internal clock to ultimately guide daily behavior is like a black box, says Amita Sehgal, PhD, the John Herr Musser Professor of Neuroscience and Co-Director, Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

8 Feb 2012

Parents more likely to blame and doubt child sex abuse victims

Parents are much more likely to blame and doubt their children when their child has been sexually abused by another adolescent instead of an adult, according to new research from the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

8 Feb 2012

Comparing health problems can influence physical and emotional health

Comparing yourself to others with the same health problem can influence your physical and emotional health, according to researchers who conducted a qualitative synthesis of over 30 studies focusing on the relationship between social comparisons and health.

8 Feb 2012

Soft drink consumption associated with increased chance of asthma, COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that a high level of soft drink consumption is associated with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

8 Feb 2012

Increasing age associated with higher risk of death from breast cancer

Among postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, increasing age was associated with a higher risk of death from breast cancer, according to a study in the February 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Feb 2012

Forum for Collaborative HIV Research suggests new approach for conducting Phase 3 HIV clinical trials

As the war on HIV/AIDS begins its fourth decade, medical researchers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, patient advocates and government regulators face a new and unexpected scientific challenge: how to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of promising new antiretroviral drugs when the two traditional study designs – the superiority trial and the non-inferiority trial – are no longer useful in showing improvements in both "treatment experienced" patients and those who have never received drug therapy (treatment-naive patients).

7 Feb 2012

Study finds 77% of trauma patients with vitamin D deficiency

New research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that 77 percent of trauma patients had deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D.

7 Feb 2012

Smoking leads to early cognitive decline: Study

There is growing evidence that using cigarettes can also affect the brain: the latest study shows that smoking is associated with cognitive decline as early as age 45, and that male smokers may be more vulnerable to these mental effects than women.

7 Feb 2012

WHO publishes new standards for human participant research

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published “Standards and Operational Guidance for Ethics Review of Health-Related Research with Human Participants,” a compilation of 10 standards for ethics review of health related research with human participants.

7 Feb 2012

NYU Langone experts to present at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting

Experts from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center will present their latest research and clinical findings on diseases of the muscle, tendon, bone and joint at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), February 7-11 in San Francisco, California.

7 Feb 2012

ECNP expresses deep concern at withdrawal by AstraZeneca from neuroscience drug research

The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology expresses its deep concern at the recently announced withdrawal by AstraZeneca from neuroscience drug research. AstraZeneca's pull-out is especially disturbing given that it follows a series of similar withdrawals in the last two years by major pharmaceutical companies. There is a growing sense that neuroscience in Europe is now facing a severe crisis.

7 Feb 2012

Visual working memory not as specialized in the brain as visual encoding

Researchers have long known that specific parts of the brain activate when people view particular images. For example, a region called the fusiform face area turns on when the eyes glance at faces, and another region called the parahippocampal place area does the same when a person looks at scenes or buildings. However, it's been unknown whether such specialization also exists for visual working memory, a category of memory that allows the brain to temporarily store and manipulate visual information for immediate tasks.

7 Feb 2012

Five coping strategies can help people to overcome dental fear

Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have investigated the strategies used by people who suffer from dental fear to cope with dental treatment. Some of the most important factors in managing stress during a visit to the dentist include optimism on the part of the patient and an atmosphere of humour in the interaction with the dental staff.

7 Feb 2012

Queen's study aims to improve end of life decision making among elderly

At a time when there is tremendous concern about the utilization of technology at the end of life and the costs of technology, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has funded a multi-center study aimed to improve end of life decision making amongst seriously ill, elderly hospitalized patients. Queen's University is one institution receiving funding for this initiative.

7 Feb 2012

Exposure to manganese may increase risk of clumsiness in former welders

Welders who are exposed to manganese from welding fumes, risk developing increased clumsiness - and the result may remain decades after exposure has ceased. This is the finding of a study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, of former shipyard workers.

7 Feb 2012