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Should we use echocardiography to screen young athletes?

Sudden and unexpected deaths in young competitive athletes are uncommon but highly visible events, which raise concern and ethical issues in both the lay public and medical community. Which is the best strategy to timely identify individuals with cardiac disease responsible for sudden death (primarily, HCM) is largely debated. Namely, the extent to which sophisticated testing, such as echocardiography, is needed is still undefined.

31 Aug 2008

TIME-CHF Trial: Elderly HF patients do not benefit from intensive medical therapy

Intensified, BNP-guided therapy was no more effective than a standard, symptom-guided approach in elderly heart failure patients in reducing the number of deaths and all-cause hospitalisations. However, the response to this intervention differed significantly between patients aged 60-74 years and those aged ¡Ý75 years. This indicates the need for specific data in this large subset of very old heart failure patients who have been largely excluded from large treatment trials.

31 Aug 2008

Sports-related sudden cardiac death is reduced by pre-participation cardiovascular screening

Young competitive athletes are perceived by the general population to be the healthiest members of society. The possibility that highly trained athletes may have a potentially serious cardiac condition that can predispose to life-threatening tachyarrhythmias or sudden cardiac death seems paradoxical.

31 Aug 2008

Study points to one cause of higher rates of transplanted kidney rejection in blacks

A Johns Hopkins research team reports it may have an explanation for at least some of the higher organ rejection rates seen among black - as compared to white - kidney transplant recipients.

31 Aug 2008

Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of "instructor" molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

31 Aug 2008

Researchers devise means to create blood by discovering earliest form of human blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonic stem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biological marker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitors for red blood cells and lymphocytes.

28 Aug 2008

Low levels of 'brain derived neurotrophic factor' may lead to obesity

A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.

28 Aug 2008

Antidepressants need new nerve cells to be effective

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior.

28 Aug 2008

Why transplanted insulin cells die

New research can enhance survival of islets transplants and improve treatment of type 1 diabetes. Transplantation of insulin-producing cell islets, so-called islets of langerhans is an appealing strategy for treatment of type 1 diabetes. But it turns out that these are short-lived, and the procedure needs to be repeated.

28 Aug 2008

New role for Natural Killer cells

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer.

28 Aug 2008

Depression drug Cymbalta eases chronic back pain

A drug used to treat depression has been found to also be effective in reducing chronic low back pain.

28 Aug 2008

Transformation of ordinary cells into insulin-makers improves symptoms of diabetes

Scientists in the U.S. have successfully transformed ordinary cells into insulin-producing cells in a living mouse and thereby improved the symptoms of diabetes.

28 Aug 2008

Older Aussies busy in bed

A global study on the sexual attitudes and behaviours of 27,500 men and women from 29 countries has revealed a few surprises.

28 Aug 2008

Diazepam effects nerve cells in the brain reward system

Addictions to medicines and drugs are thought to develop over a relatively long period of time. The process involves both structural and functional changes in brain nerve cells that are still poorly understood.

27 Aug 2008

Berries show to have a genome-wide effect on the expression of genes involved in cancer development

New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene.

27 Aug 2008

Over 10 million Americans are taking opioids

Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that in a given week, over 10 million Americans are taking opioids, and more than 4 million are taking them regularly (at least five days per week, for at least four weeks). These findings appear in the August 31 issue of the journal Pain.

27 Aug 2008

Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction risk death

Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) increase their risk of dying over the next year, say researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their study was published in a recent issue of the European Heart Journal.

27 Aug 2008

Discovery of genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders

Finnish scientists have identified genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders. Research conducted under the supervision of Academy Research Fellow Iiris Hovatta have focused on genes that influence human behaviour, and some of the studied genes show a statistical association with specific anxiety disorders. The work is carried out as part of the Academy of Finland Research Programme on Neuroscience (NEURO).

27 Aug 2008

UT Southwestern discovery may lead to new drug-abuse treatments

Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Aug 2008

High levels of toxic metals found in Ayurvedic medicines

Alternative medicine is in the news again with scientists in the U.S. saying they have found high levels of toxic metals in popular herbal medicines sold online.

27 Aug 2008