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Giving up smoking before surgery decreases complications

More than a third of patients who took part in an eight-week smoking cessation programme before and after planned surgery were able to give up and most of them were still smoke free after a year, according to research in the March issue of Anaesthesia.

12 Mar 2009

New data on link between cancer and nutrition

European experts in cancer and nutrition are meeting in Zurich, Switzerland late this month to discuss cutting-edge research in one of the most important and fiercely debated topics in cancer prevention: the link between diet and cancer.

12 Mar 2009

Facial muscle relaxant treatments have a negative effect on emotions

One of the most recognizable facial expressions is disgust: the expression displayed by an individual who is exposed to a nauseating image or horrifying story. But what happens when this emotion is not expressed?

12 Mar 2009

Protein 'magnet' uncovers clue to cancer cell spread

The destruction of a protein 'magnet' could lead to cancer cells breaking away from a tumour and spreading around the body, according to a study in Molecular Cell today (Thursday).

12 Mar 2009

New project to develop blood tests for heart disease and stroke

The landmark Framingham Heart Study (FHS) is launching a major initiative to discover risk factors and markers that could lead to new blood tests to identify individuals at high risk of heart disease and stroke.

12 Mar 2009

A new approach for detecting functional genomic regions

A team that includes researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found a new way of detecting functional regions in the human genome. The novel approach involves looking at the three-dimensional shape of the genome's DNA and not just reading the sequence of the four-letter alphabet of its DNA bases.

12 Mar 2009

Screening key to early detection of colorectal cancers

Colorectal cancer screening is an essential part of the health checkups you need as you grow older.If you're over 50, University of Rochester Medical Center doctors encourage you to schedule a colorectal screening to mark Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

12 Mar 2009

Weighing the options after life-altering stroke

Choosing to have aggressive brain surgery after suffering a severe stroke generally improves the patients' lives and allows them to live longer, according to research by neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

12 Mar 2009

Estrogen activates critical lung genes to improve lung function following preterm birth

Estrogen may be a new postnatal therapy to improve lung function and other outcomes in preterm infants, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study.

12 Mar 2009

AMP-activated protein kinase is unexpected contributor to brain growth

An enzyme researchers have studied for years because of its potential connections to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke, appears to have yet another major role to play: helping create and maintain the brain.

12 Mar 2009

Estrogen may be a new postnatal therapy to improve lung function and other outcomes in preterm infants

"Ironically, a hormone that has received great attention as a potential means to optimize the health of older women may be a beneficial treatment for humans during the earliest stages of life," said Dr. Philip Shaul, professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern and the study's senior author.

12 Mar 2009

A blood test for Alzheimer's on the horizon

Researchers have revealed a direct relationship between two specific antibodies and the severity of Alzheimer's disease symptoms, raising hopes that a diagnostic blood test for the devastating disorder is within reach.

11 Mar 2009

Long-term ground ozone exposure increases risk of dying from lung disease

Long-term exposure to elevated levels of ground ozone - a major constituent of smog - significantly raises the risk of dying from lung disease, according to a new nationwide study of cities that evaluated the impact of ozone on respiratory health over an 18-year period.

11 Mar 2009

Discovery of link between atrial fibrillation and increased risk of death in diabetic patients

Results from a large, international, randomised, controlled trial have shown that there is a strong link between diabetics who have an abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) and an increased risk of other heart-related problems and death.

11 Mar 2009

Study looks at driving under the influence of cannabis

Thrill-seeking young men are more likely to drive under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and engage in reckless driving, according to a new University of Montreal study.

11 Mar 2009

New device constantly computes amount of calories burned

Counting calories that burn through activity is a constant quandary.

11 Mar 2009

Testosterone doping tests in sport ignore ethnic differences in hormone activity

Current steroid (testosterone) doping tests should be scrapped for international sport, because they ignore vital ethnic differences in hormone activity, suggests research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

11 Mar 2009

Specialist nurses boost parental willingness to consent to post-mortem research on children

Parents are mostly willing to consent to post mortem research on their children, providing they are approached by specialist nurses, experienced in bereavement and family counselling, suggests a small study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

11 Mar 2009

Smokers' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk is genetic

It's well known that puffing on cigarettes can eventually leave you out of puff.

11 Mar 2009

Scientists unveil a new path towards better immune responses

The immune response can protect us from basically any invader but it can also create disease - like it happens in autoimmunity where it attacks the own body - so to understand its regulation is an important tool to assure its proper functioning.

11 Mar 2009