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When it comes to treating heart attacks, experience matters

New research shows that patients have a much better chance of survival when both their hospital and their physician have a strong track record in treating heart attack with angioplasty and stenting.

9 Feb 2009

Stroke therapy window might be extended past nine hours for some

Some patients who suffer a stroke as a result of a blockage in an artery in the brain may benefit from a clot-busting drug nine or more hours after the onset of symptoms.

9 Feb 2009

Adolescents should participate in decisions about end-of-life care

Conversations between adolescents suffering from chronic illnesses and their families about end-of-life wishes well before a serious event occurs won't discourage hope for recovery or cause additional emotional or mental harm to young patients, according to new research from Children's National Medical Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital published in the journal Pediatrics.

9 Feb 2009

Continuation of statin treatment associated with lower risk of death

Patients with high cholesterol levels who continually take statins appear to have a lower risk of death over four to five years, regardless of whether they already have diagnosed heart disease, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2009

Pathologically elevated blood fat levels in obesity: Researchers discover molecular causes

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have discovered a mechanism in liver metabolism that is responsible for pathologically elevated blood fat levels found in severe metabolic disorders.

9 Feb 2009

Oncostatin M may be a promising drug for treating viral hepatitis and liver cancer

This research, coordinated by the doctors Jesús Prieto, Esther Larrea, Pablo Sarobe, Iranzu González and Rafael Aldabe, has been published in the Journal of Virology ; a journal of the American Society of Microbiology.

9 Feb 2009

Micro RNA plays a key role in melanoma metastasis

Scientists have long wondered how melanoma cells travel from primary tumors on the surface of the skin to the brain, liver and lungs, where they become more aggressive, resistant to therapy, and deadly.

9 Feb 2009

New genomic test can personalize breast cancer treatment

A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

9 Feb 2009

Parents are a factor in teen obesity

In a new policy brief released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, researchers found that adolescents are more likely to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day if their parents do.

9 Feb 2009

New diagnoses encourage people to make health behavior changes

Older adults appear more likely to quit smoking or lose weight following a recent diagnosis of heart disease, diabetes or another serious condition, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 Feb 2009

Discovery of potential treatment for Rett syndrome

A molecule that promotes brain development could serve as a possible treatment for Rett syndrome, the most common form of autism in girls, according to researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

9 Feb 2009

Eating a Mediterranean diet linked to lower risk of cognitive impairment

Eating a Mediterranean diet appears to be associated with less risk of mild cognitive impairment-a stage between normal aging and dementia-or of transitioning from mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology.

9 Feb 2009

Long-term use of inhaled corticosteroid drugs increases risk of pneumonia for COPD patients

Newly published research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine finds that a popular class of anti-inflammatory inhalers significantly increases the risk of pneumonia in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

9 Feb 2009

Immunosuppressant medication cyclosporine may be cost-effective for dry eye syndrome

A topical eye emulsion consisting of cyclosporine (a medication used to reduce transplant rejections or to treat arthritis and psoriasis) may be a cost-effective treatment for dry eye syndrome that does not respond to other therapies, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

9 Feb 2009

New understanding of how leukemia develops

In a collaborative study published Feb. 9, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists performed a genome-wide expression analysis comparing highly enriched normal blood stem cells and leukemic stem cells, and identified several new pathways that have a key role in cancer development.

9 Feb 2009

Alarming increase in prevalence of chronic low-back pain

The proportion of people suffering from long term, impairing low back pain has more than doubled in North Carolina since the early 1990s, according to a new study.

9 Feb 2009

Lack of specific gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

9 Feb 2009

Camouflaging of viral DNA could be crucial step in progression of cancers

An estimated 15% of cancer cases can be linked to a viral infection, however the biological changes that cause some asymptomatic carriers of a virus to develop full-blown tumors are not well understood.

9 Feb 2009

Traumatic brain injury patients can relearn emotions

The visitor in Barry Willer's office at the University at Buffalo was frustrated and deeply depressed.

9 Feb 2009

Body's defenses may worsen chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder

Although the immune system is designed to protect the body from harm, it may actually worsen one of the most difficult-to-treat respiratory diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to new University of Cincinnati (UC) research.

9 Feb 2009