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Bcl-3 protein regulates inflammation by blocking ubiquitination

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently identified how a regulatory protein called Bcl-3 helps to control the body's inflammation response to infection by interfering a critical biochemical process called ubiquitination.

8 Aug 2007

High-intensity focused ultrasound may alerts the immune system to cancer

An intense form of ultrasound that shakes a tumor until its cells start to leak can trigger an alarm that enlists immune defenses against the cancerous invasion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

8 Aug 2007

360 million smokers in China and high prevalence of smoking among physicians

With 360 million smokers, China has more cigarette consumers than any other country - a smoking prevalence of 31 percent among the general population.

8 Aug 2007

Even older women at high risk have little interest in being tested for HIV

Few older women were interested in being tested for the virus that causes AIDS despite having significant risk factors for lifetime exposure, according to a study published in the July/August edition of the Journal of Women's Health.

8 Aug 2007

Geriatric conditions and disability

A broad study of adults ages 65 and older has found that half of them have one or more conditions that can affect their ability to participate in activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing on their own.

8 Aug 2007

Diets high in the nutrient choline may increase risk for colorectal polyps

Contrary to expectations, diets high in the nutrient choline were associated with an increased risk of some colorectal polyps, which can, but do not always, lead to colorectal cancer, according to a study published online in the August 7 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Aug 2007

E. coli bacteria linked to Crohn's disease

A team of Cornell University scientists from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have discovered that a novel group of E. coli bacteria, containing genes similar to those described in uropathogenic and avian pathogenic E. coli and enteropathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, bubonic plague, is associated with intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease in their research paper published July 12 by the ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.

8 Aug 2007

Convenience' foods save little time for working families at dinner

Two-income families in Los Angeles don't live so much in a fast food nation as they do in a Hamburger Helper hamlet on the edge of a packaged lettuce greenbelt, according to the first academic study to track American families moment by moment as they make dinner.

8 Aug 2007

Health plan interventions control prescription drug expenditures

As national spending on prescription drugs rose faster than any other segment of health care spending, the health plan at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center was able to maintain constant spending, resulting in savings of more than $6.6 million over three years.

8 Aug 2007

Children in single-father families miss out on health care

Children living in the custody of single fathers are less likely to have access to affordable health care and visit the doctor less often compared to children living in families with a single mother or both parents.

8 Aug 2007

Chemotherapy with bevacizumab increases risk of blood clots in arteries

Treatment with chemotherapy and bevacizumab, an anticancer drug, is associated with a greater risk of blood clots in patients, arteries compared with treatment with chemotherapy only, according to a study published online August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Aug 2007

Breast implants and risk of suicide

Women who undergo breast augmentation surgery are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide, according to a study published in the August issue of Annals of Plastic Surgery .

8 Aug 2007

Bacteria - you can live without 'em, but it won't do you any good!

The finding challenges the conventional wisdom that even harmless bacteria – and the immune response they provoke – suck up the energy of the host organism and hasten its death.

8 Aug 2007

Feet are an important way to find skin cancer early

The next time you clip your toenails, take a closer look at the rest of your feet. An extra 60 seconds could save your life.

8 Aug 2007

Breastfeeding is the normal, natural way to feed babies

The New Zealand Ministry of Health is using World Breastfeeding Week to remind Kiwi's that breastfeeding is the normal, natural way to feed their babies. Breastfeeding is part of laying the foundations for a healthy life from infancy and childhood and a really important tool to improve the health outcomes for New Zealanders.

7 Aug 2007

Congress takes major step toward equitable payment for nurse-midwifery services

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP)" (H.R.3162), which expands health care coverage to pregnant women and their children and addresses a long-standing inequity in reimbursement for services of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs).

7 Aug 2007

UIC receives $9.6 million grant for autism research

The University of Illinois at Chicago has been awarded a $9.6 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish an Autism Center of Excellence.

7 Aug 2007

Staffordshire screening programme on track to screen over 35,000 diabetes patients

The Staffordshire Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service, a community based digital eye screening programme designed to detect and treat diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, is on track to exceed its target of screening over 35,000 diabetes patients this year.

7 Aug 2007

The battle against killer superbugs begins in earnest

A new initiative in the battle against hospital infections caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs will be led by the very doctor who first raised the alarm bells over the deadly germs.

7 Aug 2007