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Quality of treatment guidelines

Practising physicians are nowadays presented with official guidelines on the treatments they should give their patients.

7 Aug 2007

Even young children are swayed by brand preferences

Asked to sample two identical foods from the fast-food giant McDonald's, children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant's familiar "Golden Arches" to one extracted from unmarked paper packaging, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

7 Aug 2007

Potential new biomarker for heart failure also strongly predicts risk of death

A potential new biomarker for heart failure may be more powerful than established measures in identifying patients at increased risk for death from several causes.

7 Aug 2007

Potential new ways to prevent smoking-related cellular damage

In the current issue of PLoS One, researchers show how a poorly understood and previously unsuspected mechanism may be the key to understanding how life-style associated forms of oxidative stress, such as exposure to cigarette smoke, damage cells in the lungs.

7 Aug 2007

Mother and daughter tackle obesity and diabetes together

Two months ago, Phoenix residents Marlene Zytcer, 57, and her daughter Aimee, 31, traveled to the University of California, San Diego Medical Center for a minimally invasive surgery to lose weight.

7 Aug 2007

Maternal obesity and birth defects

Mothers of babies born with some structural birth defectsincluding missing limbs, malformed hearts and underdeveloped spinal cordsappear more likely to be obese prior to becoming pregnant than mothers whose children are born without such defects, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Link identified between Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma

UK scientists have shown for the first time that key proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease are also implicated in glaucoma, the major cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.

7 Aug 2007

Inhaled nitric oxide safe for very premature infants

A nationwide study led by researchers at UCSF provides evidence that inhaled nitric oxide is safe and effective for the prevention of the most common type of long-term lung disease of very premature infants.

7 Aug 2007

India rejects Novartis' drug patent claim

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in India (Mysore, New Delhi and in Guwahati, Assam in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organization) has applauded the news that an Indian court rejected a legal challenge mounted by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to a portion of India's Patent Act that restricts certain kinds of patents, a ruling that will protect access to affordable medicines in the developing world.

7 Aug 2007

Caffeine may help older women protect their thinking skills

Caffeine may help older women protect their thinking skills, according to a study published in the August 7, 2007, issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Aug 2007

Scientists discover the dynamics of transcription in living mammalian cells

Transcription the transfer of DNA's genetic information through the synthesis of complementary molecules of messenger RNA forms the basis of all cellular activities.

7 Aug 2007

Which brain processes enable humans to rapidly access their personal knowledge?

What happens if humans perceive either familiar or unfamiliar objects? The answer to these questions may lie in the direction of information flow transmitted between specialized brain areas that together establish a dynamic cortical network.

7 Aug 2007

How much water should you drink a day?

Eight glasses a day? More or less? The amount of water we need to drink each day can vary.

7 Aug 2007

How cells change the pace of their steps

Scientists at UC San Diego have discovered how cells of higher organisms change the speed at which they move, a basic biological discovery that may help researchers devise ways to prevent cancer cells from spreading throughout the body.

7 Aug 2007

Misconceptions about high blood pressure impede treatment

The distrust of healthcare providers shown by people with high blood pressure impedes effective treatment, as emphasized in a new study published in Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

7 Aug 2007

Green tea holds promise for psoriasis and dandruff

Green tea could hold promise as a new treatment for skin disorders such as psoriasis and dandruff, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

7 Aug 2007

Overview of common hand conditions and treatments

When a wrist hurts, it could be carpal tunnel syndrome -- or something else. Over time, many conditions can affect crucial parts of the hands, causing everything from pain to the loss of normal function.

7 Aug 2007

Genetic factors strongly shape how peers are chosen

As we develop, the company we keep may be increasingly influenced by our genes, according to a new study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

7 Aug 2007

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Brain areas that control attention thinnest in children with ADHD

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

7 Aug 2007