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No evidence that taking estrogen alone increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women

The findings come three years after a related WHI study found that a different type of hormone therapy - which combined estrogen and progestin - did result in a higher risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women.

13 Apr 2006

IL-25 both promotes and limits inflammatory diseases

The same signal responsible for promoting the type of immune responses that cause asthma and allergy can also limit the type of inflammation associated with debilitating diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

13 Apr 2006

Europe slow to implement infant pneumococcal vaccine programmes

Up to 90 per cent of cases of invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) - which includes serious infections like meningitis - occur in otherwise healthy young children, according to a study published in the April issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

13 Apr 2006

Advances in chemotherapy significantly reduce risk of disease recurrence in breast cancer patients

Recent advances in chemotherapy have significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence and death in breast cancer patients whose tumors are not hormone sensitive, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and 10 other institutions.

13 Apr 2006

Active ingredient in soy may explain why Asians have lower rates of obesity and cancer

A single nutrient found in soy products elicits changes in gene behavior that permanently reduce an embryo's risk of becoming obese later in life, according to an animal study at Duke University Medical Center.

13 Apr 2006

Cystamine and cysteamine increase brain levels of BDNF in Huntington disease via HSJ1b and transglutaminase

Huntington disease (HD) is a degenerative brain disease in which brain cells called neurons die as a result of aggregations of the polyQ-huntingtin protein.

13 Apr 2006

Does eating during TV viewing affect preschool children's intake? Yes

In a recent Penn State laboratory study, preschool children who usually eat meals at home while watching TV ate one-third more lunch when they were shown a cartoon video during lunchtime versus when they ate lunch without TV.

13 Apr 2006

Research provides clues to obesity's cause

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

13 Apr 2006

Environmental scientists identify new culprits in the cancer equation

In the granite-rich region of Western North Carolina, taking a daily shower could pose a risk of developing lung cancer. So could working from home every day. That's because granite emits a carcinogenic gas, radon.

13 Apr 2006

Does marketing products as remedies create 'get out of jail free cards'?

Just like a "get out of jail free card" makes going to jail seem like no big deal in Monopoly, a new study in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research shows that remedy marketing can undermine risk avoidance messages.

13 Apr 2006

Regulatory focus and efficacy of health messages

You know slathering on the SPF helps prevent skin cancer. So why don't you do it?

13 Apr 2006

Maintaining high blood pressure treatment may reduce the risk of dementia in old age

Lead author of the study Rita Peila, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), said "For every year of hypertension treatment, there is increased protection against dementia."

13 Apr 2006

A drink or two a day may be associated with better cognitive function in women

"Women who had up to two drinks a day scored about 20 percent higher on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) than women who didn't drink at all or who consumed less than one drink a week," said Clinton Wright, M.D., M.S., lead author of the study.

13 Apr 2006

Physicians with more experience are better able to detect a third heart sound that is an indicator of heart disease

Physicians with more experience are better able to detect a third heart sound that is an indicator of heart disease, according to a study on stethoscope accuracy in cardiac patients at UCSF Medical Center.

13 Apr 2006

People are more willing to lie to coworkers than to strangers

Though explicit talk of money may be considered gauche, we are frequently confronted with the dreaded query "How much did you pay for that?"

13 Apr 2006

Cardiocerebral resuscitation improves survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Survival rates following the most common form of cardiac arrest increased three-fold when emergency medical personnel used a new form of CPR developed at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center.

13 Apr 2006

New risks identified after early breast cancer

A new study of women with early stage, localized breast cancer identifies new patterns and risk factors for invasive disease that may influence how patients are treated.

13 Apr 2006

Obesity is most costly lifestyle health risk–especially for women

Obesity is a major contributor to employee health costs, responsible for two to three percent of all medical claims dollars, reports a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

13 Apr 2006

Sildenafil improves blood flow after heart attack in an animal model

Dogs treated with sildenafil, a drug most commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, had better blood flow in coronary arteries than control animals, following an induced artery obstruction and treatment that modeled a heart attack and standard medical care given to people

13 Apr 2006

New Medicare drug benefit is meeting or exceeding expectations

According to a new survey released by AARP, nearly eight-in-ten, (78 percent) of those enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan say they are satisfied.

13 Apr 2006