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People who drink small amounts of alcohol regularly are less likely to be obese

...than people who do not drink at all. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Public Health shows that consuming no more than a drink or two a few times a week reduces the risk of being obese.

5 Dec 2005

Preventing muscle wasting with a leucine-rich diet

Muscle in adults is constantly being built and broken down. As young adults we keep the two processes in balance, but when we age breakdown starts to win. However, adding the amino acid leucine to the diet of old individuals can set things straight again.

5 Dec 2005

Aldosterone shows promise as stroke treatment

A bi-polar hormone that can contribute to strokes and minimize their damage is emerging as a therapeutic target in the battle against these brain attacks, researchers say.

5 Dec 2005

Study of 30-day extended wear contact lenses

A team of researchers led by the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute have determined that the corneal infection rate associated with the use of 30-day -extended-wear contact lenses made from silicone hydrogel is comparable to that previously reported for older lens types worn for fewer consecutive 24-hour periods.

5 Dec 2005

The earlier cochlear implants considered, the better

New research at Johns Hopkins has clearly demonstrated the ability of cochlear implants in very young animals to forge normal nerve fibers that transmit sound and to restore hearing by reversing or preventing damage to the brain's auditory system.

5 Dec 2005

LEDGF protein controls the location of HIV integration in human cells

A human DNA-associated protein called LEDGF is the first such molecule found to control the location of HIV integration in human cells, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

5 Dec 2005

Mum's the Word: Exploring Early Motherhood

Mums are the focus of a new study being undertaken by RMIT University researcher Leanne Sheeran.

5 Dec 2005

Telemammography works

Digital mammography images can be accurately transmitted over broadband Internet, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

5 Dec 2005

Iron-biofortified rice improves the iron stores of nonanemic Filipino women

For the past decade, plant breeders have been trying to boost the vitamin and mineral content of rice and other staples through traditional plant breeding and genetic engineering. But the foods have never been tested to see if they actually improve the health of the people who eat them.

5 Dec 2005

Genetics play a part in the inability to stop caffeine use

A study led by Johns Hopkins investigators has shown that women with a serious caffeine habit and a family history of alcohol abuse are more likely to ignore advice to stop using caffeine during pregnancy.

5 Dec 2005

Ultrafiltration therapy safe and effective

A device that performs ultrafiltration of blood, without requiring specialized nursing care or invasive central intravenous access, can reduce fluid overload in patients with congestive heart failure, according to a new study in the Dec. 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Dec 2005

Innovative economic enhancement and HIV-prevention intervention study

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found a new way to address HIV and sexual risk taking among drug-using women involved in prostitution.

5 Dec 2005

Lay people can effectively use defibrillators to save the lives of cardiac arrest victims

The first large-scale study to see whether trained volunteers and lay people can use defibrillators to save the lives of cardiac arrest (CA) victims has concluded that their use by lay people is safe, and if the response time can be shortened to within eight minutes there is the potential to save the lives of 15 out of 100 people who collapse suddenly with CA.

5 Dec 2005

Liver transplants may not be suitable for all cystic fibrosis patients

A new study on patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have had abnormal bleeding from ruptured blood vessels in the esophagus (variceal hemorrhage) as a result of liver disease found that transplant may not be indicated if there are no other indications of advanced liver disease.

5 Dec 2005

Phenoxodiol - docetaxel combination for women with recurrent ovarian cancer

A clinical study of ovarian cancer initiated by investigators at Yale School of Medicine will combine the anti-cancer drug phenoxodiol with docetaxel for women with recurrent ovarian cancer.

5 Dec 2005

Redefining how the heart functions

Redefining how the heart functions is one of the first steps that could lead to revolutionary approaches to treating patients who have heart failure - 5 million and growing in the U.S. - or better yet, preventing the heart failure from developing

5 Dec 2005

First study to demonstrate the elimination of a racial/ethnic disparity in health and healthcare

Community-based case managers are much more effective than traditional government outreach and enrollment programs in obtaining insurance coverage for uninsured Latino children, according to a study authored by a physician at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

5 Dec 2005

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus - when it comes to brains!

The comedians are right. The science proves it. A man's brain and a woman's brain really do work differently.

5 Dec 2005

Researchers link microRNA - miR 196 - to limb development

A tiny strand of molecules plays a role in how our arms and legs develop and grow - a finding that sheds light on perplexing bits of material once dismissed as genetic "junk," say scientists at the University of Florida and Harvard University.

5 Dec 2005

Researchers move in on novel therapeutics to inhibit melanoma

Northwestern University researchers have developed a novel, three-dimensional model that allows scientists to observe how interacting with the microenvironment of metastatic melanoma cells induces normal skin cells to become similar to aggressive cancer cells that migrate and spread throughout the body.

5 Dec 2005