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Alcoholics who smoke appear to lose more brain mass than alcoholics who don't smoke

It is already well-known that the brains of long-term alcoholics atrophy and shrink, the study authors say, but the new findings are the first evidence that cigarette smoking might contribute to that atrophy, particularly in grey matter of the parietal and temporal lobes.

28 Sep 2005

Parental behavior about smoking affects children

Twelve-year-olds whose parents smoked were more than two times as likely to begin smoking cigarettes on a daily basis between the ages of 13 and 21 than were children whose parents didn't use tobacco, according to a new study that looked at family influences on smoking habits.

28 Sep 2005

New Stat1 and interferon findings

By altering a molecule called Stat1, which is involved in cellular immune signaling, scientists have succeeded in making the molecule more responsive and thus more efficient. This old protein with a new twist may eventually be used to improve the body's defense against infection.

28 Sep 2005

Fruit fly discovery could lead to a completely new approach to tackling some cancers

Scientists studying the humble fruit fly have found a family of proteins that enhances the sensitivity of a cell to a hormone that can trigger abnormal growth and cancer. Their discovery could lead to a completely new approach to tackling some cancers and the development of new drugs to stop uncontrolled growth in a wide variety of tumour cells.

28 Sep 2005

Musical training might be good for the heart

...suggests a small study, which shows that it is musical tempo, rather than style, that is the greatest stress buster.

28 Sep 2005

Prevalence of "risky" sex in Scotland has doubled in the space of six years

...while unfounded confidence in the HIV negative status of casual partners has also increased, reveals research in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

28 Sep 2005

Emergence of "POZ Parties"

The emergence of "POZ Parties" - parties exclusively for HIV positive men to meet other HIV positive men for sex - signals the potential to spread HIV "superinfection,"suggests research in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

28 Sep 2005

Married women have more sexual difficulties than single women or married men

Married women are more likely to have sexual difficulties than either single women or married men, suggest the findings of a national survey in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

28 Sep 2005

Common form of thalassaemia can be managed without blood transfusion

Haemoglobin E â thalassaemia - the commonest form of severe thalassaemia in many Asian countries - can be managed without transfusion in many patients, suggests a research letter published online today (Thursday September 29, 2005) by The Lancet.

28 Sep 2005

Training at risk in market-led NHS new junior doctors' leader says

Increased competition in the NHS in the UK could jeopardise the quality of doctors’ training, the new leader of the UK’s 49,000 junior doctors warns today (Thursday 29 September, 2005).

28 Sep 2005

Bleak outlook for overweight Australians

International research into the relationship between obesity and heart failure has uncovered a bleak outlook for already overweight Australians. The research shows that obesity is set to be one of the biggest risks for heart disease over the next decade.

28 Sep 2005

Substance found in cotton plant could help treat psoriasis

A substance found in the cotton plant could help treat the common skin disease psoriasis, according to new research from the Pharmacy School at Sunderland University launched at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

28 Sep 2005

Determining levels of homocysteine may be one way to intervene in mild cognitive deficit early in the adult life-cycle

...according to a recent study by a research team led by Merrill F. Elias, a professor of epidemiology in the Statistics and Consulting Unit of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Boston University.

28 Sep 2005

High rates of musculoskeletal injuries among poultry workers

A survey of poultry workers in western North Carolina reveals high rates of injuries, as well as significant differences among poultry companies in numbers of injuries and how workers view company emphasis on safety.

28 Sep 2005

Drug-releasing intravaginal ring could help prevent women from contracting HIV infection

The silicone vaginal ring steadily releases aciclovir: a treatment for genital herpes. It is known that women with genital herpes are at increased risk of HIV infection because the genital blisters caused by the infection increase the transmissibility of sexually acquired HIV.

28 Sep 2005

100 year old technology to fight MRSA

A technique that has been around for more than one hundred years is being used in new research as a way of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using light. The research to be reported today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, is being undertaken by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.

28 Sep 2005

Pain-free needles!

Millions of fearful patients could be saved the pain of vaccinations thanks to revolutionary pain-free needles to be revealed today for the first time at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

28 Sep 2005

Combination HRT appears to double the breast cancer risk in women who smoke

Older women who have smoked for 11 or more "pack years" - the lifetime equivalent of a pack a day for at least 11 years - face a 30 percent to 40 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer as compared to women who've never smoked, according to new findings from researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

28 Sep 2005

New option for treatment of lower back pain

Abbott today announced that it has started enrolling patients in a new U.S. clinical study to evaluate the potential benefits of its Wallis Mechanical Normalization System, a new spinal implant technology for the treatment of mild to moderate degenerative disc disease designed to stabilize the spine and reduce pain while preserving range of motion.

28 Sep 2005

Mylan wins patent litigation

Mylan Laboratories today announced that the federal district court in the Northern District of West Virginia ruled in favor of Mylan in its Oxybutynin patent litigation with Alza Corporation, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

28 Sep 2005