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Future research should lead to better layout of work and equipment for orthodontists and all other dental workers

Gap-toothed youngsters may not be the only ones who are a little sore when they leave the orthodontist's office. While they sport tight braces on their teeth, their doctors may be nursing tight, aching backs, according to a study from the University of Alberta.

3 Mar 2005

MRI better than current standard of practice in assessing neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

More breast cancer patients with large palpable tumors are now undergoing chemotherapy before surgery in an effort to reduce the size of their tumor, and MRI is the best way to predict if the chemotherapy is working, preliminary results of a study show. If the chemotherapy is successful, then the woman may be able to undergo breast-conservation surgery rather than a mastectomy.

3 Mar 2005

BMA(NI) comment on latest NHS waiting lists

Commenting on the release today of the DHSSPS's NHS waiting list figures, BMA(NI) Chairman, Dr Brian Patterson, said that the reduction in numbers of people waiting for inpatient treatment, albeit small, was to be welcomed and paid tribute to the doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff who have worked hard to achieve this.

3 Mar 2005

Inherited traits and tumor mutations affect response to treatment of leukemia

The outcome of chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) depends not only on the acquired genetic make-up of the leukemic cells, but on genes that children inherit from their parents. This study, from investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the online edition of Blood.

3 Mar 2005

Researchers turn fatal brain cancer into treatable disease for children

Some children with a rare brain tumor that is considered almost universally fatal can be saved if they receive radiation therapy followed by tandem (given one after the other) cycles of high-dose chemotherapy.

3 Mar 2005

Nutrition Month in Canada

Health ministers in Canada have taken the bull by the horns and announced March to be Nutrition Month to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.

3 Mar 2005

FDA issues information on the risks and benefits of Crestor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), today issued public health advice, patient information, and professional healthcare information on the risks and benefits of Crestor (Rosuvastatin calcium), a cholesterol-lowering drug.

2 Mar 2005

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children being treated for severe injuries, according to research published today in the Open Access, peer reviewed journal BMC Pediatrics.

2 Mar 2005

Way to detect early signs of testicular cancer

Danish researchers have discovered a way to detect early signs of testicular cancer before it has started to spread. Their findings are the first step towards developing a simple screening test for men at risk of the disease.

2 Mar 2005

Researchers identify first known mutation to occur in lung cancer patients who have never smoked

Dr.Adi Gazdar, professor of pathology in the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research and senior author of the study in today's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, explains that the findings may show why certain lung cancer patients respond dramatically to a specific form of targeted therapy while others have little or no response.

2 Mar 2005

Surgery gives normal life expectancy to patients with severe mitral regurgitation

"We know from previous studies that patients with symptomatic mitral regurgitation are at increased risk of death, but for those without symptoms the picture has been murkier," says Maurice Enriquez-Sarano, M.D., the Mayo Clinic cardiologist who led the study. "In this study we followed a large population of asymptomatic patients prospectively to identify keys to improved long-term outcomes, and to determine when patients should consider surgery."

2 Mar 2005

Possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome

The first evidence for a possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome, one of the leading inherited causes of mental retardation, has emerged from experiments with a mutant fruit fly that exhibits characteristics of the disorder.

2 Mar 2005

Gene variant that may increase the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MIND) have identified a gene variant that may increase the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

2 Mar 2005

Natural mentoring relationships positively impact teens

Natural mentoring relationships positively impact teens, but these relationships do not meet all the needs of at-risk youth, according to a study by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

2 Mar 2005

The impact of cruciate ligament rupture on osteoarthritis of the knee

Study links tears of anterior cruciate ligament to increased risk and severity of disease even among patients with no recall of significant knee injury.

2 Mar 2005

A shallow hip socket predicts osteoarthritis of the hip

Long-term study suggests moderate acetabular dysplasia, a developmental condition of hip instability, as an independent risk factor for the disease.

2 Mar 2005

Future diabetes drugs may target new protein interaction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

2 Mar 2005

Liverpool is justified in its attempt to go smokefree

New figures showing that second-hand smoke at work kills over 600 people every year in the UK leave no doubt that Liverpool is justified in its attempt to go smokefree, say doctors and nurses.

2 Mar 2005

How and why people become addicted to alcohol

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified several genetic changes in the brains of mice caused by ethanol, which may help researchers better understand how and why people become addicted to alcohol.

2 Mar 2005

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, may help prevent cancer

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, contains a compound - glycyrrhizic acid which may stop people with a herpes virus from developing cancer.A research team at New York University found the compound - glycyrrhizic acid - possibly has the ability to stop the virus triggering a form of cancer called Kaposi sarcoma.

2 Mar 2005