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Attitudes of a peer group are more influential than a group that is not as closely allied

According to a study at Yale, one of the most effective ways to change negative attitudes about obese people is by addressing perceptions of normative beliefs within particular social groups.

3 Oct 2005

Physical activity may reduce gastrointestinal symptoms in people who are obese

In a study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found that a high body mass index (BMI) and lack of physical activity were associated with an increase in GI symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

3 Oct 2005

What works in preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency?

A new report released by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the UW-Extension synthesizes the latest research on what works in preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency.

28 Sep 2005

Grant for private, secure, electronic medical records search system

A Boston consortium has been awarded one of two national grants to form a CDC Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics.

28 Sep 2005

No specific antiretroviral drug-related "Crix belly" syndrome

Contrary to the concerns of many HIV-infected patients, there appears to be no specific antiretroviral drug-related "syndrome" of changes in body fat distribution in men wherein leg and arm fat decrease as belly fat increases, reports a study in the October issue of Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS).

28 Sep 2005

Housework has an adverse effect on wages

While prior research has shown that housework has an adverse effect on wages, a new University of Michigan study finds that only young and middle-aged women are affected.

28 Sep 2005

Nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence

Associate Professor Athina Markou, Ph.D., who is in the Scripps Research Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department at Scripps Research’s La Jolla Campus, and Paul Kenny, Ph.D., a former Research Associate in her laboratory, report in an upcoming issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology that nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence.

28 Sep 2005

Researchers look at pharmacogenomics

When patients receive chemotherapy, 15 percent will have severe side effects while 85 percent will not - even though they're given the same relative dose.

28 Sep 2005

Music helps people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease focus on their breathing

Before the music can begin, the harmonica teacher makes sure everyone is in position. "Sit up straight. Feet on the floor. Try to breathe from the belly," she says.

28 Sep 2005

HeartMate XVE left ventricular assist device

Nine years ago this week, a team of University of Michigan doctors gave a dying heart patient a second chance at life by implanting a high-tech pump in his chest. The high-risk procedure was the first in Michigan performed using a new blood-pumping device called a HeartMate XVE left ventricular assist device, which helped the patient live until he received a heart transplant five weeks later.

28 Sep 2005

Fever of unknown origin might be a marker of occult cancer

Fever of unknown origin is characterised by a fever of more than 3 weeks’ duration, temperatures of more than 38.3°C and a failure to identify the origin of the fever. Underlying causes of these fevers are difficult to diagnose, but proposed causes are infections, cancers and collagen-vascular diseases.

28 Sep 2005

Alternative ways to manage chronic pain

Yoga, massage or plain old exercise? It could be just what the doctor ordered to minimize pain from chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, neck pain, low back pain or fibromyalgia, according to the September issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

28 Sep 2005

Nanoparticles as an invisible diet

Utah State University researchers are in the early stages of scientifically tricking the body into eating less and finding a treatment for obesity without dangerous side effects.

28 Sep 2005

Effective removal of face masks from players who sustain c-spine injuries

This fall, as more than a million high school football players take to the gridiron, University of New Hampshire's Erik Swartz is focused on the worst-case scenario.

28 Sep 2005

Salivary antimicrobial peptide expression and dental caries experience in children

A study comparing antimicrobial peptides, or AMPs, a group of small proteins that occur naturally in human saliva and act like antibiotics against oral bacteria, could lead to new ways to screen children for risk of tooth decay and protect them against this common, chronic problem.

28 Sep 2005

Time-to-treatment is important to success of angioplasty treatment

An in-depth look at hospitals that reduced treatment delays highlights steps other hospitals could take to provide rapid angioplasty treatment to heart attack patients, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Flavanols help smokers repair blood vessel function

Phytochemicals known as flavanols, which are found in chocolate, fruits and vegetables, can boost the levels of nitric oxide in the blood of smokers and reverse some of their smoking-related impairment in blood vessel function, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Quality-improvement improves mortality in hospital

Heart attack death rates dropped significantly at hospitals that participated in a quality-improvement process that increased the use of evidence-based therapies, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Flaviviruses immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks

"Flaviviruses exact an enormous toll in terms of illness and death worldwide," notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Because this is a relatively new field of study, everything we learn about how these viruses operate is significant.

28 Sep 2005

C-reactive protein in atherosclerotic lesions: its origin and pathophysiological significance

New research shows that levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), produced by the liver and not at the lesion site, correlate with the degree of atherosclerosis.

28 Sep 2005