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Phytoestrogens linked with a lower lung cancer risk

A diet higher in plant-derived compounds known as phytoestrogens is linked with a lower lung cancer risk, according to a study in the current issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

27 Sep 2005

Possible therapy that could control blood pressure

A newly developed virus that introduces a blood pressure-lowering gene into cells and enables that gene to maintain blood pressure at healthy levels for four months promises to take gene therapy for the disorder a step closer to reality, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report released online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Sep 2005

Equine flu virus jumps to dogs

A Cornell University virologist has isolated a highly contagious equine flu virus that is spreading a sometimes-fatal respiratory flu among dogs, and is responsible for a major dog-flu outbreak in New York state. There is no evidence that the virus could infect people.

27 Sep 2005

Longer hospital stays do not mean better care

Physicians at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) have disproved the notion that longer hospital stays mean better care. They have successfully cut back on wait times across one dozen hospital departments and, as a result, reduced to well below six the average number of days patients with congestive heart failure, a need for dialysis or surgery, and many other conditions must spend in the hospital.

27 Sep 2005

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome use over 50 percent more health resources than people without the disorder

Even though there are definitive guidelines to diagnose IBS through simple blood tests, many IBS patients have additional procedures and surgeries that rarely result in relief or any additional diagnostic findings.

27 Sep 2005

Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children

The Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network has launched its second clinical trial to study NASH, a liver disease that resembles alcoholic liver disease but occurs in patients who drink little or no alcohol. The first trial, launched in January of this year, focuses on adults, while the second trial studies the disease in children.

27 Sep 2005

Fndings could lead to a treatment for idiopathic interstitial pneumonia

An incurable, deadly lung disorder, "idiopathic interstitial pneumonia" (IIP), whose causes were mysterious arises from a combination of a genetic predisposition and damage due to inhaled chemicals, notably from cigarette smoking, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found.

27 Sep 2005

Heavy smokers can reduce their risk of lung cancer if they decrease smoking by 50 percent

Despite efforts to prevent people from beginning smoking and to encourage smoking cessation, the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking is still high and many smokers are unable or unwilling to completely quit.

27 Sep 2005

Gene variants and beta-blockers associated with increased risk of death

Patients with certain gene variants who were prescribed beta-blocker drugs after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) had an increased risk of death over the next three years, according to a study in the September 28 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

27 Sep 2005

Recommendations for fellowship training in pediatric cardiology

The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have joined forces to develop important first-ever recommendations for fellowship training in pediatric cardiology.

27 Sep 2005

Digital mammography and breast cancer in older women

Digital mammography that uses computers to detect breast cancer found significantly (up to 28%) more cancers than screen film mammography in women 50 and younger, premenopausal and perimenopausal women, and women with dense breasts, according to results from one of the largest breast cancer screening studies ever performed.

27 Sep 2005

Changes in the way illness is dealt with in the community are putting undue pressure on emergency care services

The changing patient profile of emergency care medicine in the UK has increased waiting times for seriously ill patients needing urgent treatment, finds a study in Emergency Medicine Journal.

27 Sep 2005

Veggies reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers

Eating vegetables and other foods that have weak estrogen-like activity appears to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers - as well as in non-smokers, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

27 Sep 2005

New centre to advance child health research

The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Institute of Child Health (ICH) at UCL (University College London) have announced a partnership to establish a centre for research to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting children's health, and to promote their health and well-being.

27 Sep 2005

Benefits of statin therapy identified

The greater the reduction in LDL (lower-density lipoprotein) cholesterol achieved by statin therapy the greater the reduction in incidence of major coronary events, coronary revascularisation and stroke, concludes a meta-analysis published online today by The Lancet.

27 Sep 2005

Racial discrimination is a major cause of poor health for American blacks

In the first national study of its kind, sociologists from Rice University and University of California (UC)-Irvine find that black immigrants who arrive in America from black-majority regions of the world are healthier than those from white-majority regions; but regardless of how healthy blacks immigrants are when they come to the U.S., the longer they stay, the more their health erodes.

27 Sep 2005

Combining optical tomography with standard ultrasound imaging can help distinguish early-stage breast cancer

A new study shows that combining a technology called optical tomography with standard ultrasound imaging can help distinguish early-stage breast cancer from non-cancerous lesions--and potentially reduce the number of breast biopsies performed. The study appears in the October issue of the journal Radiology.

27 Sep 2005

New virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer

A Mayo Clinic research team has devised a new virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer. Researchers say their findings will help overcome hurdles that have hindered gene therapy cancer treatments.

27 Sep 2005

Discovered of gene mutations associated with hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy

In a significant advance toward understanding a perplexing and painful neurological disorder, an international team of researchers has discovered gene mutations associated with an inherited chronic pain and weakness syndrome known as hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy (also called HNA).

27 Sep 2005

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Scientists have learned how a genetic variation long suspected in making some people susceptible to alcoholism and narcotic drug addiction actually does so.

27 Sep 2005