ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• One in five medical journal articles include honorary and ghost authors, study finds
• Doctor suggests tabloids publish daily smoking death toll
• Some contraceptive pills more likely to cause blood clots, study confirms
• Role of fat in assessing breast cancer risk
• Linking of mutations in 12 genes to ovarian cancer may lead to more effective prevention
• Blood proteins predict survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, team finds
• Singling out the real breast cancer among the lumps: Finding several proteins in blood at same time improves accuracy of cancer detection
• Many Alzheimer's patients get drugs with opposing effects, study finds
• CT scans for lung cancer screening may be beneficial in detecting COPD
• Researchers identify factors associated with increased risk of blood clot within coronary stent
• DNA vaccines show promise in preventing dental caries
• Rising to a global health challenge, students coax yeast cells to add vitamins to bread
• Surgical treatment within six months of lumbar disc herniation symptoms associated with improved outcomes
• You are what you eat: Low fat diet with fish oil slows growth of human prostate cancer cells, study suggests
• 'Junk DNA' defines differences between humans and chimps
• Study explains paradox of insulin resistance genetics
• Saliva can explain children’s weak immune defense, Swedish research shows
• New anti-inflammatory drugs might help avoid side effects of steroids
• New test can precisely pinpoint food pathogens
• Multidisciplinary research urged for optimal melanoma surgery
• Geoscientists find key to why some patients get infections from cardiac implants
• Dormant malaria parsites in red blood cells may contribute to treatment failure, study suggests
• Gene regulatory protein is reduced in bipolar disorder
• Uncovering the blind spot of patient satisfaction and patient expectations: An international survey
• Blood test could identify smokers at higher risk for heart disease, UT Southwestern researchers find
• Obesity limits effectiveness of flu vaccines, study finds
• Mood, cognition and sleep patterns improve in Alzheimer's patients after cataract surgery, study finds
• Young, apparently healthy -- and at risk of heart disease: New study pinpoints hidden thickening of the arteries in young adults
• Double duty for blood pressure drugs: How they could revolutionize how we treat valve disease
• Quality-of-life for women an issue: In some matters of the heart, women do not fare as well as men
• Gene variation predicts rate of age-related decline in mental performance, study finds
• Innovative transdermal patch for delivery of HIV medicine
• Strawberries protect the stomach from alcohol, rat experiments suggest
• Enzyme controlling cell death paves way for treatment of brain damage in newborns
• Substance from bacteria could lead to allergy-free sunscreen
• New weapon against cancer: Microwaves can be used to create medical images

One in five medical journal articles include honorary and ghost authors, study finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT Just over one in five of articles published in six leading medical journals in 2008 have evidence of honorary and ghost authorship, a new study finds.

Doctor suggests tabloids publish daily smoking death toll Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT While smoking remains legal, the number of smokers is never going to fall significantly, argues a public health doctor.

Some contraceptive pills more likely to cause blood clots, study confirms Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT A new study confirms previous findings that certain oral contraceptive pills are more likely to cause serious blood clots than others.

Role of fat in assessing breast cancer risk Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT It is known that a high proportion of dense breast tissue, as seen with a mammogram, is associated with a high risk of breast cancer. But the role of non-dense fat tissue in the breast is less clear. New research separates the breast cancer risks associated with dense, fibroglandular tissue, and fat, and shows that large areas of either are independently associated with an increased risk.

Linking of mutations in 12 genes to ovarian cancer may lead to more effective prevention Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT More patients with ovarian cancer carry predisposing mutations, and in more genes, than previously thought. A rapid method for screening genomes has located 12 genes for ovary, fallopian tube and peritoneum cancers. More than one-fifth arose in women with a family history, but relying on family history would have missed one-third of cases. The sequencing method could become applicable to patient testing for a broad range of breast, colon, pancreatic and melanoma gene mutations.

Blood proteins predict survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, team finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT A panel of blood proteins can predict which patients with the progressive lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are likely to die within two years or live at least five more, say researchers. The findings could help doctors decide who imminently needs a lung transplant and who can wait a while longer.

Singling out the real breast cancer among the lumps: Finding several proteins in blood at same time improves accuracy of cancer detection Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT A recent breast cancer study using patient blood reveals a possible way to reduce the number of false alarms that arise during early screening. Researchers found a panel of proteins shed by breast cancer that are easily detected and can distinguish between real cancer and benign lumps.

Many Alzheimer's patients get drugs with opposing effects, study finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT You wouldn't brake your car while stepping on the gas -- or wash down a sleeping pill with espresso. Yet many people taking common Alzheimer's disease medications -- cholinesterase inhibitors -- are given medications with anticholinergic properties, which oppose their effects. Scientists investigated how often that happens and reported on the consequences in a new study.

CT scans for lung cancer screening may be beneficial in detecting COPD Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT Among men who were current or former heavy smokers, undergoing lung cancer screening with computed tomography (CT) scanning identified a substantial proportion who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting that this method may be helpful as an additional tool in detecting COPD, according to a new study.

Researchers identify factors associated with increased risk of blood clot within coronary stent Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT Patients with certain genes or specific factors related to use of the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel are more likely to experience a blood clot within a coronary stent shortly after placement, according to a new study.

DNA vaccines show promise in preventing dental caries Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:35 AM PDT In a new study, researchers in China demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines.

Rising to a global health challenge, students coax yeast cells to add vitamins to bread Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:35 AM PDT Any way you slice it, bread that contains critical nutrients could help combat malnutrition in impoverished regions. That is the goal of a group of undergraduate students who are enhancing common yeast so that it makes vitamin-producing bread.

Surgical treatment within six months of lumbar disc herniation symptoms associated with improved outcomes Posted: 25 Oct 2011 10:59 AM PDT A new study has found that patients with herniated lumbar disc symptoms were significantly worse if the patients had symptoms for more than six months prior to treatment, compared to those who had symptoms for six months or less.

You are what you eat: Low fat diet with fish oil slows growth of human prostate cancer cells, study suggests Posted: 25 Oct 2011 10:59 AM PDT A low-fat diet with fish oil supplements eaten for four to six weeks prior to prostate removal slowed down the growth of prostate cancer cells -- the number of rapidly dividing cells -- in human prostate cancer tissue compared to a traditional, high-fat Western diet, according to a new study.

'Junk DNA' defines differences between humans and chimps Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:26 AM PDT DNA sequences for human and chimpanzees are nearly identical, despite vast phenotypical differences between the two species. Researchers have determined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes are highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for these major differences.

Study explains paradox of insulin resistance genetics Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:26 AM PDT A paradox in understanding insulin resistance is figuring out why insulin-resistant livers make more fat. Insulin resistance occurs when the body does a poor job of lowering blood sugars. The signals to make lipid after a meal come from hormones -- most notably insulin -- and the direct effect of nutrients on the liver. Researchers describe the pathway that insulin uses to change the levels of gene expression that control lipid metabolism.

Saliva can explain children’s weak immune defense, Swedish research shows Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:16 AM PDT Children have fewer components that strengthen their immune defense than adults do, according to a mapping of children's saliva that was carried out by researchers in Sweden. The study may have found an explanation for children's inability to fend off infections.

New anti-inflammatory drugs might help avoid side effects of steroids Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT A new class of anti-inflammatory drugs may one day serve as an alternative to steroid medications and possibly help avoid the serious side effects of steroids, new research findings suggest.

New test can precisely pinpoint food pathogens Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT A new test developed by a team led of scientists will enable government agencies and food companies to pinpoint the exact nature and origin of food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy.

Multidisciplinary research urged for optimal melanoma surgery Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:24 AM PDT Experts are praising a new study on optimal margins for melanoma surgery but urge researchers to bring new molecular and genetic techniques to bear on the question of how to minimize the need for more complex surgical techniques while maximizing long-term patient survival.

Geoscientists find key to why some patients get infections from cardiac implants Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:24 AM PDT New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick to the devices.

Dormant malaria parsites in red blood cells may contribute to treatment failure, study suggests Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT Researchers have shown for the first time in a rodent model that the earliest form of malaria parasites can lay dormant in red blood cells and "wake up," or recover, following treatment with the antimalarial drug artesunate.

Gene regulatory protein is reduced in bipolar disorder Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT A new study provides evidence that changes in gene regulation may contribute to the development of bipolar disorder. Researchers found low levels of a transcription factor in the brain's prefrontal cortex and cerebellum in postmortem samples from patients with bipolar disorder, suggesting a new target for drug therapy.

Uncovering the blind spot of patient satisfaction and patient expectations: An international survey Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT Patient satisfaction is increasingly recognized as an important component of quality of care. To achieve a high level of patient satisfaction, providers need to identify and address patients' expectations. However, a new survey reveals that while clinicians think it is important to ask patients about their expectations, they often fail to do so and consequently may not respond adequately.

Blood test could identify smokers at higher risk for heart disease, UT Southwestern researchers find Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT A simple blood test could someday quantify a smoker's lung toxicity and danger of heart disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

Obesity limits effectiveness of flu vaccines, study finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT People carrying extra pounds may need extra protection from influenza. New research shows that obesity may make annual flu shots less effective.

Mood, cognition and sleep patterns improve in Alzheimer's patients after cataract surgery, study finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT Researchers in France have found that patients with mild Alzheimer's disease whose vision improved after cataract surgery also showed improvement in cognitive ability, mood, sleep patterns and other behaviors.

Young, apparently healthy -- and at risk of heart disease: New study pinpoints hidden thickening of the arteries in young adults Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT Atherosclerosis -- or buildup of fat in the walls of arteries -- is thought of as a disorder of older people but it affects a large number of young men and women, according to a new study.

Double duty for blood pressure drugs: How they could revolutionize how we treat valve disease Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT A type of medication known as angiotensin-receptor blockers could reduce risk of mortality in people with a heart disease called calcific aortic stenosis (AS) by 30 per cent over an eight-year period, according to experts. The condition is currently managed with open heart surgery.

Quality-of-life for women an issue: In some matters of the heart, women do not fare as well as men Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT A new study has found that women under age 55 fare worse than their male counterparts following a heart attack -- and their health status declines more than that of their male counterparts after one month.

Gene variation predicts rate of age-related decline in mental performance, study finds Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT A tiny difference in the coding pattern of a single gene significantly affects the rate at which men's intellectual function drops with advancing age, researchers have learned.

Innovative transdermal patch for delivery of HIV medicine Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT An innovative delivery method for human immunodeficiency virus medications has been developed through use of a transdermal patch, the first of its kind to treat HIV.

Strawberries protect the stomach from alcohol, rat experiments suggest Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:15 AM PDT In an experiment on rats, European researchers have proved that eating strawberries reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane. The study may contribute to improving the treatment of stomach ulcers.

Enzyme controlling cell death paves way for treatment of brain damage in newborns Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:15 AM PDT Brain damage due to birth asphyxia – where the brain is starved of oxygen around the time of delivery – is normally treated by cooling the infant, but this only helps one baby in nine. New research Sweden could now pave the way for new ways of treating brain damage in newborns.

Substance from bacteria could lead to allergy-free sunscreen Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:15 AM PDT As the realization that radiation emitted by the sun can give rise to skin cancer has increased, so also has the use of sunscreen creams. These creams, however, can give rise to contact allergy when exposed to the sun, and this has led to an increasing incidence of skin allergy. Scientists in Sweden are leading the hunt for a natural UV filter that does not have undesired effects.

New weapon against cancer: Microwaves can be used to create medical images Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:03 AM PDT A research team from Sweden has developed new techniques of cancer diagnosis and treatment with the aid of microwaves, which could play a pioneering role in the battle against cancer. These techniques could save many lives and are more effective, less invasive and simpler than currently available alternatives. Clinical studies are now being planned.

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