Medical News

Rare genetic polymorphisms linked with asthma Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Korean researchers have identified polymorphisms of the interleukin-17 receptor B gene that influence an individual's susceptibility to asthma.

Blood inflammatory cell profile predicts asthma pattern Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Assessing the pattern of inflammation mediated by neutrophils and eosinophils can yield valuable information about the type of asthma symptoms a patient is likely to experience, research shows.

Telephone spirometry allows general pulmonary function testing Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT A portable spirometer that transmits readings via telephone could greatly enhance the ability of general practitioners to diagnose obstructive airway disease, findings from a large study suggest.

Further trials of probiotic <i>H. pylori</i> infection control in children needed Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Researchers have called for further trials into the use of probiotics for prevention and eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in children, following the results of a pilot study.

Passive smoking has little impact on EGA risk Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Reassuring study findings suggest passive smoking has no appreciable effect on the risk for esophageal or gastric adenocarcinomas.

<i>C. difficile</i> infection elevated among IBD outpatients in remission Posted: 17 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Clostridium difficile infection is more common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission than healthy individuals, Irish research suggests.

Multiple deficits in schizophrenia ‘share common abnormality’ Posted: 14 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Deficits in IQ, executive function, and verbal learning in schizophrenia patients may be due to a common prefrontal cortex abnormality in information processing, rather than separate deficits, conclude UK researchers.

Triple-reassortant swine influenza A described in humans Posted: 14 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT There have been 11 confirmed cases of triple-reassortant swine influenza A virus crossing from pigs to humans in the USA since 2005, a report reveals.

Genetic markers reveal swine flu’s pandemic potential Posted: 14 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT A study of past influenza virus pandemics has identified a number of genetic mutations that predict the severity of influenza infection.

Swine flu ‘clinically similar to seasonal flu’ Posted: 14 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT The novel swine-origin influenza A virus has a very similar clinical presentation to that of typical seasonal influenza, meaning it is likely to have affected more people than previously thought, US experts believe.

Depressive, social anxiety symptoms severe among anxiety disordered patients Posted: 14 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT UK researchers have found that depressive and social anxiety symptoms are more severe among tertiary care outpatients with anxiety disorders than among those with unipolar or bipolar depression.

No observable brain changes in UHR adolescents Posted: 13 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Contrary to expectations, young adolescents at ultra high risk for psychosis do not have gross neuroanatomical changes, say Dutch scientists who suggest that any changes may be too subtle to detect on conventional imaging.

Uncontrolled blood pressure linked to increased risk for Type 2 diabetes Posted: 13 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Individuals with treated but uncontrolled hypertension have a two-fold higher risk for incident Type 2 diabetes than patients with controlled hypertension, show study results.

Brain activity determines risk or resilience in bipolar disorder Posted: 13 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Researchers in the UK have identified differences in brain activity and structure that may explain why some people at high risk for bipolar disorder remain mentally healthy while others develop the mood condition.

Home-based diet and exercise programme benefits older cancer survivors Posted: 12 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT A home-based diet and exercise programme can help prevent a decline in physical function among older, overweight cancer survivors, US researchers report.

FES patients have decreased DMFC volume despite positive link to delusion severity Posted: 12 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Study results suggest that first-episode schizophrenia patients have volumetric reductions of the dorso-medial frontal cortex, even in the presence of a positive correlation between DMFC volume and delusion severity.

U-shaped mortality with increasing serum estradiol in systolic chronic HF Posted: 12 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Low or high levels of serum estradiol in men with systolic chronic heart failure are linked with an increased risk for death, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Childhood ADHD impacts on clinical course of bipolar disorder Posted: 12 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT A childhood history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has a significant impact on the course of bipolar disorder, regardless of whether ADHD symptoms persist in to adulthood, researchers have found.

Heritable cortical thickness reductions seen in schizophrenia patients Posted: 11 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Schizophrenia patients have heritable reductions in cortical thickness distributed widely throughout the brain, although such changes are not observed in unaffected siblings, observe US and German researchers.

Smoking and high blood pressure top risk factors for US preventable deaths Posted: 11 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Smoking and high blood pressure are responsible for the largest number of preventable deaths in the USA, research suggests.

DASH diet adherence linked with reduced HF risk Posted: 11 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Middle-aged and older women whose eating habits are in keeping with a particular blood-pressure lowering diet may have a decreased risk for heart failure, a large study suggests.

Bipolar disorder with persecutory delusions similar to schizophrenia Posted: 11 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Bipolar disorder patients with persecutory delusions have similar prefrontal and temporal lobe abnormalities to those of schizophrenia patients, say German scientists who call into question the current classification schemes.

Low-dose continuous OC regimen effective Posted: 10 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Study results suggest that the continuous use of a low-dose oral contraceptive containing levonorgestrel 90 mcg/ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg effectively inhibits ovulation and ovarian activity with rapid return of ovulatory capacity after treatment cessation.

Preganancy probiotics, dietary counseling reduce postpartum maternal adiposity Posted: 10 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT Study results presented at the 17th European Congress on Obesity show that dietary counseling in addition to probiotic supplementation initiated in early pregnancy significantly reduces maternal adiposity over 12 months postpartum.

Communication of total alcohol abstinence during pregnancy ethically dubious Posted: 10 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT The total abstinence policy advocated by the UK's Department of Health and the British Medical Association is not fully supported by scientific evidence and could be seen as paternalistic and ethically dubious, says a UK medico-legal expert.

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