Body

Breast cancer patients are more likely to have joint pain from taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) if they have advanced stage cancer, according to a study presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting, held Nov. 7-11, in Atlanta. The study is one of the first to identify factors that increase the likelihood that a patient will suffer joint pain from AI therapy.

"The results of this study show that fearless behavior in children can be identified and is related to neurological and genetic predisposition. This type of behavior has less correlation – at least in infancy – with standards of educational processes or parenting practice," says Dr. Inbal Kivenson-Baron, who carried out the study.

Scientists have found that the fat cells and tissues of morbidly obese people and animals can reach a limit in their ability to store fat appropriately. Beyond this limit several biological processes conspire to prevent further expansion of fat tissue and in the process may trigger other health problems.

Privacy legislation and protocols to safeguard the health information of members of the military are lacking, and the head of Canada's military must take action to ensure health privacy for all staff, states an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CAMJ) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.101630.

Recent violations at Veterans Affairs Canada of privacy regarding sensitive health information raise questions about the military's ability to protect personal health information.

New evidence has emerged that the use of mild painkillers such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen, may be part of the reason for the increase in male reproductive disorders in recent decades.

Scientists have made a significant discovery about how the body defends itself against snail fever, a parasitic worm infection common in developing countries.

Researchers studied the immune response in mice infected with snail fever parasites. They found that a particular type of immune cell, known as the dendritic cell, is responsible for triggering the immune system's defence against the invading parasite.

A monoclonal antibody targeting a well known cell surface protein inhibited prostate cancer growth and metastasis in an aggressive form of the disease that did not respond to hormone therapy, according to a study by researchers with the UCLA Department of Urology and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

PHILADELPHIA — Young mice that experienced the psychosocial stress of prolonged separation from their mothers had a higher incidence and faster onset of breast tumors compared with young mice who did not experience this stressful life event. Specifically, neonatal mice separated from their mothers for a prolonged period of time developed mammary tumors twice as fast as mice that experienced short or no maternal separation.

A new study has found that women who receive silicone implants after a double mastectomy are more satisfied with their breasts than women who receive saline implants. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings may help physicians and breast cancer survivors as they together make decisions related to postmastectomy reconstructive surgery.

Hospital for Special Surgery physicians who focus on lupus, scleroderma and related conditions are traveling from New York City to Atlanta this week to share their recent findings at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

ATLANTA, GA — Lupus puts children at higher risk for coronary artery disease when they become adults, but routinely using statins doesn't provide enough benefit to warrant their regular use in children and adolescents, according to the largest study of pediatric lupus patients to date.

Using pests as part of an insect birth control program helps to get rid of them, UA researchers find. A new approach that combines the planting of pest-resistant cotton and releasing large numbers of sterile moths has virtually eliminated of the world's most destructive cotton pests from Arizona.

Simple mobile technology, like basic cell phones, can be used to save the lives of mothers in childbirth, and improve the care of newborns and children, reaching underserved populations in remote areas.

More advanced mobile technology can do even more, such as checking on patients, keeping records, improving diagnosis and treatment in the field, and letting community health workers consult general practitioners and specialists for guidance.