Body

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – June 8, 2010 – Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN), in collaboration with EPI-Q, Inc. and Avatar International, LLC, today announced the launch of My MS Health, a first-of-its-kind, web-based, patient-reported outcomes (PRO) research program. My MS Health is designed to track and provide instant reports on patient function and quality of life (QoL) using validated measures over time.

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- One in 25 people from India and other south Asian countries carries a mutated gene that causes heart failure.

Quebec City – A community-based health promotion program delivered by over 500 peer volunteers significantly reduces heart disease and stroke in seniors, Canadian Stroke Network researcher Dr. Janusz Kaczorowski told the Canadian Stroke Congress today.

As part of the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP), family physicians in 20 mid-sized Ontario communities invited patients aged 65 and over to attend risk assessment sessions held at local pharmacies over a 10 week period.

Over 15,000 residents took part in the program.

WESTCHESTER, IL – Long sleep duration is associated with an elevated prevalence of metabolic syndrome in older adults, according to a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Prostate cancer has become more common in younger men, and it's often more aggressive in these men. A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that a series of genetic mutations could help detect this early onset prostate cancer.

Researchers believe that genetics and traditional screening methods could play a role in predicting the risk of prostate cancer in younger men.

The recently enacted federal health care reform law provides health insurance coverage to the largest number of Americans while keeping federal costs as low as reasonably possible, according to a new analysis from the RAND Corporation.

Quebec City – A community-based health promotion program delivered by over 500 peer volunteers significantly reduces heart disease and stroke in seniors, Canadian Stroke Network researcher Dr. Janusz Kaczorowski told the Canadian Stroke Congress today.

As part of the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP), family physicians in 20 mid-sized Ontario communities invited patients aged 65 and over to attend risk assessment sessions held at local pharmacies over a 10 week period.

Over 15,000 residents took part in the program.

Durham, NC – A new study pinpoints the genetic changes that enable Tibetans to thrive at altitudes where others get sick.

Improving the nutrition of dairy cattle is a key instrument for reducing the environmental problems caused by the accumulation of nitrogen on dairy farms. Research conducted in the Basque Institute for Agricultural Development and Research, Neiker-Tecnalia, and led by the biologist Haritz Arriaga in collaboration with the Universitat Autònoma in Barcelona, has demonstrated that up to 35% of the accumulated nitrogen on dairy farms in the Basque Country can be reduced with a balanced diet in protein content without reducing milk production.

A series of surveys were carried out to characterize the physical and biological parameters of the Millennium Atoll lagoon during a research expedition in April of 2009. Millennium is a remote coral atoll in the Central Pacific belonging to the Republic of Kiribati, and a member of the Southern Line Islands chain. The atoll is among the few remaining coral reef ecosystems that are relatively pristine. The lagoon is highly enclosed, and was characterized by reticulate patch and line reefs throughout the center of the lagoon as well as perimeter reefs around the rim of the atoll.

Rima Taher, an expert in the design of low-rise buildings for extreme winds and hurricane, hopes her phone won't ring much this hurricane season. It's already been busy with requests for information about best building design and construction practices to reduce wind pressures on building surfaces.

Within a comprehensive health insurance system, black and Hispanic children appear more likely than white children to have asthma and their outcomes are often worse, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Genetic influences appear important in the development of gambling disorders in both women and men, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.