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The type and dosage of statin drugs given to patients to treat heart disease should be proactively monitored as they can have unintended adverse effects, concludes a new study published on bmj.com.

Researchers at The University of Nottingham found that some statins can lead to an increased risk of liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, myopathy and cataracts in patients.

Male sex hormones, such as testosterone, have well defined roles in male reproduction and prostate cancer. What may surprise many is that they also play an important role in female fertility. A new study finds that the presence and activity of male sex hormones in the ovaries helps regulate female fertility, likely by controlling follicle growth and development and preventing deterioration of follicles that contain growing eggs.

More than eight million diabetics live in Germany. Diabetes is not restricted to our prosperous society and the highest growth rates often occur in countries with aspiring economies such as in Asia. Worldwide, more than 285 million people suffer from this illness; with 50 million diabetics, India is the country with the most people affected by this disease. In Europe, Germany shows the highest prevalence in the population with twelve percent.

Rates of cardiovascular disease increase dramatically in Australian winters because many people don't know how to rug up against the cold, a Queensland University of Technology seasonal researcher has found.

Dr Adrian Barnett from QUT's IHBI (Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation) said the numbers showed that winters in Australia posed a greater risk to health than winters in cold northern European countries such as Finland and Sweden.

Experts disagree on bmj.com today about the best way to tackle the obesity crisis. While Professor Louise Baur and colleagues from the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the University of Sydney in Australia acknowledge that "physical inactivity is a major contributor to the global burden of disease," they says that it would be wrong to only focus on this and ignore the problem of obesity.

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- For marine iguanas living in the Galapagos Islands, an El Niño can be deadly. Some die from starvation while others survive. Scientists have long believed that the difference between life and death for the iguana depended on the animals' ability to secrete the stress hormone corticosterone.

Droughts in the late 20th century rival some of North Africa's major droughts of centuries past, reveals new research that peers back in time to the year 1179.

Why have CEO salaries skyrocketed over the past 20 years? Much of the blame lies in the practice of compensation benchmarking, say the authors of a study to be published next week in the American Journal of Sociology.

A Montreal study finds heterotrophic bacteria counts, in more than 70 percent of bottled water samples, exceed the recommended limits specified by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Researchers from Ccrest laboratories report their results today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

New evidence from a population-based study carried out in Iceland casts doubt on previous suggestions that high blood sugar levels are linked with coronary heart disease risk in otherwise healthy people. Although there is strong evidence that blood sugar control is important amongst diabetics, both to reduce the risk of heart disease as well as to prevent other complications, there is greater uncertainty regarding the relationship for non-diabetic people.

In research published this week in PLoS Medicine, Ken Ong of Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and colleagues show an association between greater early-infancy gains in weight and length and genetic markers for adult obesity risk.

Although advances in the control and elimination of neglected infections have been steadily increasing in the past decade—specifically with heightened interest by policy makers, governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), and private philanthropies—more can and must be done, says a new editorial, "'Manifesto' for Advancing the Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases," published May 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The most common aquatic habitat in Dar es Salaam – drains – are important vectors for the development of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and malaria, according to new research. The study, published May 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, shows that more than 70% of open Anopheles and Culex larval habitats in Dar es Salaam are human-made, and may be treatable.

Non-Suicidal Self-injury (NSSI) also known as "self-injury" or "self-harm," which is a common practice amongst adolescents, is typically defined as the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent and for purposes not socially-sanctioned. Medical providers are uniquely positioned to detect the presence of self-injurious behavior, to assess its lethality, and to assist patients in caring for wounds and in seeking psychological treatment.