Body

The unique resources available in the Nordic region, such as civic registration numbers and the registries of genetically informative populations and health outcomes, make it an epidemiological goldmine. The LifeGene project is being coordinated by the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet to take advantage of Sweden's competitive edge in this field. Today, LifeGene is being launched into the international scientific scene at BIO 2010 in Chicago, the world's largest biotech conference.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in North Dakota are evaluating the storage properties of promising new potato varieties that could greatly improve potato quality for growers throughout the United States.

Seventy percent of all potatoes in the United States are processed into chips, french fries and dehydrated potato flakes. Maintaining adequate potato storage quality for processing—in some cases, up to 10 months—is vital to potato producers and processors.

A team of scientists from the University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne have shown that young people with inflammatory bowel diseases have low bone mass and poor bone architecture compared to healthy people of the same age, placing them at increased risk of fracture.

LOS ANGELES (May 5, 2010) – New Cedars-Sinai research shows obese patients who test positive for methane on their breath have a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) than their peers.

The study, which was presented at Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, La., is the first in humans to show a link between the presence of methane-producing bacteria in the gut and elevated BMI, indicating that bacteria may play a role in obesity.

PHILADELPHIA – Mechanical bowel preparations (MBP) are commonly administered preoperatively to patients who undergo a pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (Whipple procedure) to treat benign and malignant tumors of the pancreas, common bile duct or duodenum. MBPs are employed as a preventative measure in gastrointestinal surgery but their effectiveness in reducing perioperative infectious complications remains unclear.

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of hepcidin in iron metabolism, particularly anaemia of chronic disease and iron overload. There have also been reports of its expression in various proinflammatory disorders and various organs, linking it to innate immunity and iron metabolism. To date, hepcidin has only been shown to be present in serum and urine of humans.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive tumor with poor long-term prognosis. The reported 5-year recurrence rate ranges from 75% to 100%. Therefore, extrahepatic metastasis of HCC is uncommon due to the highly malignant nature of the primary tumor. However, with advances in different treatment modalities for HCC, the incidence of extrahepatic metastasis appears to be increasing. Nevertheless, most recurrences occur relatively early after the initial diagnosis and treatment.

Radio frequency identification, RFID, could be used in the immediate aftermath of a major earthquake to save lives, according to new research published in the International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development.

A new study by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that the immune defence's T cells can attack the "bad" LDL cholesterol and thereby cause an inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis. By producing a vaccine against the T cell receptors, the researchers have managed to inhibit the development of atherosclerosis in animals. The study is presented online in the distinguished periodical Journal of Experimental Medicine and is expected to be of considerable significance to the future treatment of atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.

Fluoroscopic (X-ray) guided steroid injections offer a safe and effective alternative to the conventional treatment of hamstring tendonitis, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Conventional treatment includes rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, and physical therapy.

Hamstring tendonitis refers to inflammation (pain, swelling, warmth, redness, and dysfunction) in one or more of the hamstring tendons. It is relatively common in a multitude of track and field athletes and dancers.

PHILADELPHIA — Although acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is relatively rare in children, drinking alcohol during pregnancy could increase the risk, according to a recent paper published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

PHILADELPHIA — While previous research had suggested that drinking milk was related to factors that may increase the risk of renal cell cancer, results of a recent study exploiting the genetic contribution to variation in milk consumption suggest that this may not be the case.

High pressure jobs boost young women's risk of heart disease, finds a large study of female nurses published today in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Previous research has indicated a link between a demanding job and heart disease risk, but the findings have been largely confined to men.

The research team assessed the impact of work pressure and degree of personal influence in the workplace on the heart health of 12,116 nurses, who were taking part in the Danish Nurse Cohort Study.

Fatal assaults among the most disadvantaged in Scotland are more than 30 times as high as they are among the most affluent sectors of society, reveals research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Estimates suggest that violence costs the Scottish economy around £3 billion a year in terms of healthcare, law enforcement, and lost productivity.

The authors base their findings on an analysis of all 1,109 certified deaths due to assault in Scotland between 1980 and 2005.

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 6, 2010 – Results from the SPIRIT IV clinical trial, which were first presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009 scientific symposium, were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.