Body

High blood pressure also called hypertension is a major health problem that when left untreated can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. African Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure and develop it earlier in life than Caucasians. But the reasons for the heightened risk in African Americans still remained largely unknown, although new evidence may provide some insight.

Properly performed analgesia protects children from pain and traumatization. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107(14): 241-7), Christoph Neuhäuser and his colleagues show how analgesia for children and adolescents should be carried out.

A team of scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of Florida's Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) have turned an ornamental plant into a tool for combating a bacterial disease that threatens the world's citrus crop.

Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) has proved to be an effective screening tool for treatments to control Huanglongbing (HLB), according to Yong-Ping Duan of the ARS U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory (USHRL) in Fort Pierce, Fla.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The stage for osteoporosis is set well before menopause—but exercise can help rewrite the script, according to Medical College of Georgia researchers.

Scientists have for the first time succeeded in extracting vital stem cells from sections of vein removed for heart bypass surgery. Researchers funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) found that these stem cells can stimulate new blood vessels to grow, which could potentially help repair damaged heart muscle after a heart attack.

The research, by Paolo Madeddu, Professor of Experimental Cardiovascluar Medicine and his team in the Bristol Heart Institute (BHI) at the University of Bristol, is published in the leading journal Circulation.

Chokeberry bushes have for centuries been residents of eastern deciduous forests where their bright red and dark purple fruits continue to be favorite snacks of local bird species. Native Americans have also traditionally eaten dried chokeberries and prepared teas from parts of the plant, and several domesticated varieties now grace contemporary lawns and gardens from coast to coast.

We are not alone—even in our own bodies. The human gut is home to 100 trillion bacteria, which, for millions of years, have co-evolved along with our digestive and immune systems. Most people view bacteria as harmful pathogens that cause infections and disease. Other, more agreeable, microbes (known as symbionts) have taken a different evolutionary path, and have established beneficial relationships with their hosts.

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State University chemists have determined the structure of an intermediate form of a unique enzyme that participates in some of the most fundamental reactions in biology.

The discovery could lead to understanding life in ancient ecosystems. It could also play a role in producing alternate fuels and fighting pollution, according to MSU researchers who published their findings April 25 in the advance online publication of the journal Nature.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Could eating grapes slow what's for many Americans a downhill sequence of high blood pressure and insulin resistance leading to heart disease and type 2 diabetes?

Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System are teasing out clues to the effect of grapes in reducing risk factors related to cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to phytochemicals -- naturally occurring antioxidants – that grapes contain.

DELHI & KAMPALA – Rationing Funds, Risking Lives: World Backtracks on HIV Treatment, the new report from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), documents early warning signs resulting from the global pullback on AIDS commitment and funding: caps on the number of people enrolled in treatment programs, more frequent drug stock outs, and national AIDS budgets falling short.

A new study finds that factors known to increase the risk of breast cancer among white women have less influence in Hispanic women. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that research is needed to evaluate how breast cancer risk factors differ among ethnic and racial populations.

Using routine data from electronic patient records to select individuals at high risk of developing heart disease, rather than screening all adults aged between 40 and 74 years of age, is just as effective at saving lives but will be cheaper to run, according to research published on bmj.com today.

Despite a significant decrease in heart disease in the last twenty years, heart problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death in the UK. Heart disease also costs the UK economy around £30 billion every year.

ANAHEIM, CA – The use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections causes a continual and vicious cycle in which antibiotic treatment leads to the emergence and spread of resistant strains, forcing the use of additional drugs leading to further multi-drug resistance.

But what if it doesn't have to be that way?

Diminished bone density is common among menopausal women and raises their risk of osteoporosis, bone fractures and subsequent complications. Research has traditionally focused on therapies that seek to maintain the level of estrogen in the body. This hormone seems to sustain bone health, but it drops to an extremely low level during and after menopause.

Chokeberry bushes have for centuries been residents of eastern deciduous forests where their bright red and dark purple fruits continue to be favorite snacks of local bird species. Native Americans have also traditionally eaten dried chokeberries and prepared teas from parts of the plant, and several domesticated varieties now grace contemporary lawns and gardens from coast to coast.