Body

DALLAS – Jan. 20, 2009 – People on low-carbohydrate diets are more dependent on the oxidation of fat in the liver for energy than those on a low-calorie diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a small clinical study.

Coral reefs around the world are in serious trouble from pollution, over-fishing, climate change and more. The last thing they need is an infection. But that's exactly what yellow band disease (YBD) is—a bacterial infection that sickens coral colonies. Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues have found that YBD seems to be getting worse with global warming and announced that they've identified the bacteria responsible for the disease.

In the first-ever study of food adverts in UK magazines, researchers found them filled with sugary, salt-filled options often contradicting the health messages the articles were trying to put across.

"Nearly every magazine contains advice on a healthier lifestyle, yet we found the food adverts were for products high in sugar and salt and low in fibre such as ready meals, sauces and confectionary," explains Dr Jean Adams, lecturer in public health at Newcastle University, who led the study.

The first, formal revision of specific guidelines, known as RECIST, used by clinicians to measure tumour size and response to treatment, has been published today (Tuesday 20 January) in a special issue of the European Journal of Cancer [1]. The authors say that the revisions will ease the workload involved in running clinical trials, without compromising study outcomes.

CINCINNATI—New analyses led by the University of Cincinnati (UC) show that genetic testing used to guide initial dosing of the blood-thinner warfarin may not be cost-effective for typical patients with atrial fibrillation but may be for patients at higher risk for major bleeding.

This study is being published in the Jan. 20, 2009, edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Warfarin is commonly prescribed to prevent blood clotting, particularly for patients with atrial fibrillation—a type of abnormal heart rhythm.

In terms of diversity and sheer numbers, the microbes occupying the human gut easily dwarf the billions of people inhabiting the Earth. Numbering in the tens of trillions and representing many thousands of distinct genetic families, this microbiome, as it's called, helps the body perform a variety of regulatory and digestive functions, many still poorly understood.

For select patients, hospital at home treatment produces similar outcomes to inpatient care at similar or lower costs, found a study by researchers from the United Kingdom and Italy to be published in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg175.pdf.

Hospital at home programs are popular alternatives to hospital stays given the demand for acute care beds and the need to cut costs.

The severity of first heart attacks has dropped significantly in the United States — propelling a decline in coronary heart disease deaths, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"This landmark study suggests that better prevention and better management in the hospital have contributed to the reduction in deaths," said Merle Myerson, M.D., Ed.D., lead author of the study, cardiologist and director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital of Columbia University in New York City.

Patients using a cream containing tretinoin, a retinoid commonly used to treat acne and other conditions, appeared more likely to die than those using a placebo in a clinical trial that was halted early as a result, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, evidence does not suggest these excess deaths were caused by the therapy.

Online support communities appear to offer both a valuable educational resource and a source of psychological and social support for individuals with psoriasis, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Rates of antibiotic-resistant head and neck infections increased in pediatric patients nationwide between 2001 and 2006, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Two non-surgical, non-pharmacological treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) both appear effective in reducing medication use and improving voice and swallowing symptoms, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. One type of therapy also appears effective for reducing heartburn and cough, whereas the other may be associated with a reduction in regurgitation.

Disparities in survival among black patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer are not seen when patients are recommended appropriate treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Highlights

A Johns Hopkins study finds that HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients could have the same one-year survival rates for themselves and their donor organs as those without HIV, provided certain risk factors for transplant failure are recognized and tightly managed.