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BOSTON – In new research, 30 percent of children hospitalized following a sledding injury suffered significant head injuries, and 10 percent of these children had a permanent disability. The research, presented Saturday, Oct. 15, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) in Boston, supports the need for helmet use and other safety precautions to prevent traumatic sledding injuries.

BOSTON - An in-hospital delay of appendicitis treatment beyond two days was linked to an increased likelihood of complications, including perforation and abscess formation; longer hospitalization; increased costs; and more rarely, death, according an abstract presented Saturday, Oct. 15 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

New York, NY (October 14, 2011) — Researchers have uncovered a vast new gene regulatory network in mammalian cells that could explain genetic variability in cancer and other diseases. The studies appear in today's online edition of Cell.

Bethesda, Md. - Although exercise is generally considered to be a good thing for people with high blood pressure, it has traditionally been considered too risky for women who are also pregnant. Some studies suggest that exercise has benefits such as decreasing the risk of women developing preeclampsia, a condition that raises blood pressure to dangerously high levels but how this might happen has remained unknown.

Bethesda, Md. – The female hormone estrogen is known to offer protection for the heart, but obesity may be taking away that edge in adolescent girls. New research from the University of California at Merced finds that although obesity does not help teens of either gender, it has a greater impact on girls' blood pressure than it does on boys'.

Combination therapy for fecal incontinence is more effective than the current standard treatment. This is the conclusion of a randomized trial comparing the different treatments, described by Thilo Schwandner and colleagues in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[39]: 653-60).

Bethesda, Md. – Heart disease affects men and women in different ways. In women, symptoms of burgeoning heart disease are often more insidious, but when a heart attack strikes, it is more lethal than it is in men. Roughly 25 percent of men will die within a year of their first heart attack, but among women, 38 percent will die. Women are twice as likely as men to have a second heart attack within 6 years of their first one, and women are twice as likely as men to die after bypass surgery.

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, according to new research released ahead of Global Handwashing Day.

Experts say the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria festering on so many gadgets is people failing to wash their hands properly with soap after going to the toilet.

The findings of the UK-wide study by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London also reveal a tendency among Britons to lie about their hygiene habits.

'Never married' men still more likely to die from cancer

It is known that the unmarried are in general more likely to die than their married counterparts and there is some indication that the divide is in fact getting worse. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health looks at the changes in cancer survival over the past 40 years and show that the difference in mortality between the married and never married, especially between married and never married men, has also increased.

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have announced a breakthrough approach to allergy treatment that inhibits food allergies, drug allergies, and asthmatic reactions without suppressing a sufferer's entire immunological system.

The therapy centers on a special molecule the researchers designed, a heterobivalent ligand (HBL), which when introduced into a person's bloodstream can, in essence, out-compete allergens like egg or peanut proteins in their race to attach to mast cells, a type of white blood cell that is the source of type-I hypersensitivity (that is, allergy).

Current guidelines that help clinicians decide whether a woman has had a miscarriage are inadequate and not reliable, and following them may lead to the inadvertent termination of wanted pregnancies. This is the conclusion of a series of papers published in the international journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. "This research shows that the current guidance on how to use ultrasound scans to detect a miscarriage may lead to a wrong diagnosis in some cases.

The current ultrasound test to diagnose miscarriage in early pregnancy is based on limited evidence, raising questions about its reliability, according to a new paper* published by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London.

The researchers say that there is an urgent need to conduct a large-scale study for us to be confident that diagnosis of miscarriage is correct in every case using the ultrasound measurements.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely to have problems with pregnancy regardless of whether they are undergoing fertility treatment, claims new research published on bmj.com today.

The Swedish researchers call for better monitoring of women with polycystic ovary syndrome during pregnancy and childbirth because they are more prone to premature birth, diabetes and pre-eclampsia – outcomes which are not explained by assisted reproductive technology, as previously thought.

Human genes are preferentially encoded by codons that are less likely to be mistranscribed (or "misread") into a STOP codon. This finding by Brian Cusack and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin and the CNRS in Lyon and Paris is published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics on October 13th, 2011.

PHILADELPHIA -- Nose feel congested and stuffed up? Scientists from the Monell Center report that the annoying feeling of nasal obstruction is related to the temperature and humidity of inhaled air. The findings suggest that sensory feedback from nasal airflow contributes to the sensation of congestion. This knowledge may help researchers design and test more effective treatments for this familiar symptom of nasal sinus disease.