Body

San Diego, January 27, 2009 – Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) commonly called secondhand smoke, can harm a developing fetus and may account for complications during pregnancy and birth. It is now known that non-whites experience more adverse pregnancy effects than do whites from smoking and ETS exposure.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 27, 2009) - An evaluation of 203 women as part of the multifaceted Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study (LAAS) found that those who transitioned more quickly through menopause were at increased risk for a higher rate of progression of "preclinical atherosclerosis" – narrowing of arteries caused by the thickening of their walls.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A component of DNA that can both stimulate and suppress the immune system, depending on the dosage, may hold hope for treating cancer and infection, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

Low levels of CpG increase inflammation, part of the body's way of eliminating invaders. But high doses block inflammation by increasing expression of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, an immunosuppressor, the researchers say.

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Dog owners who sleep with their pet or permit licks on the face are in good company. Surveys show that more than half of owners bond with their pets in these ways.

Research done by a veterinarian at Kansas State University found that these dog owners are no more likely to share the same strains of E. coli bacteria with their pets than are other dog owners.

Risk stratification has become central to strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease, with the implication that priority is given to those at highest risk (ie, those with established heart disease). However, such stratification using the conventional risk estimation models may not be accurately achieved in individuals without symptoms, especially those in younger age groups whose 10-year "short-term" estimated risk seems low.

An expert in health services at The University of Nottingham is calling for urgent action to improve contraceptive advice and services to reduce the growing number of repeat teenage pregnancies in the United Kingdom.

Using national abortion figures for England and Wales from 1991 to 2007, provided by the Office of National Statistics and Department of Health, researchers at Nottingham found that the number of women under 20 presenting for repeat abortions has risen steadily over the last 15 years.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – January 27, 2009 – A prospective clinical trial from researchers in Japan shows magnetic-anchor-guided endoscopic submucosal dissection for large early gastric cancer to be a feasible and safe method in humans. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is useful in the en bloc removal (in a single large piece) of large gastric lesions because it reduces the risk of a local recurrence caused by removing the lesions piecemeal (in multiple small pieces). ESD is a complicated procedure that requires a high level of skill by the endoscopist.

Montreal, January 27, 2008 – The futuristic technology of the Six Million Dollar Man –specifically a part metal and part flesh human being – won't be exclusive to Hollywood anymore. While the main character in the Six Million Dollar Man was outfitted with metals to enhance his performance, a multidisciplinary team of scientists led by the Université de Montréal has discovered a process to produce new metal surfaces that promise to lead to superior medical implants that will improve healing and allow the human body to better accept metal prostheses.

States that dropped regulations overseeing the performance of two common heart procedures showed no increase in death rates, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Rice University and Duke University Medical Center. The findings are available online in the journal Health Services Research.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One in eight physicians have been inactive in the state where they are licensed for at least a year, and most states do not require them to undergo competency tests or retraining when they return to actively practicing medicine.

Because of the lack of regulation, patient safety could be compromised in some instances, say researchers at the University of Michigan Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit and the American Board of Pediatrics.

People who buy fake internet drugs could be risking their lives and supporting terrorism, according to an editorial in the February issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Editor-in-Chief Dr Graham Jackson, a UK-based Consultant Cardiologist, has called for greater public awareness of the dangers and consequences of the counterfeit drugs market, which is expected to be worth £55 billion by 2010.

Old technologies, bone cement and a well known antibiotic, may effectively fight an emerging infection in soldiers with compound bone fractures, according to a study published online today in the Journal of Orthopedic Research. An urgent search for solutions is underway as 20,000 additional American soldiers head for Afghanistan, and as evidence emerges that the infection studied may set the stage for more dangerous infections that can lead to amputation.

Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative, flagellated, microaerophilic bacterium, can selectively colonize in the human stomach. Its infection is widespread throughout the world, and is present in about 50% of the global human population with 80% in developing countries and 20-50% in industrialized countries. Infection of the stomach with H. pylori induces a local immune response with infiltration of the mucosa by macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes.

New Haven, Conn. — Three billion years ago, a "new" amino acid was added to the alphabet of 20 that commonly make up proteins in organisms today. Now researchers at Yale and the University of Tokyo have demonstrated how this rare amino acid — and, by example, other amino acids — made its way into the menu for protein synthesis. The study appeared in the December 31 advance online publication of the journal Nature.

There is no good evidence supporting a harmful effect of exercise on joints in the setting of normal joints and regular exercise, according to a review of studies published in this month's issue of the Journal of Anatomy.