Body

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should examine whether combined exposures to chemicals known as phthalates could cause adverse health effects in humans, says a new report from the National Research Council. In addition, this analysis, called a cumulative risk assessment, should consider other chemicals that could potentially cause the same health effects as phthalates, instead of focusing on chemicals that are similar in structure, which is EPA's current practice.

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – During gene transcription – the process inside the nucleus of cells by which DNA, the genetic material, is copied into RNA molecules – a large, ever-changing multiprotein complex is enlisted to assist the DNA-copying enzyme in its challenging job.

Like an exquisitely choreographed dance, each step in the process has to be performed with precision, in order for the copy to be accurate and useful in subsequent events. These events culminate in a version of the RNA copy exiting the nucleus and serving as the template for the production of new proteins.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Throughout the world, 10 million breast cancer survivors have a lifetime risk for developing lymphedema, a chronic condition that involves swelling of the limbs and impacts physical and psychosocial health. Second only to the recurrence of cancer, it is the most dreaded effect of breast cancer treatment. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers found that the risk of developing lymphedema is 40 percent to 60 percent higher in women with body mass index (BMI) classified as overweight or obese compared to normal weight women.

Alfuzosin, a drug commonly prescribed for men with chronic prostatitis, a painful disorder of the prostate and surrounding pelvic area, failed to significantly reduce symptoms in recently diagnosed men who had not been previously treated with this drug, according to a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study is to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Transfer of information is a basic property of biological systems. Common examples include transfer of genetic information or nerve impulses.

New York, 18 December 2008 – According to new recommendations in the December 10 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology (AJC) (www.ajconline.org), published by Elsevier, new research is called for and patients with severe forms of the skin disease psoriasis should receive evaluation and possible treatment to reduce their risk of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility give an increased risk of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women. This comes from a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. More than 20 000 first-time mothers from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were included in the study.

Normal risk

• First-time mothers who had not miscarried or had problems getting pregnant had a 5.2 % risk of pre-eclampsia.

Risk after miscarriage

Human parechovirus is a harmless virus which is encountered by most infants and displays few symptoms. Suspected of triggering type 1 diabetes in susceptible people, research methods need to take this "silent" virus into consideration. This comes from findings in a study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns. Genes that play a role in detoxification of cigarette smoke do not appear to be involved. This is shown in a new study published in the journal Epidemiology.

The German Cancer Society has worked out new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma—a disease with unfavorable prognosis. Malignant melanoma is responsible for 90% of deaths from skin cancer. The incidence has increased 5-fold within the last 30 years and UV radiation is thought to be an important cause. Caucasian populations are most affected.

Scientists at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC) and the Faculty of Science of the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, have shown that populations of the worm Caenhorabditis elegans become resistance to pesticides in 20 generations, that is, in only 80 days.

These findings, published last month in the journal PLoS ONE(*) open the way for future research into improved use of pesticides and antibiotics in pest and parasite control.

Patients receiving drug eluting stents (DES) — stents coated with medication to prevent narrowing of the artery — as part of an angioplasty had better outcomes one year later than patients with bare metal stents, according to a new study to be published in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/080050.pdf.

Doctors lack confidence in their procedural skills after completing the current NHS postgraduate training curriculum. A survey of 181 doctors, published in the open access journal BMC Medical Education, has shown that from ten of the procedures medics are officially required to be competent at, most are only confident of their ability to perform five.

Does sugar make kids hyperactive?Do we lose most of our body heat through our head?Will eating at night make you fat?Do suicides increase over the holidays?Are poinsettias toxic?Hangovers cures, do they work?

These are some of the common myths that are fictitious, according to an article in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

Good quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, 'phytochemicals', that can trigger cancer cell death. New research published in the open access journal BMC Cancer sheds more light on the suspected association between olive oil-rich Mediterranean diets and reductions in breast cancer risk.