Body

In a pair of distinct but complementary papers, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues illuminate the functional importance of a relatively new class of RNA molecules. The work, published online this week in the journal Nature, suggests modulation of "enhancer-directed RNAs" or "eRNAs" could provide a new way to alter gene expression in living cells, perhaps affecting the development or pathology of many diseases.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (June 4, 2013) – More evidence has surfaced that supports the war on smoking, especially if smokers have an infant in their household. A study published today in the June issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), found that infants with a family history of allergic disease with lower respiratory tract infections, who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk for longer hospital stays.

HOUSTON - MET protein levels correlate strongly with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, a treatment-resistant type of colorectal cancer and may be used as a surrogate biomarker, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The study results, which compared MET protein expression with protein/gene expression of EMT markers and evaluated impact on survival, were released today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Alexandria, VA — The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck SurgeryFoundation on Tuesday published a new Clinical Practice Guideline on "Improving VoiceOutcomes after Thyroid Surgery" to recognize the importance of the patient's voice and thepotential impact thyroid surgery can have on it.

Boston, Mass. – After receiving an organ transplant, patients must follow a regimented medication routine to maintain the health of their graft (transplanted organ). Failure to do so, known as non-adherence (NA), can result in life-threatening illness. NA has long been a concern among adolescent patients, but a new study from Boston Children's Hospital demonstrates the problem may be more serious than previously understood.

Employers have to pay around £4,000 more a year to employ a member of staff who smokes compared to a non-smoking employee, finds research published online in the Tobacco Control journal.

US researchers found that several factors including absenteeism, smoking breaks and healthcare costs result in a greater cost to the employer for having a smoker on staff and this cost could help inform their workplace tobacco policies.

Around half of people with an extreme form of obsessive compulsive disorder responded well to a type of psychosurgery that proved to be safe and effective, according to research published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, & Psychiatry.

Researchers from Canada have now recommended physicians should consider this approach in helping people with OCD who have not responded to any other type of treatment.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study suggests that U.S. businesses pay almost $6,000 per year extra for each employee who smokes compared to the cost to employ a person who has never smoked cigarettes.

Researchers say the study is the first to take a comprehensive look at the financial burden for companies that employ smokers.

There is an increasing need for safe emergency anaesthesia as cases of emergency Caesarean section (CS) continue to rise, say experts speaking at Euroanaesthesia, the annual congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA).

Urban epidemics resulting from viral diseases, such as West Nile fever and chikungunya fever, are transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

According to Virginia Tech scientists, mosquitoes reared in cooler temperatures have weaker immune systems, making them more susceptible to dangerous viruses and more likely to transmit them to people.

States that choose not to expand Medicaid under federal health care reform will leave millions of their residents without health insurance and increase spending, at least in the short term, on the cost of treating uninsured residents, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

If 14 states decide not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act as intended by their governors, those state governments collectively will spend $1 billion more on uncompensated care in 2016 than they would if Medicaid is expanded.

GALVESTON, Texas — Prescriptions for testosterone therapy have increased significantly during the last 10 years, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA Internal Medicine conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

About 50 percent of the men in the study who had received testosterone therapy had been diagnosed as having hypogonadism, a condition where a man is unable to produce the normal levels of testosterone.

Using cholesterol-lowering statins may be associated with musculoskeletal conditions, arthropathies (joint diseases) and injuries, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Vegetarian diets are associated with reduced death rates in a study of more than 70,000 Seventh-day Adventists with more favorable results for men than women, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

The possible relationship between diet and mortality is an important area of study. Vegetarian diets have been associated with reductions in risk for several chronic diseases, including hypertension, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease (IHD), according to the study background.

A study by Helen Wong, R.D., of The Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues examined the safety and efficacy of dietary flaxseed supplementation in the management of hypercholesterolemia (high levels of cholesterol) in children. (Online First)