Body

New research shows that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA—the spirochetal bacteria transmitted by deer ticks—in joint fluid may confirm the diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, but is not a reliable indicator for active joint infection in patients whose arthritis persists after antibiotic therapy. Findings of this study are published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

A new study offers hope for species such as the Siberian Tiger that might be considered 'too rare to save', so long as conservation efforts can target key threats.

The findings have important implications for conserving some of the world's most charismatic endangered species, which often exist in populations far smaller than the many thousands of individuals that earlier studies had argued were necessary for viability.

T'ai chi has particular health benefits for older people, including helping to prevent falls and improving mental wellbeing, reveals a review published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

But the Chinese martial art widely practised for its health benefits does not help improve the symptoms of cancer or rheumatoid arthritis and the evidence is contradictory for many other health conditions and symptoms.

Young adults who take risks when driving are more likely to experience psychological distress, including mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, reveals research published ahead of print in Injury Prevention.

Young drivers have more accidents and are more likely to be involved in a crash in which someone dies than older drivers, and risky behaviour is known to contribute to crashes involving young novice drivers.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers have described a new species of land crab that documents the first crab extinction during the human era.

A new tool is available to select for soybean rust resistance in breeding populations, said Glen Hartman, University of Illinois professor of crop sciences and USDA-ARS scientist. Hartman and his team of researchers successfully used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) assays to assess fungal DNA in soybean leaf tissue to quantify the level of resistance in individual plants with resistance to soybean rust.

A new test for prostate cancer that measures levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) as well as six specific antibodies found in the blood of men with the disease was more sensitive and more specific than the conventional PSA test used today, according to a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

ATS 2011, DENVER – The antibiotic linezolid may be more effective than vancomycin in treating ventilated patients who develop methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia as a result of their ventilation, according to a study conducted globally by American and French researchers and presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.

ATS 2011, DENVER – An impaired ability to handle oxidative stress that arises from exposure to secondhand smoke and other environmental triggers may contribute to the development of asthma, according to results obtained from the Shanghai Women's Health Asthma and Allergy Study presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference.. The results of the study suggest regulating the body's antioxidant defense system may play an important role in asthma prevention.

ATS 2011, DENVER –African-American children are more likely to report previous emergency room visits, hospitalizations and need for intensive care unit (ICU) management for asthma than Caucasian children on their first visit to an asthma specialist, according to a study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The study also indicated that African-American children have poorer lung function at their initial visit to an asthma specialist than their Caucasian counterparts.

The study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.

Obese patients undergoing colon surgery are 60 percent more likely to develop dangerous and costly surgical-site infections than their normal-weight counterparts, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

These infections, according to findings published in the journal Archives of Surgery, cost an average of $17,000 more per patient, extend hospital stays and leave patients at a three-times greater risk of hospital readmission.

Obese patients appear to have a significantly increased risk of developing a surgical site infection after colectomy (procedure involving either partial or full removal of the colon), and the presence of infection increases the cost associated with the procedure, according to a report published online today that will appear in the September issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Among patients referred by non-dermatologists to dermatologists for evaluation of skin lesions suspected of being malignant, only apparently one-fifth were found to be cancerous, although dermatologists identified and biopsied other incidental lesions, approximately half of which were malignant, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The beta-blocker propranolol appears to be associated with reducing the size and color of hemangiomas of the head and neck in a pediatric population, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

For patients with eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), steroids administered by a nasal spray may be ineffective, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.