Body

PHILADELPHIA — Despite expanded Medicare coverage for colorectal cancer screening tests, lower rates still exist among blacks and Hispanics compared to other ethnic groups, according to research published in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Cincinnati, OH, May 5, 2011 -- Experts agree that obesity prevention should begin before children enter school. But due to a lack of conclusive data, health care providers often have trouble advising parents about which interventions are the most beneficial. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that limiting prolonged bottle use in children may be an effective way to help prevent obesity.

The number of children dying a violent death has fallen substantially in England and Wales over the past 30 years, reveals research published ahead of print in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

But the authors warn that, while the figures are encouraging, there is no room for complacency because at least one child or young person still dies every week as a result of assault.

Women who develop cerebral aneurysms are less likely to have taken the oral contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy, suggesting taking oestrogen could have a protective effect, reveals research published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, have made a critical discovery that may lead scientists to abandon the use of broad conventional ethnic labels—African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian—to estimate a patient's genetic risk for disease. This first-of-its kind study conducted with diverse patients receiving care at a single urban academic medical center, marks an important step in the clinical application of personalized medicine.

Using age alone to identify those at risk of heart disease or stroke could replace current screening methods without diminishing effectiveness, according to a groundbreaking study published today in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

Existing screening methods which include measuring cholesterol and blood pressure are expensive and time consuming. The authors of the new study from Barts and The London Medical School say that this finding could save thousands of lives by making it easier for more people to have access to preventive treatment.

(May 4, 2011, NEW YORK, USA) Tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published today in the journal PLoS ONE, the private sector for TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Across 10 high-burden countries, there is as much TB drug volume in the private sector as in the public sector—and at least a third of all private sector dosages of first-line TB drugs fall outside of national and international treatment recommendations.

Over 100 million years ago, the understory of late Mesozoic forests was dominated by a diverse group of plants of the class Equisetopsida. Today, only one genus from this group, Equisetum (also known as horsetail or scouring rush), exists—and it is a prime candidate for being the oldest extant genus of land plant.

In three new studies published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs, Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers reveal the staggering economic impact of toxic chemicals and air pollutants in the environment, and propose new legislation to mandate testing of new chemicals and also those already on the market.

(Boston) - When the human genome project produced a map of human genes, the number of genes in humans turned out to be relatively small, approximately the same number as in primitive nematode worms. The difference in complexity between human and primitive organisms results from the ways in which the functions of genes are elaborated, rather from just the number of genes. Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers are showing how heparan sulfate, a carbohydrate that is expressed on the surface of all human cells, adjusts the functions of growth factor proteins.

The ability to use nanoparticles to deliver payloads of cancer-fighting drugs to tumors in the body could herald a fundamental change in chemotherapy treatment. But scientists are still at a relatively early stage in the implementation of this technology.

A protein capable of halting the spread of breast cancer cells could lead to a therapy for preventing or limiting the spread of the disease.

"Cancer researchers want to design new therapeutic strategies in which the metastasis or spreading stage of cancer can be blocked," explains Andrew Craig, lead researcher and a professor in Queen's Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Research Institute. "Patients stand a much better chance of survival if the primary tumor is the only tumor that needs to be treated."

(Edmonton) For patients suffering from cancer in the mouth or throat, a recent study shows that a treatment called submandibular gland transfer will assist in preventing a radiation-induced condition called xerostomia.

Also known as dry mouth, xerostomia occurs when salivary glands stop working. University of Alberta researcher Jana Rieger likens the feeling of xerostomia to the experience of the after-effects of having surgery and anesthetic—but the feeling is permanent.

Patients who received therapy for cancer during childhood have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal (GI) complications later in life, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Compared with their siblings, cancer survivors had an increased risk of late-onset complications of the upper GI tract, lower GI tract and liver.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Air pollution from industrial sources near Michigan public schools jeopardizes children's health and academic success, according to a new study from University of Michigan researchers.

The researchers found that schools located in areas with the state's highest industrial air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates---an indicator of poor health---as well as the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards.