Body

Alexandria, VA — Liposuction is a novel and minimally invasive procedure for treating persistent submental lymphedema in patients with previous head and neck cancer, according to an article published in the June 2012 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.

"Submental lymphedema is a common problem encountered by patients following treatment of head and neck cancer," the authors state.

New research from the University of Southampton suggests that there are more employees in the UK's voluntary sector than previously thought.

A study recently published in Nature Genetics provides new evidence that the genetic makeup of the embryo may cause the appearance of tumors in adult life. These results bear out the growing theory that some tumors may have an extremely early origin, tracing to the individual's embryonic development, while offering new clues to understand the genetic causes of certain kinds of cancer, and their prevention and treatment.

WASHINGTON, DC, June 12, 2012 — Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study.

Published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, the study shows alcohol consumption leads to increased social stress and poor grades, especially among students in schools with tightly-connected friendship cliques and low levels of alcohol abuse.

Members of the Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists (SALIS) are calling for urgent action to halt the closure of specialist libraries and databases, before valuable resources and expertise are lost forever.

Since SALIS started actively campaigning against the closure of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) libraries and databases eight years ago, more than twenty-five libraries and databases worldwide have been downsized or closed, their resources dispersed or destroyed.

Preparing a meal in some of the world's poorest rural areas can turn an ordinary activity into a deadly chore. Animal dung and crop scraps often fuel the indoor fires used for cooking. And before any food fills a hungry belly, thick black smoke fills a family's lungs.

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that in African-American families where men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, they have unmet psychosocial needs that affect their survivorship, as well as family and social relationships.

The study, recently published in the Journal of Cancer Education, focused on better understanding the African-American male and family prostate cancer survivorship experience.

A team of scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) together with clinicians from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have identified a unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomaviruses (HPV) related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised. These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) – tiny strands of non-protein-coding RNAs – start off as long strands of precursor miRNAs. These long strands get chopped up by a special kind of machinery, the "Microprocessor" complex, to transform them into their shorter functional form. The resulting miRNAs bind to messenger RNA (mRNAs) molecules, inhibiting their protein production capacity and thus regulating the levels of hundreds of different proteins.

The extent to which our development is affected by nature or nurture – our genetic make-up or our environment – may differ depending on where we live, according to research funded by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

Washington, DC—Routine screening with echocardiogram can detect three times as many cases of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as clinical examinations, offering a novel approach in preventing this common disease, according to a new study in Circulation. The study, conducted by cardiologists from Children's National Medical Center, is the largest single-population study in Africa. The August issue of Nature Reviews - Cardiology features a summary of the article in its Public Health feature.

The management practice known as retention forestry, which involves deliberately leaving selected trees standing when wood is harvested, has spread to forests over much of the world and is bringing broad benefits to conservation, according to an assessment published in the July 2012 issue of BioScience.

Our attitude towards our age has a massive impact on the likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia. New research shows that when seniors see themselves as 'older' their performance on a standard dementia screening test declines dramatically; making them five times more likely to meet the criteria for dementia.

The association of dental plaque with cancer mortality in Sweden. A longitudinal study doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001083

Persistent dental plaque may increase the risk of dying early from cancer, suggests an observational study published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Dental plaque is made up of a film of bacteria, which covers the surfaces of the teeth, including the gaps between the teeth and gums. It leads to tooth decay and gum inflammation, with the potential for tooth loss.

Younger age of menopause in women with cerebral aneurysms Online First doi: 10.1136/neurointsurg-2012-010364

The younger a woman is when she goes through the menopause, the greater may be her risk of having a brain (cerebral) aneurysm, suggests research published online first in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

A cerebral aneurysm refers to an abnormal bulging of one of the arteries in the brain, which is often only discovered when it ruptures, causing a potentially fatal and/or disabling bleed.