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Statins may provide potentially life-saving benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease by helping reduce the incidence of blood clots. New research presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that patients with atherosclerosis receiving statin therapy had a significantly reduced risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE)—a collective term for DVT (blood clot) and pulmonary embolism (PE)—than patients not on statin therapy.

Although statins are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients. A new study presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that statins have beneficial effects on patients with systolic heart failure (SHF), but those with diastolic heart failure (DHF) experienced the opposite effect, including increased dyspnea, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance.

Responders to the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks, who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 9/11 disaster, suffer from asthma at a rate more than twice that of the general US population, according to new research presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

Hypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). In addition, findings show there is no increased risk of negative side effects later in patients who undergo hypofractionated radiation.

First responders who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general U.S. population, according to data presented today by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), in San Diego.

BOSTON (November 3, 2009, 1:00 p.m. ET) — Researchers have reduced breast cancer metastasis to bone using an experimental agent to inhibit ROCK, a protein that was found to be over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer. In a study in mice, the team of researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, and Tufts Medical Center report that inhibiting ROCK, or Rho-associated kinase, in the earliest stages of breast cancer decreased metastatic tumor mass in bone by 77 percent and overall frequency of metastasis by 36 percent.

HOUSTON -- (Nov. 3, 2009) -- A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising from duplicate genes.

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.

ADA's position paper, published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on breastfeeding:

Two Kansas State University engineers are assessing systematic production methods that could make the costs of algae oil production more reasonable, helping move the U.S. from fossil fuel dependency to renewable energy replacements.

The idea by K-State's Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan and Zhijian "Z.J." Pei is to grow algae in the ocean on very large, supporting platforms. The National Science Foundation awarded them a $98,560 Small Grant for Exploratory Research in 2009 for their work.

New research reveals how proteins that are critical for the transparency of the eye lens are properly sorted and localized in membrane bilayers. The study, published by Cell Press in the November 3rd issue of Biophysical Journal, analyzes how interactions between lipid and protein molecules can selectively concentrate proteins in certain regions of the cell membrane.

Researchers have new evidence to explain how saturated fatty acids, which soar in those who are obese, can lead the immune system to respond in ways that add up to chronic, low-grade inflammation. The new results could lead to treatments designed to curb that inflammatory state, and the insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that come with it.

If worms are any indication, all the sugar in your diet could spell much more than obesity and type 2 diabetes. Researchers reporting in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, say it might also be taking years off your life.

By adding just a small amount of glucose to C. elegans usual fare of straight bacteria, they found the worms lose about 20 percent of their usual life span. They trace the effect to insulin signals, which can block other life-extending molecular players.

A group of drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston universities identify entire networks of genes—also present in humans—that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior. This discovery, published in the October 2009 print issue of the journal GENETICS, provides a crucial explanation of why some people seem to tolerate alcohol better than others, as well as a potential target for drugs aimed at preventing or eliminating alcoholism.

CHICAGO – November 3, 2009 – New clinical guidelines released by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) emphasize the importance of periodontal health for people with diabetes. Diabetes affects approximately 246 million people worldwide, and this number is only expected to increase. The IDF is an organization of 200 national diabetes associations from 160 countries.

Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation. For some patients, this may mean successful treatment with radiation alone and avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy.