Rapid workplace expansion linked to long-term sickness absence
A Swedish study in this week's issue of THE LANCET examining the health effects of exposure to personnel change has shown that rapid workplace expansion is strongly associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence and hospital admissions-especially among women working in the public sector....... Previous studies have focused on the negative health effects of downsizing, but there h...First epileptic seizures in old age suggest high risk of subsequent stroke
UK research in this week's issue of THE LANCET highlights how an unexplained epileptic seizure among people aged 60 years or over probably indicates a high risk of subsequent stroke. Authors of the study comment that the identification of patients at increased stroke risk has implications for preventative treatment, and that seizures should be viewed as a risk factor for stroke in the same way as...In a new observational analysis, Risedronate significantly reduced nonvertebral fracture risk
MINNEAPOLIS (September 22, 2003) In a new observational analysis presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), osteoporosis patients taking risedronate (Actonel) had a 59 percent (p=0.04) lower risk of nonvertebral fracture than patients receiving alendronate (Fosamax) and a 75 percent (p<0.01) lower risk than patients receiving nasal calcito...Imperial statistician estimates size of French BSE epidemic
.Around one hundred BSE infected animals will have been slaughtered for human consumption in France during 2000, an Imperial College statistician has estimated. Dr Christl Donnelly, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, analysed BSE-incidence data from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, combined with information from the UK epidemic, to estimate the size and course of the...Abnormal brain activity during the observation of others' actions
In a study that broadens our understanding of the neural basis of social interactions, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of Montreal have shown that individuals with autism display abnormal patterns of activity in brain circuits that underlie the understanding of other people's behavior. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized in part by marked social deficits...Study sheds light on cross-species infection for BSE
A study published early online by THE LANCET provides an estimate of the compared efficiency of oral transmission of BSE to cattle and to man....... There has been uncertainty regarding the amount of BSE material that constitutes an oral infectious dose for humans. The study estimates that a person would have to eat at least 1.5kg of neural tissue from an infected animal that was just below the d...Psychotherapy, meds best for youth with obsessive compulsive disorder
Children and adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) respond best to a combination of both psychotherapy and an antidepressant, a major clinical trial has found. Supported by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health, the study recommends that treatment begin with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), either alone or with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor...Therapy, medication combination superior for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder
DURHAM, N.C. Children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) fare best when treated with a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and sertraline (trade name Zoloft), researchers at Duke University Medical Center and their colleagues at two other research institutions have determined. The team's research findings appear in the October 27, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Med...Large portion of late-stage breast cancers associated with absence of screening
Increasing mammography screening rates and investing in research to improve breast cancer detection technologies should be top priorities, according to authors of a study published in the October 20, 2004, Journal of the National Cancer Institute*. As many as 92 percent of late-stage breast cancer cases in the United States could be diagnosed and treated earlier, when there is greater likelihood...New asthma program in Detroit public schools may improve student grades and decrease absences
(NORTHBROOK, IL, May 10, 2004) Detroit public school children living with asthma may have fewer absences and improve their grades with the help of a new comprehensive asthma program.... ...In a study published in the May issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, Detroit children with asthma participating in a school-based asthma program had 34 percent...Mayo researchers observe genetic fusion of human, animal cells -may help explain origin of AIDS
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic genomics researchers are the first to demonstrate that mixing of genetic material can occur naturally, in a living body. The researchers have discovered conditions in which pig cells and human cells can fuse together in the body to yield hybrid cells that contain genetic material from both species and carry a swine virus similar to HIV (the virus that causes AIDS)...Mayo Clinic study reveals new fathers struggle with obsessional thoughts too
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Both fathers and mothers have distressing thoughts after the birth of a baby, according to a new Mayo Clinic study published in the Sept. 3 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings.... ...In a survey mailed to 300 childbearing women and their partners, participants were asked to report distressing thoughts, such as "My baby is going to die from SIDS (sud...Summit agrees to improve coordination of global Earth observation
ESA already carries out its Earth observation programmes in cooperation with other agencies or countries through mechanisms such as CEOS, the Committee of Earth Observation Satellites and IGOS-P, the Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership. Another good example of the way cooperation between space agencies can lead to increased utilisation of EO data is the International Charter on Space...An automated observation system to analyse the behaviour of laboratory rodents
Recording and classifying the behaviour of laboratory rodents is a vital part of a wide range of studies ranging from the discovery of new drugs and detection of harmful side-effects to the biological control of agricultural pests. Until now, it has been a lengthy and painstaking task, requiring human observers to judge, count and record. But a new computerised system developed with EUREKA's help...Review of preliminary observations concludes the Mayo Clinic Natl Conf on Medicine and the Media
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- After three days of debate and deliberation, attendees gathered over the weekend at the Mayo Clinic National Conference on Medicine and the Media reviewed preliminary observations for bringing more accurate, timely and responsible medical news to the public. ... ...The conference was attended by medical and health journalists, scientific journal editors, physicians, industry r...Off-the-job drinking predicts subsequent on-the-job injury for up to five years
... Urban transit operators have one of the most stressful jobs in the United States.... Prior research showed that some bus drivers use after-hours alcohol to cope with work-related stress.... A new study has found that off-the-job drinking can have a significant impact on subsequent claims of work-related injury.... ...Numerous studies have established a link between on-the-job alcohol impairm...UB researcher observes strong statistical correlation between prevalence of diabetes, air pollution
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A dramatic statistical correlation between the prevalence of diabetes and air pollution levels has been demonstrated by a University at Buffalo researcher who publishes his observations in the August issue of the journal, Diabetes Care.... ... The correlation appears in the "Letters: Observations" column of the journal in which researchers report information often as a way of su...Neuronal differences in certain brain regions observed in chronic users of cocaine
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have detected differences in areas of the brain in chronic cocaine users. These differences were detected in regions involved in decision making, behavioral inhibition, and emotional...reaction to the environment.... ...Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other brain mapping techniques, the researchers, led by Dr. Teresa R. Franklin, examined 1...Study by UBs RIA confirms link between alcohol consumption, work absence
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Alcohol consumption is predictive of workplace absenteeism on a day-to-day basis, with employees nearly two times more likely than normal to call in sick the day after alcohol is consumed, according to a study conducted at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA)....... The study examined the day-to-day relationship between alcohol use and workplace abs...Study observes no association between cell phone use and auditory tumors
ST. PAUL, MN The risk of acoustic neuroma, or auditory tumor, was unrelated to the frequency and duration of cellular telephone use, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.... ...Researchers from New York University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Medical Center conducted a case-control study of 90 a...Researchers observe abnormalities in brains of autism patients
ST. PAUL, MN Withdrawing from social interaction and communication is a hallmark of autism. Now, researchers have identified structural differences in the brains of autism patients that might explain the behavor.... Using computerized imaging, researchers have observed minicolumnar abnormalities in the frontal and temporal lobes of autistic patients. The study by scientists at the Medical Colle...A peptide whose absence leads to narcolepsy also might play role in pain sensation
New Haven, Conn. A neuropeptide whose loss is believed responsible for narcolepsy, a disease characterized by sudden sleep attacks, also appears to play a role in the modulation of pain sensation, a study by a Yale researcher has found.... ...The findings, published as the cover story in the January issue of the Journal of Physiology, offers a new direction in the control of pain, particularly i....Researchers have laid to rest the myth that another mental disorder stems.from "bad parenting." A new study from Johns Hopkins has shown that.obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), like schizophrenia and bipolar.disorder, tends to run in families and has a strong genetic basis. . .People with a first degree relative with OCD -- brothers, sisters and.parents -- have a five times greater risk of h..................................................................... Acute myocardial infarction (death of part of the heart muscle) is most often due to coronary thrombosis (a blood clot). Thrombolytic treatment to try to dissolve the clot is a matter of urgency and, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), should be given to patients within 90 minutes of their calling for medical assist...NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 23, 1998-Medical training has taken an artistic turn for...some students at Yale University School of Medicine. Irwin M. Braverman, M.D.,...professor of dermatology and in the Cancer Center at Yale, has introduced...students to a method of learning that takes them out of the traditional...classroom and into the museum....... In a tutorial called the British Museum Project,...