Do cigarette additives pose additional risk to smokers?
...cember 27, 2004) Bethesda, MD The U.S. government does not approve or control the "599 list" of non-tobacco chemical ingredients used to manufacture cigarettes. These additives, such as acetic acid (vinegar), chocolate, vanilla, and menthol are found in everyday foods. Scientists, supported by the U.S. ...Sudden death from stress linked to wonky signals in the brain
...left and right autonomic nerves is symmetrical and does not disrupt heart rhythm, even during stress. However, UCL scientists think that, in some cases, the autonomic nerves fire unevenly during stress, which disturbs the smooth electrical pattern across the heart and could ultimately induce an irregular,...FDA approves Enablex for treatment of overactive bladder
...ormation in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise....Country's first 'simplified maze' using new ultrasound technology is done at Northwestern Memorial
...till think of it as a failure if a patient with AF does not respond to medical therapy and has to be refer...ausing the irregular heartbeat. Scar tissue, which does not conduct electrical activity, forms and prevents erratic electrical signals from recurring. The H...Animal studies show stem cells might make biological pacemaker
...t react the way the heart's own pacemaker normally does -- for example, raising the heart rate to help us climb stairs or react to a scary movie. In the researchers' experiments, described in the Dec. 20 advance online edition of Circulation, human ES cells were genetically engineered to make a green p...Medicare HMOs fail to control costs of colon surgery in elderly patients
...ier patients would result in lower charges but it does not." Results of the Florida study were similar to other studies that have concluded rates of high-cost surgical procedures were not reduced among Medicare HMO enrollees. More research is warranted to determine why daily hospital charges were higher ...Scientists identify protein critical to melanoma growth
...he more striking, because it reveals that melanoma does require the CDK2 enzyme for growth. Why this is so isn't clear, but the finding revives the strategy of using CDK2 inhibitors as a potential treatment even if only for this one form of cancer. And, since it's been previously shown that normal cells ...National Academies news: Gulf War and Health
... cases the evidence simply is not strong enough or does not exist," Goldman said. Because scant information exists on actual exposure levels experienced by individual service members -- a critical factor when assessing health effects -- the committee could not draw specific conclusions about Gulf War vete...Potentially fatal toxicities occur with off-label use of cancer drugs
...cation and Prescribing Safety (STEPS), the program does not provide patients, pharmacists or health care providers with information on thromboembolisms. Evens presented the RADAR (Research on Adverse Drug Events and Reports) data on the thalidomide-associated blood clots on at the 46th Annual Meeting of...Novartis announces collaboration with Bayer for EMSELEX
...comparing EMSELEX with placebo showed that EMSELEX does not impair cognitive function and has a cardiovasc...ormation in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press releas...Research in yeast yields missing link in DNA maintenance machinery
...0 plays in DNA repair and what the protein complex does to the chromosome structure at the double strand break. "We have introduced a whole new player that has never been seen before in double-strand break repair," said Shen. "This is only the beginning." In addition to Shen and Morrison, technician Jes...Report on health insurance coverage of Iowa children shows gaps
...y also showed other ways in which having insurance does not guarantee access to care. Parents who are not insured themselves or who do not routinely seek care for themselves may be less likely to seek or use insurance coverage for their children. "Financial ability to pay for services is only one part of ...Researchers develop MRI technique to study brain anatomy in invertebrates
... brain. To image a live crayfish, whose physiology does not normally respond to magnetic fields, CBN researchers injected manganese, a contrast-enhancing agent that crayfish cells absorb, through a long tube into its circulatory system. The infusion took place while the animal was positioned inside the MR...NHLBI statement on oral contraceptive study
...ich showed that postmenopausal hormone use clearly does not reduce, and in fact may increase the risk for CVD. The presentation of the abstract was not made on behalf of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and it had not been reviewed by WHI or by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) p...Drinking and spousal abuse by male US Army soldiers
...eople who have diabetes. Treatment for alcoholism does work, and can prevent or reduce the frequency of r...er, like most chronic-disease therapies, treatment does not always work 100 percent of the time."...Little evidence that breast cancer diagnosis leads to employment discrimination, study concludes
...ve proven to be untrue. For example, breast cancer does not lead to higher divorce rates, and the type of breast surgery plays little role in a woman's sexual function or satisfaction. "We should, however, not grow complacent about, nor should we trivialize, the emotional and physical pain of acute cancer...Some herbal medicine products contain potentially toxic amounts of heavy metals
...Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which does not require proof of safety or efficacy prior to marketing. Herbs, minerals and metals are used in Ayurvedic HMPs. Recent reports of serious lead poisoning associated with taking Ayurvedic HMPs were the impetus for the current study. Robert B. Saper,...Other highlights in the December 15 JNCI
...hough radiologists differ in performance, accuracy does not appear to be simply attributable to years of experience or number of mammograms interpreted," the authors write. "Direct feedback of performance characteristics couple with training may be more helpful than experience without feedback. The most i...To help your mind, take steps to help your heart, study says
...tors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol does damage to small blood vessels in the brain and can cause death of brain cells over time," says lead author Kenneth Langa, M.D., Ph.D. "In addition, the Alzheimer's disease process itself can affect the walls of blood vessels in the brain, making stro...Success of experimental herpes vaccine builds momentum for human clinical trials
... HIV. HSV-2 infection, though incurable, typically does not cause major health problems, but can be life-threatening in immunocompromised people and newborn babies infected by their mothers. Lead author Stephen E. Straus, MD, senior investigator in the Medical Virology Section in the Laboratory of Clinic...