Potential genetic links discovered between metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
...o be published in the December issue of JCEM, also points to a link between Cushing's syndrome, a disease caused by overexposure to the hormone cortisol, and type 2 diabetes. The findings from the two new studies may help doctors identify patients who are at risk for developing complications related to obe...Medication provides effective treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis
...enced significantly greater improvement on all end points than placebo-treated patients. "Twenty-seven perce...oriasis. The benefit across physician-assessed end points and multiple patient-reported measures of HRQL observed in this study along with the favorable safet...Clinical trial of Alzheimer's disease drug shows clear reductions in AD development
...n average change in score at 24 weeks of about 1.5 points on PBT-1 and about 8.9 on placebo, a difference of...derate disease could be expected to gain six to 12 points in their ADAS-cog score over 12 months. A panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration in the ...Study finds fewer than half of early stage breast cancer patients get full chemotherapy doses
... published in today's Journal of Clinical Oncology points to an alarming pattern in breast cancer treatment -- less than half of women with early stage breast cancer whose records were evaluated received their full, recommended dose of potentially life-saving chemotherapy. Researchers from the Universi...Online bladder cancer information often outdated
...sarcoma, only 6 percent of the time." The research points to the difficulty many patients have in finding basic information online about bladder cancer. After weeding through the broken links and sites that only incidentally mention bladder cancer, patients must puzzle through which sites contain the best i...National study seeks cause of baffling, fatal disorder called multiple system atrophy
...s will look for environmental risk factors such as points in a person's work, medical history and dietary habits, which are common to MSA patients and less common in individuals without MSA. They will look for possible genetic causes of MSA, and use sophisticated molecular biology techniques, such as trans...Brain area identified that weighs rewards
...ely stimulating neurons in the region at different points in the judgment process, the researchers hope to determine whether they can affect the ability of a monkey to choose the right eye movements to receive a reward. Also, he said, the researchers will seek to expand their understanding of the brain regi...Radiation treatment is an option for elderly prostate cancer patients
...r a "watchful waiting" approach. Dr. Deutsch also points out that there is a school of thought that the effort and cost of radiation therapy is not beneficial to patients in their advanced stages of life. But if the decision to treat elderly prostate cancer patients with radiation rests on whether they ca......ry problems, P. Murali Doraiswamy of the Duke team points out. The key question is whether patients suffer a higher rate of memory problems than expected. Eight trials have shown no harmful or beneficial effect, he says. "No one should be discouraged from taking a statin because of such anecdotal reports. ...WHO accused of huge HIV blunder
...r second birthday, so the surprisingly high figure points to infection routes other than sex being important. But Schmid says the results of all these studies are questionable. For instance, the instrument used to collect samples in the South African study was not approved by the FDA for use on children, h...MRI shows back trouble may begin before puberty
..., as well as arthritis of the spinal joints. This points out that disc degeneration is not necessarily associated with back pain, and may begin in early childhood. "There is no history of poor nutrition, obesity or other known disease in these children," Dr. Smith said. "We suspect there may be genetic ca...Nov/Dec 2003 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
...derations. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force points out that annual testing could double or triple the total number of smears taken on more than 92 million American women at risk, yet provide only limited added benefit in lowering mortality. "We hope that the findings from our study will help enlight...Brain's 'daydream' network offers detection for Alzheimer's diagnosis
...no particular task at hand, regions that are focal points for a baseline, passive processing mode, one that seems to operate when the mind free to wander and daydream. "What we found in our study is that rather than turning these regions off when asked to concentrate, as young adults do, people with Alzhei...Long-term follow-up of mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia
...by Dr. Thomas Marrie of the University of Alberta, points out that some of the factors that might be helpful in fighting the acute pneumonia could be detrimental in the long run. For example, some patients seem to respond to infection with a more pronounced inflammatory reaction than others. While this mi...Imaging technique may diagnose breast cancer without biopsy
...r tissue makes it difficult to establish reference points against which to measure tCho levels. This method accounts for these tissue variations, using water as a reference compound and a mathematical approach to help "fit" or see choline levels relative to other compounds. This technique also exploits the...Understanding how lymph nodes respond to infection may redefine how immune system functions
...es through release of specific signaling molecules points to the possible use of mast cell products for the development of vaccines designed to boost the potency of the immune response. "Mast cells have been much maligned because of their contribution to many diseases including asthma, arthritis, Crohn's di...JCI Table of Contents, November 14, 2003
...synthase from cells of the vessel wall. This study points to a new inflammatory function of TNF-alpha in transiently inhibiting thrombosis to allow the immune response to be optimally executed. TITLE: Antithrombotic activity of TNF-alpha AUTHOR CONTACT: Denisa Wagner Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massach...Blocking immune response to spinal cord injury can improve chances for recovery
... untreated rats was dramatic," Keirstead said. "It points to the necessity of treating people with antibodies immediately after their spinal cord injuries as part of both regular trauma care and their recovery program." Rafael Gonzalez, Janette Glaser and Michael T. Liu of UCI assisted on the study, which w...Simple tests could signal and prevent heart disease in women, says Pittsburgh researcher
...er zone." Unlike the fat that accumulates at other points on the body, waistline fat surrounds the abdominal organs, setting off physiological changes that can lead to a variety of diseases and disabilities. A percentage of women who gain waistline fat at middle age develop high levels of insulin, or insul...... in gray matter volume at each of these single MRI points (total 65,536 points) on the brain surface in extr...nned many times, it is possible to extrapolate the points in between and make a time-lapse movie depicting the dynamic progression of brain changes over time....