Innovative study finds way to 'bio-synthesize' an anti-cancer compound
...mino acids residue into a peptide. When scientists did not find such a chemical system related to patellamides in the microbe's draft genome sequence, they examined alternative biosynthetic mechanisms. Because it is a peptide, a ribosomal mechanism was an obvious possibility. In a collaboration with Sch...Carbonated soft drinks and sleeping pills cause heartburn during sleep
...icantly associated with heartburn during sleep but did not find a similar connection for antidepressants or calcium channel blockers, two other types of medications known to precipitate gastroesophageal reflux. Other significant predictors of heartburn during sleep that were found include increased body...New Medicare policy allows seniors access to Crystalens
...le, yet the previous Medicare reimbursement policy did not allow its beneficiaries to opt for this advanc...sion technologies advanced, Medicare reimbursement did not keep pace." "This policy change means that patients will have the right to choose a vision corr...Asymptomatic HIV-infected newborns may benefit from early drug treatment, Stanford study shows
...ceived a combination of three antiretroviral drugs did even better. "This is an important finding because there's been a lot of controversy in the literature as to whether infected but asymptomatic infants should be started on therapy right away," said the study's senior author Yvonne Maldonado, MD, a pe...Three-fold risk of sudden cardiac death from some non-cardiac drugs
...enter in Rotterdam, said that although these drugs did significantly raise the risk of sudden cardiac death it was important to keep the risk in perspective. The normal annual incidence of sudden cardiac death was one to two deaths a year per thousand of the population in the western world. This risk ris...Kids at risk for lead poisoning don't get necessary testing
...e. Most revealing is that among those children who did not have follow-up testing, 58.6 percent had at least one medical encounter during the 180 days following the elevated screening blood lead level. While the majority of these visits were for evaluation and medical care management, more than 13 perce...Study: Americans willing to pay more for greater vaccine coverage
...information about "private gain" and "public good" did not play a significant role in participants' decision-making process. However, participants who selected comprehensive versus basic coverage were more likely to strongly agree with information that indicated that childhood and adult vaccines are effe...Children with high blood lead levels often do not receive follow-up tests
...pared with low-risk lead areas. Among children who did not receive follow-up testing, 58.6 percent had at least one medical visit during the 180 days following the abnormal level screening. " follow-up testing is the cornerstone of lead poisoning management and an essential component of secondary preven...Younger is better when implanting cochlear implants, IU study finds
...- their ability to understand spoken words -- than did those who received the implants later. "Not only i...children implanted before they turned one year old did not appear to do any better than those implanted during their second year. Infants as young as six m...Study: Physicians need to be more vocal about encouraging diabetic patients to exercise
...rs, walking trails, schools and fitness clubs than did those who were not active. The physically active ...ng safe from crime and other social considerations did not influence physical activity patterns, she added. The study analyzed telephone responses from 274...Can rice bran oil melt away cholesterol?
... of tocotrienol supplements. The boy's cholesterol did rise again, however, after 100 weeks of TRF supplements. In addition, Minhajuddin and colleagues previously showed in animals that TRF reacts with liver enzymes in such a way that it clears toxic substances from the organ, and reduces or sta...Older adults with insomnia report falling asleep faster with ramelteon
...e of ramelteon, there was no rebound insomnia, nor did patients exhibit symptoms of withdrawal. The incidence of adverse events for both ramelteon 4 mg and 8 mg dose groups was comparable with that of placebo. "We are extremely pleased with the results of this study. We think the data, which showed no ...Tamoxifen shows no benefit, risk for breast cancer survivors' heart health
... 2004, the same research team found that tamoxifen did not raise stroke risk in breast cancer survivors. The latest study did, however, link heart attack to another aspect of cancer treatment: radiation therapy. Use of radiation therapy was associated with a doubled risk of heart attack in the study, reg...High overnight blood pressure linked to increased blood sugar levels
...hour period they were studied, but the non-dippers did not have the overnight reduction in their blood pressure experienced by the other 31 subjects. Two blood sugar measures fasting glucose and two-hour oral glucose tolerance tests differed for the two groups, the study found. The fasting glucose leve...Mayo Clinic researchers report on effectiveness of treatments for hot flashes
...tment, 38 percent preferred placebo and 28 percent did not prefer either treatment. As many as three out ...ne acetate (MPA), alleviated hot flashes more than did the daily use of the oral antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor). Three to four weeks after treatment ...Test predicts risk of blood clots in women receiving tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer
...s likely to have an FVL mutation as were those who did not have blood clots. The results suggest that testing women in advance for FVL mutations may enable physicians to identify some women who should either use alternatives to tamoxifen or, if good alternatives are not available, use a blood thinner wh...Study finds prostate cancer in 25% of high-risk men with 'normal' PSA levels
...sy when PSA levels exceed 2.5. The Fox Chase study did not evaluate if earlier diagnosis of these men increased overall survival....Popular procedures evaluated for diagnostic accuracy and treatment effectiveness
...n. Heartburn frequency and severity in this group did improve overall, and regurgitation frequency improved as well, but did not compare to the group who received the sham procedure. The EndoCinch procedure did not appear to...Majority of parents don't actively limit children's media time
...d having a television in their child's bedroom but did not associate this with unlimited media exposure, Barkin said. The results also showed that 72 percent of parents worry about media use and confirmed that the more parents were concerned about the negative effects of the media, the more likely they ...Integrated chemical-dependency and mental-health treatment best for adolescents
... Conversely, those with psychiatric disorders who did not receive psychiatric services had worse outcomes." "Because so many of these teens are experiencing mental-health problems along with their drug and alcohol problems, these mental-health problems are likely making it more difficult to stay in tr...