Depression raises disability risk, especially among African-Americans
...rticipants from the Health and Retirement Study, a prospective survey of community-dwelling pre-retirement adults between the ages of 54 and 65 who were free of disability at the beginning of the study in 1996. The investigators were particularly interested in studying these pre-retirement adults because of the...New one week radiation treatment for breast cancer patients offers promising results
...or, instead of the whole breast. The multi-center prospective trial involves 43 breast cancer patients who were treated with MammoSite brachytherapy and are being followed over a ten-year period. After a median time of 48 months from treatment, no patients have seen their cancer return and the cosmetic outcome ...American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for October 2005 (second issue)
...ice, its clinical usefulness should be tested in a prospective study. The research appears in the second issue for October 2005 of the American Thoracic Society's peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine....Erectile dysfunction may signal early atherosclerosis
...h ones actually developed heart disease. "We need prospective studies addressing the precise role of erectile dysfunction as a marker of cardiovascular disease," he said. While awaiting the results of such future studies, he said erectile dysfunction should raise suspicions about early atherosclerosis, even in ...New study at UNC shows concussions promote dementias in retired professional football players
...problems could not be verified completely. "Future prospective studies should implement genetic testing since genes are known to affect memory," Guskiewicz said. "Also, there needs to be more rigorous diagnostic criteria, historical documentation of injuries and periodic evaluations such as neurophysiologic test...Test predicts risk of liver scarring after transplant, study shows
...important to confirm this in a larger independent, prospective study," Russo said....A new analysis of a standard brain test may help predict dementia
...d to be replicated in and validated by much larger prospective studies before they can be applied to screen large populations. It takes about 30 minutes to perform an EEG, which involves placing recording electrodes on the scalp. The test is perfomed with the patient seated comfortably. There are no in...Other highlights in the October 5 JNCI
...in Honolulu, and colleagues analyzed data from the prospective Multiethnic Cohort Study. During 7 years of follow-up, 482 cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed among the more than 190,000 participants. Participants in the highest quintile of processed meat intake had a 68% increased risk of pancreatic cancer...Amoxicillin use during infancy may be linked to tooth enamel defects
...hers analyzed data from the Iowa Fluoride Study, a prospective study investigating fluoride exposures, biological and behavioral factors, and children's dental health. They followed 579 participants from birth to 32 months, using questionnaires every three to four months to gather information on fluoride intak...Why are so few HIV/AIDS trials conducted in Africa?
...ch capacity. Geographical mapping as an adjunct to prospective trial registration is a useful tool for researchers and decision makers to track existing and future trials, they conclude....Smoking seems to increase brain damage in alcoholics
...n right now. In the future, the researchers plan a prospective study that will use MRI to compare brain volumes between smoking and non-smoking light drinkers and smoking and non-smoking alcoholics, with the hope of replicating the results of their current retrospective study....Eating foods with 'weak estrogens' may help reduce lung cancer risk
...then quit. "These findings need to be confirmed in prospective studies. We are just at the beginning of our work to explore the connection between these nutrients and lung cancer risk. The challenges and opportunities are enormous since lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer mortality in the United State...Post-stroke tests not used often enough, especially in women
... Currently, the U-M team is conducting an in-depth prospective study of stroke symptoms, treatment and outcomes among patients treated at U-M hospitals, looking for any gender differences. The BASIC study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is a population-based study focusing on stroke awareness, inc...Beta-carotene assoc. with higher risk of some cancers in women smokers but not nonsmokers
... la Mutuelle Gnrale de l'Education Nationale (E3N) prospective study. The researchers assessed diet, supplement use, and smoking status in these women and followed them for a median of 7.4 years. During the follow-up period, 700 women developed a type of cancer known to be related to smoking. Among women who nev...Increased ovarian cancer risk not found in women with breast cancer family history
...the National Cancer Institute, is one of the first prospective studies to allow doctors to tailor ovarian cancer screening recommendations for women with a family history of breast cancer but with no identifiable BRCA mutation. In the ten years since the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, it has been learned th...Use of antibiotics for acne may increase risk of common infectious illness
...Is and antibiotic use in patients with acne. Large prospective clinical studies will be required, ideally as part of a randomized trial. If an association is confirmed, additional research will also be needed to discover the precise mechanism." (Arch Dermatol. 2005; 141:1157-1158. Available pre-embargo to the m......anying viewpoint article, noting that the only two prospective randomized trials of this topic suggest that aspirin may be associated with worsening heart failure in some patients. The studies reported 30 percent higher rates of hospitalization among patients on aspirin compared to those receiving warfarin or no...Standardized guidelines improve outcomes in stroke care
...ell Acute Stroke Pilot Registry in California. The prospective registry was designed to help identify priorities for quality improvement. Its data includes all patients diagnosed with a suspected stroke or TIA (mini stroke), at admission or discharge, who were admitted to one of seven medical institutions in Cal...Women missing out in heart treatment more needed in clinical trials
...e female patients. Take one example: as we have no prospective data for digitalis in female patients, it's unclear whether it is really linked to increased mortality among women or whether this increase is an effect only of an overdose, and therefore whether they would benefit from lower doses adapted to their w...University of Newcastle upon Tyne to lead UK Stroke Research Network
...rk which will facilitate the conduct of randomised prospective trials and studies, including for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of stroke. The Network will meet the challenges facing UK stroke research, including responding to organisational and staffing changes in the NHS; facilitating greater expendit...