Aerobic exercise seems to curb the severity of asthma symptoms and improves quality of life, finds a small study published online in the journal Thorax. It should be routinely added to the drug treatment of moderate to severe asthma, suggest the researchers, who point out that people with asthma often avoid exercise for fear of triggering symptoms. Exercise has been recommended in the past for asthma patients, because it improves physical fitness, overall quality of life, and reduces the need for inhalers. But it has not been clear whether the pros outweigh the cons. The ...

Pyrazine additives in low tar ('light') and e-cigarettes may be reinforcing the addictive qualities of nicotine, and should be strictly regulated, concludes research published online in the journal Tobacco Control. The evidence suggests that pyrazines have sensory and pharmacological effects which act independently of, and in tandem with, nicotine, and were developed by the tobacco industry to make low tar ('light') cigarettes taste richer and smoother, and boost sales. Nicotine dependence is a complex process, but is primarily caused by the ability of nicotine to prompt ...

Sexual assault resistance training works, according to a new University of Windsor-led study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. While only those who commit acts of sexual violence can stop sexual assault, women may be able to reduce the likelihood that they will be the victim of a completed rape. To use a medical analogy, there is not much we can do about pathogens such as bacteria or viruses already in our environment, but we can take steps to boost our immune system so we can better resist these pathogens when we come into contact with them. This ...

CLEVELAND - A Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCCC) brain surgeon and neurosurgery professor is among the primary authors of a new approach to classifying tumors that could lead to significant improvements in their diagnosis and treatment. The research and recommendations appear online June 10 in The New England Journal of Medicine. Andrew Sloan, MD, Director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, said the new classification system has the potential to provide far more accurate assessments of brain tumors known as low ...

PHILADELPHIA -- Community health workers (CHW) are expected to be a growing and vital part of healthcare delivery in the United States as the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented. A slate of steps detailing how CHW programs can maximize their effectiveness and impact on patients and healthcare spending is provided in a new perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine by experts at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and New York University. The piece offers guidance for the growing number of organizations who are looking to community ...

Montréal, June 10, 2015 - A Montréal research team, co-supervised by Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret from the IRCM and Dr. Laurent Legault from the Montreal Children's Hospital, undertook the first paediatric outpatient study to compare three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes. The results, published this week in the scientific journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, shows the dual-hormone artificial pancreas provides the most benefits by reducing the time spent in nocturnal hypoglycaemia. The study conducted with children and adolescents with type ...

MINNEAPOLIS - Specialized brain proteins that are involved in the removal of damaged nerve cell materials may be detected in the blood of people who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. In a select group of people who later developed dementia, the levels of the lysosomal proteins were abnormal while the people still had no problems with memory or thinking skills, according to a study published in the June 10, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "These proteins ...

MINNEAPOLIS - While participating in physical activities such as bike riding, dancing, walking and gardening and mentally stimulating activities such as crosswords and reading may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, they may not do so by affecting the underlying markers for the disease, according to a study published in the June 10, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "While a lifelong history of physical and mental activity may support better memory and thinking performance, this relationship may possibly ...

CLEVELAND, June 8 -- As new research continues to document the incidence of bothersome hot flashes lasting into the mid-60s for many women, the medical industry has had to rethink the way it approaches menopause therapy. As a result, earlier this month The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) issued its statement on the continuing use of systemic hormone therapy after age 65. 'The official position of NAMS is that there shouldn't be hard and fast rules against hormones after age 65,' said Wulf Utian, M.D., medical director for NAMS. 'Yes, there may be safety concerns, ...

PITTSBURGH, June 10 -- Women who experience more hot flashes, particularly while sleeping, during the menopause transition are more likely to have brain changes reflecting a higher risk for cerebrovascular disease, such as stroke and other brain blood flow problems, according to a pilot study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published online today in Menopause and funded by the National Institutes of Health. More than 70 percent of women have hot flashes -- a sudden feeling of intense warmth and sweatiness -- while transitioning into ...

A new report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), in collaboration with the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, found that one in four of the city's residents live in so-called food deserts with limited access to healthy foods. The report, released today, is available online on the Center for a Livable Future's Maryland Food System Map website. The findings were highlighted at a press conference featuring Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, other city officials and CLF representatives. Neighborhoods with food deserts have ...

MIAMI - An international team, led by researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has developed a new, timelier method to identify harmful bacteria levels on recreational beaches. The new model provides beach managers with a better prediction tool to identify when closures are required to protect beachgoers from harmful contaminates in the water. "The development of this new model has allowed us, for the first time, to estimate contamination levels on beaches subject to nonpoint source pollution, in particular from ...

Short boys are three times more likely than short girls to receive recombinant human growth hormone treatment for idiopathic short stature (ISS), even though in a general pediatric population, equal proportions of both genders fall under the height threshold designating ISS. Researchers who analyzed records of over 283,000 U.S. children and adolescents found a clear-cut and persistent gender bias in the provision of treatment. "Growth is an important sign of child health, so growth failure merits equal consideration for both boys and girls," said study leader Adda Grimberg, ...

DARIEN, IL - A new study suggest sleep problems and energy product use are associated with increased alcohol use in teens, even after controlling for sociodemographics and mental health. Results show that both sleeping problems and use of energy products are associated with greater risk of alcohol use in teenagers, according to a study conducted by the RAND Corporation. "Our findings suggest that teenagers may be using highly caffeinated energy products to cope with sleep loss, and both sleep problems and energy product use are associated with increased risk of alcohol ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- The worldwide demand for legumes, one of the world's most important agricultural food crops, is growing; at the same time, their production has been adversely affected by drought. In an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis research paper published today in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers provide information that could help agricultural planning and management to minimize drought-induced yield losses. Legumes, which include peas, beans, peanuts and alfalfa, are grown in almost every climatic region and are second only to cereals in terms ...

Plants can undergo the same extreme 'chromosome shattering' seen in some human cancers and developmental syndromes, UC Davis researchers have found. Chromosome shattering, or 'chromothripsis,' has until now only been seen in animal cells. A paper on the work is published in the online journal eLife. The process could be applied in plant breeding as a way to create haploid plants with genetic material from only one parent, said Ek Han Tan, a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Davis Department of Plant Biology and first author on the paper. Although plants don't get cancer, ...

The public can now make a more informed choice about long-term care thanks to a new online tool launched today that compares facilities across Canada based on nine indicators such as safety, quality of life and general health of residents. Researchers at the University of Waterloo led the development of the assessment criteria and quality measures that will allow people to compare data of more than 1,000 facilities. They are members of interRAI, a global network developing assessment and screening tools to support vulnerable populations. 'This website provides Canadians ...

A large data-mining study carried out by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine has linked a popular class of heartburn drugs to an elevated risk of heart attack. Proton-pump inhibitors, or PPIs, are among the world's most widely prescribed drugs, with $14 billion in annual sales. They are effective at lowering the acidity of the stomach, in turn preventing heartburn, a burning sensation in the chest that occurs when stomach acid rises up into the esophagus. In any given year, more than 20 million Americans -- about one in every 14 -- use PPIs such ...

Chimpanzee may be able to use facial expressions and vocalizations flexibly, notably during physical contact play, according to a study published June 10, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Marina Davila-Ross from University of Portsmouth, UK and colleagues. The ability to flexibly produce facial expressions and vocalizations has a strong impact on the way humans communicate, but scientists' understanding of nonhuman primate facial expressions and vocalizations is limited. The authors of this study investigated whether chimpanzees produce the same types of ...

People reflecting on a roundtrip walk estimated that the return trip took less time than the outward trip, according to a study published June 10, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ryosuke Ozawa from Kyoto University, and colleagues. Many have experienced the "return trip effect," where the return trip seems shorter than the outward trip, even when the trips actually took the same amount of time. Scientists have studied the effect, but haven't confirm its existence in the context of the environment and duration of the real-life trip. To better understand the ...

This news release is available in French. A study at the University of Montreal shows that the market share of the five largest research publishing houses reached 50% in 2006, rising, thanks to mergers and acquisitions, from 30% in 1996 and only 20% in 1973. "Overall, the major publishers control more than half of the market of scientific papers both in the natural and medical sciences and in the social sciences and humanities," said Professor Vincent Larivière of the School of Library and Information Science, who led the study. "Furthermore, these large commercial ...

Most Americans are aware that food waste is a problem, are concerned about it, and say they work to reduce their own waste, but nearly three-quarters believe that they waste less food than the national average, new research suggests. The findings, from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, are significant given that 31 to 40 percent of the American food supply goes to waste, primarily in homes, stores and restaurants. The top foods wasted, by weight, are fruits and vegetables, due in part to their perishability ...

People hospitalized for heart failure had a significantly lower chance of being readmitted within 30 days of discharge when treated with a cardiac resynchronization therapy device, or CRT, equipped with an algorithm to automatically deliver and adjust therapy when compared to those receiving the standard CRT optimized with echocardiography, according to a study today in JACC: Heart Failure. A CRT device is a defibrillator that sends electrical impulses to the heart to help the chambers beat in synchronization and improves the heart's pumping function. It is an established ...

Although hypertension is more common in African-Americans, they have significantly lower levels of a hormone produced in response to cardiac stress than white and Hispanic individuals, a finding that may indicate a target for prevention or treatment of heart disease, according to a study published today in JACC: Heart Failure. Using data from the Dallas Heart Study, researchers assessed 3,148 patients and examined the association between race and ethnicity and levels of natriuretic peptides -- which are hormones produced in response to increased cardiac wall stress common ...

In preliminary experiments with mice and lab-grown cells, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found that a protein-signaling process accelerates the work of the gene most frequently mutated in a common form of adult leukemia and is likely necessary to bring about the full-blown disease. The Kimmel team, in a report published in the June 10 issue of Science Translational Medicine, demonstrated the impact of the so-called Hedgehog protein signaling pathway by successfully using a combination of two drugs to both block the activity of the mutated gene, called ...