With obesity on the rise in households across America, the demand for weight-loss treatments, personal trainers, and lifestyle coaches is amping up. But when it comes to physical fitness, the best incentive to get in shape might be the very person sitting across from you at the dinner table. New research finds that exercising isn't only good for you - it is also good for your spouse. According to Dr. Silvia Koton of the Department of Nursing at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, lead investigator Dr. Laura Cobb, and their colleagues at the Johns Hopkins ...

WASHINGTON --Abdominal pain, fever and unexplained bleeding - which are commonly believed to indicate infection with the Ebola virus -- are not significantly predictive of the disease, according to the results of a study examining a new Ebola Prediction Score published online Friday in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("Derivation and Internal Validation of the Ebola Prediction Score for Risk Stratification of Patients with Suspected Ebola Virus Disease"). "Not surprisingly, contact with a suspected or confirmed Ebola patient was the strongest independent predictor of having ...

Single women seeking treatment with donor semen do not differ from cohabiting women seeking treatment with regard to sociodemographic characteristics or attitudes toward motherhood, a new study of 311 Danish women shows. For most, to be a single mother by choice is not their preferred way of parenthood, but rather a solution they need to accept as they get older. The findings may help dispel the myth that single women are in anyway less suited to motherhood than those who live with a spouse. "Various family formations are a normal part of the Danish society, but data ...

The term "sarcopenia" is most often used to describe age-related loss in muscle mass and strength, and it is commonly considered analogous to osteoporosis. Yet unlike osteoporosis, which can be diagnosed based on widely accepted clinical criteria, sarcopenia is not recognized as a clinical condition even though it can impair physical function and contribute to disability, falls, and hospitalizations. A new review addresses this concern and points to efforts aimed at developing and refining sarcopenia criteria. "For over 20 years, the lack of a consensus definition ...

The use of asbestos continues to increase in Asia despite clear health hazards. A recent Respirology review notes that with approximately 4.3 billion people and a growing population, Asia will likely see a large crop of asbestos-related lung diseases in the next few decades. Some of the cases will be benign, but it is likely that there will be many cases of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Efforts are needed to improve the recognition and diagnosis of asbestos-related lung diseases, and government and non-government groups must cooperate to take steps to prevent them. INFORMATION: ...

The number of individuals enrolled in both Medicare Advantage (MA) and the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system nearly doubled from 2004 to 2009, and such dual enrollees are expected to increase in number following the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Because both the VA and MA are federally funded managed care systems, expenditures are duplicated for individuals who are dually enrolled. A new Health Services Research study has found that while dual use does not appear to erode quality of care, there's also no evidence that it improves it. INFORMATION: ...

The fixed combination of the drugs tafluprost and timolol (trade name: Taptiqom) has been approved in Germany since December 2014 for adults with open-angle glaucoma or increased intraocular pressure (ocular hypertension). The combination therapy is indicated in patients who are insufficiently responsive to topical monotherapy with beta-blockers or prostaglandin analogues, and who would benefit from preservative-free eye drops. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug combination offers an ...

We age in part thanks to "friendly fire" from the immune system -- inflammation and chemically active molecules called reactive oxygen species that help fight infection, but also wreak molecular havoc over time, contributing to frailty, disability and disease. The CD33rSiglec family of proteins are known to help protect our cells from becoming inflammatory collateral damage, prompting researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to ask whether CD33rSiglecs might help mammals live longer, too. In a study published April 7 by eLife, the team ...

Viagra and other related drugs are not a universal 'cure-all' for impotence, according to a new study from The University of Manchester and NatCen Social Research. Drugs, clinically known as oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i), have become the first-line medical treatment option for sufferers of erectile dysfunction (ED) - also known as impotence - since entering the UK market in 1998. An abundance of studies has demonstrated the effectiveness of such drugs. But researchers at The University of Manchester, who have studied the responses of more than 2,600 ...

Cancer researchers from the University of Zurich have identified a key signaling pathway in B-cell lymphoma, a malignant type of blood cancer. They demonstrate that the signaling pathway can be blocked using compounds that are already in clinical development. This finding might be extremely important for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of this disease in the future. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a blood cancer and the most common malignant condition of the lymphatic system. Although DLBCL is always fatal if left untreated, the cure rate after chemo-therapy ...

Improving the quality and quantity of U.S. military members' sleep following deployment could help reduce other health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new RAND Corporation study. However, a lack of consistent and transparent sleep-related policies may impede efforts to promote sleep health among service members, researchers say. "The U.S. military has shifted from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan toward helping service members and veterans reintegrate into noncombat roles," said Wendy Troxel, co-leader of the ...

BOULDER -The Sun undergoes a type of seasonal variability with its activity waxing and waning over the course of nearly two years, according to a new study by a team of researchers led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). This behavior affects the peaks and valleys in the approximately 11-year solar cycle, sometimes amplifying and sometimes weakening the solar storms that can buffet Earth's atmosphere. The quasi-annual variations appear to be driven by changes in the bands of strong magnetic fields in each solar hemisphere. These bands also help shape ...

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an extremely common virus, which as other members of the herpes virus family causes life-long infections in humans. Most individuals are exposed to HCMV during childhood, yet symptoms can be easily fought off by a healthy immune system. However, infections can be life-threatening for individuals with defective immunity, for instance newborn babies, people with AIDS, or those taking immunosuppressive drugs following organ transplantation. Scientists at École Polytechnique Fe?de?rale de Lausanne (EPFL) have discovered the molecular switch ...

In the world of the tiny zebrafish, the predatory red tiger oscar is the stuff of nightmares. And while the species has no natural reason to fear robots, researchers at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering have published the first study showing that, in a side-by-side comparison, a robotic predator can spook zebrafish just as well as the real thing. Their results may help advance understanding of fear and anxiety in animal populations, including humans. The study, along with an image of the strikingly lifelike robotic model, is the cover story of the forthcoming ...

Catheter-related bloodstream infection is the most prevalent and severe complication for patients who receive parenteral nutrition therapy at home. A new study by researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark examined whether environmental factors have any influence on the amount of time before a first infection. The study published today in the OnlineFirst version of the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN), the research journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), focused on tunneled vascular access devices and peripherally ...

A new study supports human milk as the optimal first food for babies, but the study raises questions about whether breast milk protects children from becoming obese. The Cincinnati Children's Medical Center review of more than 80 relevant breastfeeding studies that were conducted over a period of at least 20 years is published in Current Obesity Reports. "The best observational evidence up to now suggests that exclusively breastfeeding, or at least breastfeeding for a longer time, is associated with a 10 to 20 percent reduction in obesity prevalence in childhood," says ...

1. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig come out on top among commercial weight loss programs Note: Sound bites, b-roll footage, and image available. Satellite coordinates and feed times are below. Physicians looking for an effective commercial weight-loss program for their overweight and obese patients may want to recommend Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. According to an updated evidence review of 11 commercial weight-loss programs, only Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig showed evidence for effective long-term weight loss. The review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. ...

In a bid to help physicians guide obese and overweight patients who want to try a commercial weight-loss program, a team of Johns Hopkins researchers reviewed 4,200 studies for solid evidence of their effectiveness but concluded only a few dozen of the studies met the scientific gold standard of reliability. In a review of the best research available through late 2014, the results suggest that only a few programs have shown that their users lose more weight than those not using them. The findings are published in the April 6 Annals of Internal Medicine, along with a ...

LOS ANGELES Middle-aged athletes are at low risk for having a sudden cardiac arrest while playing sports, and those who do have a greater chance of surviving the usually-fatal condition, shows a new Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute study. "Because there is so much media attention when someone has a sudden cardiac arrest while playing sports, we want to make sure people know that the benefits of exercise far outweigh the risk of having a cardiac arrest," said Sumeet S. Chugh, M.D., associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and a prominent expert in the diagnosis, ...

PITTSBURGH, April 6, 2015 - Symptoms from lumbar spinal stenosis, an anatomical impairment common with aging, were relieved and function improved in as many patients utilizing physical therapy as those taking the surgical route, University of Pittsburgh researchers discovered in a two-year study published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. It is the first study that clearly compared outcomes between surgery and an evidence-based, standardized physical therapy approach for lumbar spinal stenosis. The condition, created by a narrowing of the spinal canal that puts ...

DALLAS, April 6, 2015 --Sudden cardiac arrest during sports activities is relatively low among physically active middle-aged adults, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Sudden cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function and usually results from an electrical disturbance in the heart that stops blood flow to other vital organs. Administering CPR immediately after the event, before emergency services arrives, can increase the chance of survival. A review of 1,247 sudden cardiac arrest cases involving men and women ages ...

A new test has been able to measure for the first time the build-up of a harmful mutant protein in the nervous system of patients during the progression of Huntington's disease (HD). Published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the research team behind the findings hope that the new assay will enable the testing of drugs that aim to lower the production of the pathogenic mutant huntingtin protein that causes the disease, and could be useful in predicting or monitoring the progression of HD. HD is a genetic neurodegenerative disease that usually develops in ...

The rate of emergency department visits in California for non-injuries has risen while the rate of visits for injuries has dropped, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco that documents the increasing amount of care provided in emergency departments for complex, chronic conditions. The research shows the growing importance of non-trauma cases in the emergency department (ED), the authors said, and it provides an opportunity to better understand the health of people as well as shifting patterns of care, especially among vulnerable populations. The findings ...

Despite concerns about the increasing costs of treating illnesses like breast cancer, higher treatment costs are linked to better survival rates, according to a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the Cancer Outcomes Public Policy and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center. The study appears in the April issue of Health Affairs. "Our findings indicate that in some instances, newer and costlier approaches may be leading to improved outcomes in breast cancer patients," said senior author Cary P. Gross, M.D., ...

Separating circulating cancer cells from blood cells for diagnostic, prognostic and treatment purposes may become much easier using an acoustic separation method and an inexpensive, disposable chip, according to a team of engineers. "Looking for circulating tumor cells in a blood sample is like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Tony Jun Huang, professor of engineering science and mechanics. "Typically, the CTCs are about one in every one billion blood cells in the sample." Existing methods of separation use tumor-specific antibodies to bind with the cancer ...