DENVER, March 24, 2015 -- Chocolate has many health benefits -- it can potentially lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce stroke risk. But just as connoisseurs thought it couldn't get any better, there's this tasty new tidbit: Researchers have found a way to make the treat even more nutritious -- and sweeter. They will describe their research here today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting features nearly 11,000 reports on new advances in science and other topics. ...

DENVER, March 24, 2015 -- A new weapon in the war against type 2 diabetes is coming in an unexpected form: fat. Researchers have discovered a new class of potentially therapeutic lipids, called fatty-acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs). These lipids are found at lower levels in people with insulin resistance, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, compared with those who don't have the condition. Administering FAHFAs to diabetic mice improved their glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, opening a surprising avenue for the development of novel medications for the ...

DENVER, March 24, 2015 -- The recent increase in natural gas production could provide a bridge to a lower carbon future because it generates half the carbon dioxide (CO2) of coal when burned. However, natural gas that is leaked into the atmosphere could speed global warming and climate change. That's because its primary component, methane, is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2. Understanding the leakage rate is critical to assessing the environmental benefit of natural gas, but there is much controversy, debate and confusion among scientists and policy-makers ...

LAS VEGAS--Osteoporosis is a disease of progressive bone loss affecting more than 44 million Americans and contributing to an estimated 2 million bone fractures each year. A new study presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that routine bisphosphonate treatment of women over 65 who sustain a distal radius (wrist) fracture--one of the most common fractures associated with osteoporosis--could significantly reduce the risk for additional fractures, primarily hip fractures, but at an estimated cost of more than ...

LAS VEGAS--New research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that most child pedestrian injuries involving a motor vehicle occurred while children were unsupervised, near schools and bus stops, and in the spring months during the afternoon and evening hours. Pedestrian injuries are among the leading causes of pediatric deaths in the U.S. In 2012, 557 child and young adult pedestrians under age 20 were killed by motor vehicles in the U.S. and 22,000 were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic ...

LAS VEGAS--Thanks to improved surgical, pain management and rehabilitation procedures, patients who undergo a total hip replacement (THR) may be able to safely drive as early as two weeks following surgery, according to new research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Each year, more than 322,000 patients undergo hip replacement surgery in the U.S. Previous studies, conducted more than a decade ago, recommended between six and eight weeks of recovery before driving; however, recent advances in surgical treatment ...

LAS VEGAS--Diabetes and previous joint pain, along with a patient's overall physical health status, may predicts arthritis pain with nearly 100 percent accuracy, in new research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). An estimated one out of five adults is living with an arthritis diagnosis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the number is expected to rise from 52.5 to 67 million by 2030. Arthritis means "inflammation of a joint." In osteoarthritis, the most common type ...

LAS VEGAS--Chronic low back pain can limit everyday activities, including sex. New research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), found that 70 percent of patients consider sexual activity "relevant" to their life quality, and patients who receive surgical treatment for spinal spondylolisthesis (DS) and spinal stenosis (SS)--common degenerative conditions most often occurring in older adults--were twice as likely to report no pain during sex. "Our current research sheds light on the effect that spinal surgery ...

LAS VEGAS--While men and women have similar levels of improvement following total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, men have higher levels of function before and after TKR, according to new research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 600,000 knee replacements are performed in the U.S. each year. In 2012, 393,345 women and 237,896 men underwent TKR, most often to alleviate the pain and immobility associated with late-stage arthritis. While ...

LAS VEGAS--In recent years there has been an explosion in barefoot running, as well as the purchase and use of "minimalist" running shoes that more closely resemble barefoot running by encouraging the balls of the feet, between the arch and toes, to hit the pavement first. A new study presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), found that a significant number of experienced runners, age 30 and older (40 percent of men and 20 percent of women), maintained a heel-first running pattern--which naturally occurs when wearing ...

LAS VEGAS--Thanks to improved surgical, pain management and rehabilitation procedures, patients who undergo a total hip replacement (THR) may be able to safely drive as early as two weeks following surgery, according to new research presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Each year, more than 322,000 patients undergo hip replacement surgery in the U.S. Previous studies, conducted more than a decade ago, recommended between six and eight weeks of recovery before driving; however, recent advances in surgical treatment ...

LAS VEGAS -- A new study presented today at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that 48 percent of hip fracture patients, age 65 and older, had delirium, or acute confusion, before, during and after surgery (perioperative), resulting in significantly longer hospital stays and higher costs for care. Approximately 300,000 Americans are hospitalized with hip fractures each year. The risk is particularly high in post-menopausal women who face an increased risk for osteoporosis, a disease that diminishes bone mass and increases ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. -A substantial gap exists between patient expectations and current practices for providing information about medical imaging tests that use radiation, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Researchers said the findings highlight a need for better communication as medicine enters an era of patient-centered care. In recent years, there have been numerous reports in the media about potential risks of tests that use ionizing radiation. However, benefit-risk discussions about ionizing radiation from medical imaging are rare and ...

Publicly insured Americans who undergo lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis fare markedly worse in the long run than both publicly insured patients in the United Kingdom and privately insured Americans, according to the results of a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and U.K. colleagues working in that nation's government-funded National Health Service. Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects about 30,000 Americans and 70,000 people worldwide, stems from the body's inability to ferry chloride in and out of cells. The disease is ...

A nationwide survey of registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) is helping to formalize a career path for RDNs seeking more responsibility and autonomy as clinicians, according to a paper published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The results of the survey describe, for the first time, what advanced practice RDNs do that distinguishes them from entry level and early career RDNs. Using this profile of an advanced practitioner, the Commission of Dietetic Registration developed a new credentialing exam for advance practice RDNs, which will be offered ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- By examining more than 3,600 postmortem brains, researchers at Mayo Clinic's campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, have found that the progression of dysfunctional tau protein drives the cognitive decline and memory loss seen in Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid, the other toxic protein that characterizes Alzheimer's, builds up as dementia progresses, but is not the primary culprit, they say. The findings, published in Brain, offer new and valuable information in the long and ongoing debate about the relative contribution of amyloid ...

Chicago, March 24, 2015 - The Alzheimer's Association's 2015 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, released today, found that only 45 percent of people with Alzheimer's disease or their caregivers say they were told the diagnosis by their doctor. In contrast, more than 90 percent of people with the four most common cancers (breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer) say they were told the diagnosis. "These disturbingly low disclosure rates in Alzheimer's disease are reminiscent of rates seen for cancer in the 1950s and 60s, when even mention of the word cancer ...

A previously undiscovered species of crocodile-like amphibian that lived during the rise of dinosaurs was among Earth's top predators more than 200 million years ago, a study shows. Palaeontologists identified the prehistoric species - which looked like giant salamanders - after excavating bones buried on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal. The species was part of a wider group of primitive amphibians that were widespread at low latitudes 220-230 million years ago, the team says. The creatures grew up to 2m in length and lived in lakes and rivers during ...

Suicidal patients who are under observation may be put at risk by relying on inexperienced staff and agency nurses, according to a new report issued today. Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership as part of the Clinical Outcome Review Programmes, researchers from The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, found that 18 in-patients a year died by suicide while under observation. This usually meant checks every 10-15 minutes but in 9% the patient was supposed to be under constant ...

Effective tuberculosis control in India needs political will and commitment, backed by sufficient resources, says a senior doctor in The BMJ this week. Unless this happens, TB will continue to be India's silent epidemic and a death sentence for poor people, warns consultant physician and public health specialist, Zarir Udwadia. Twenty years ago it was widely believed that India was successfully on its way to controlling its alarming tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. Yet, each year, India has 2.2 million new cases, more than 300,000 deaths, and economic losses of $23bn (£14.9bn; ...

Conscientious children are less likely to smoke in later life and the personality trait could help explain health inequalities, indicates a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. It is well known that people belonging to lower socio-economic groups have lower life expectancy and more health problems than those who are in higher groups, and certain health behaviours, such as smoking, follow a similar pattern, suggesting they could be partly responsible for health inequalities. Recently, certain personality traits have been found to be associated ...

At least 30 dogs in England have been killed in less than 18 months by an unknown disease which causes skin lesions and kidney failure, reveals research published in Veterinary Record. The disease is believed to be Alabama rot (cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy), a condition which has been seen in the USA in greyhounds for almost 30 years. While there have been occasional reports of the disease in individual dogs outside of the USA, this is the first report of a series of cases occurring in England. None of the 30 dogs in this English series of cases were greyhounds ...

On May 19, 2014, the 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted WHO's "Global strategy and targets for tuberculosis prevention, care and control after 2015". This post-2015 global tuberculosis strategy, labelled the End TB Strategy, was shaped during the past 2 years. A wide range of stakeholders--from ministries of health and national tuberculosis programmes to technical and scientific institutions, financial and development partners, civil society and health activists, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector--contributed to its development. The strategy has ...

Microbiological confirmation of childhood tuberculosis is rare because of the difficulty of collection of specimens, low sensitivity of smear microscopy, and poor access to culture. This study, led by Dr Anne Detjen, from the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, aimed to establish summary estimates for sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay compared with microscopy in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children. The researchers found that compared with microscopy, Xpert offers better sensitivity for the diagnosis of pulmonary ...

1. Task Force finds insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for thyroid dysfunction The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against screening for thyroid dysfunction in nonpregnant, asymptomatic adults. The recommendations are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Thyroid gland disorders are among the most common endocrine conditions evaluated and treated by clinicians and may be asymptomatic. If left untreated, thyroid dysfunction could lead to fractures, cancer, or cardiovascular ...