Home blood pressure-monitoring kits can save insurance companies money by improving healthcare quality and reducing healthcare costs, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. In the United States, more than 76 million adults have diagnosed high blood pressure, and many more are undiagnosed. Since high blood pressure typically has no symptoms, periodic testing is critical especially for people with the factors that put them at risk for the condition. Home monitoring kits effectively test blood pressure at regular intervals over ...

A first-time comprehensive overview of cardiovascular disease among Hispanics in the U.S. outlines the burden of heart disease and stroke as well as emphasizes the importance of culturally appropriate healthcare for this population. The American Heart Association scientific statement is published in the Association's journal Circulation. Hispanics represent the fastest-growing racial or ethnic population in the United States and are expected to constitute 30 percent of the total U.S. population by the year 2050. Yet, there is no comprehensive document about the cultural ...

Bottom Line: Management of low-risk prostate cancer (which is unlikely to cause symptoms or affect survival if left untreated) varies widely among urologists and radiation oncologists, with patients whose diagnosis is made by a urologist that treats non-low-risk prostate cancer more likely to receive treatment vs. observation. Author: Karen E. Hoffman, M.D., M.H.Sc., of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and colleagues. Background: Most men in the United States with low-risk prostate cancer usually receive treatment with prostatectomy or radiotherapy ...

Bottom Line: Eating foods high in ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from vegetable and marine sources may help reduce the risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the fatal neurodegenerative disease commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Author: Kathryn C. Fitzgerald, M.Sc., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues. Background: PUFAs can help modulate inflammation and oxidative stress, mechanisms that have been implicated in the cause of ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. But data regarding PUFA intake and ALS risk ...

New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is shedding light on the important role a diagnosing urologist plays in whether older men with low-risk prostate cancer receive treatment for their disease, and if so, the type of treatment they receive as a result. The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, sought to examine why active surveillance, a management program for low-risk disease, which includes repeat PSAs, prostate exams and biopsies, is underused in this patient population. According to the American Cancer Society, 233,000 new ...

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- It's well known that when a person takes steps to make amends for a wrongdoing, the victim is more inclined to forgive and forget. However, exactly why that happens is less obvious and poorly understood. In a recent study, scientists made substantial progress in explaining the psychological processes that make forgiveness happen. Their findings show that peacemaking efforts such as apologies, offers of compensation and owning up to one's responsibility increase forgiveness—and reduce anger—by making the aggressor seem more valuable as a relationship ...

Hoffman Estates, IL – Around the globe, fibre and calcium intakes are below the levels recommended by experts1,2,3 contributing to potential long-term public health implications1,3,4. New research, published this month in the British Journal of Nutrition, shows soluble corn fibre (SCF) may not simply boost fibre intake when added to foods, but can also increase the amount of beneficial bacteria present in the gut, while enhancing calcium absorption in adolescents5. SCF is a prebiotic fibre that is well tolerated, and is easily incorporated into foods or beverages to boost ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers may have riveted the sports world and social media, but the phenomenon of "going home," whether to a geographic location or a former job, is not unique to professional athletes. According to two studies co-written by a University of Illinois expert in organizational behavior and human resources management, organizations of all types are beginning to recognize and embrace the value of recruiting and welcoming back former employees. From infantry soldiers to chief executives, accountants and professional ...

Infants can tell the difference between sounds of all languages until about 8 months of age when their brains start to focus only on the sounds they hear around them. It's been unclear how this transition occurs, but social interactions and caregivers' use of exaggerated "parentese" style of speech seem to help. University of Washington research in 7- and 11-month-old infants shows that speech sounds stimulate areas of the brain that coordinate and plan motor movements for speech. The study, published July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ...

Even in moderation, consumption of wine and hard liquor may be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, an abnormally fast heartbeat that can lead to stroke, heart failure and dementia, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The research did not identify a similar risk for moderate consumption of beer. Researchers in Sweden studied 79,016 adults, ages 45 to 83, who completed an extensive questionnaire about food and alcohol consumption in 1997. The researchers followed the participants for up to 12 years through ...

If you consider your friends family, you may be on to something. A study from the University of California, San Diego, and Yale University finds that friends who are not biologically related still resemble each other genetically. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study is coauthored by James Fowler, professor of medical genetics and political science at UC San Diego, and Nicholas Christakis, professor of sociology, evolutionary biology, and medicine at Yale. "Looking across the whole genome," Fowler said, "we find that, on average, ...

One of the riddles of mammal evolution explained: the strong conservation of the number of trunk vertebrae. Researchers of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the University of Utah show that this conservation is probably due to the essential role of speed and agility in survival of fast running mammals. They measured variation in vertebrae of 774 individual mammal skeletons of both fast and slow running species. The researchers found that a combination of developmental and biomechanical problems prevents evolutionary change in the number of trunk vertebrae in fast ...

An animal once believed to have disappeared from North America before humans ever arrived there might actually have roamed the continent longer than previously thought – and it was likely on the list of prey for some of continent's earliest humans, researchers from the University of Arizona and elsewhere have found. Archaeologists have discovered artifacts of the prehistoric Clovis culture mingled with the bones of two gomphotheres – an ancient ancestor of the elephant – at an archaeological site in northwestern Mexico. The discovery suggests that the Clovis – the ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Sun Yat-sen University in China have shown that acute glaucoma in mice is largely an inflammatory disease and that high pressure in the eye causes vision loss by setting in motion an inflammatory response similar to that evoked by bacterial infections. The study, published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has immediate clinical relevance in treating the tens of millions of people worldwide from what is known as acute closed-angle glaucoma. "Our research ...

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to fend off viruses, is involved in promoting antibiotic resistance in Francisella novicida, a close relative of the bacterium that causes tularemia. The finding contrasts with previous observations in other bacteria that the CRISPR system hinders the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. The results are scheduled for publication in PNAS Early Edition. The CRISPR system has attracted considerable attention for its potential uses in genetic engineering and biotechnology, but its roles in bacterial gene regulation are still ...

Older people are nearly twice as likely as their younger counterparts to have their memory and cognitive processes impaired by environmental distractions (such as irrelevant speech or written words presented along with target stimuli), according to a new study from psychologists at Rice University and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Whereas other studies had found that older adults are distracted by memories of prior similar events, this was the first study to convincingly demonstrate across several tasks an impairment from environmental distractions. "Cognitive ...

Alexandria, Va. — The last several decades have seen Arctic sea-ice minimums drop by more than half in area and more than three-quarters in volume. With current models predicting further reductions, scientists are calling it the "new normal" and are trying to grasp its implications — one of which is the occurrence of pathogens never before seen in the Arctic. Ice is a major eco-barrier for pathogens, but with Arctic ice diminishing rapidly amid the changing climate, pathogens have an opportunity to move into new areas and spread disease as mammals increase their ranges ...

Despite impressive medical strides, cancer remains a leading killer and overwhelming burden to healthcare systems, causing well over a half million fatalities per year with a projected cost of $174 billion by 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute. Reducing the human and economic toll will require diagnosis and intervention at early stages of illness, when the best prognosis for a cure exists. In recent years, aggressive research and substantial financial investments have been directed at discovering pre-symptomatic indicators of cancer, known as biomarkers. ...

Lithium-ion batteries could benefit from a theoretical model created at Rice University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that predicts how carbon components will perform. The model is based on intrinsic characteristics of materials used as battery electrodes. These include limitations on quantum capacitance (the ability of the material to absorb charge) and the material's absolute Fermi level, which determines how many lithium ions may bond to the electrodes. Subtle changes in the structure, chemistry and shape of an electrode will alter how strongly lithium ...

BEND, Ore. – Girls and young women who post sexy or revealing photos on social media sites such as Facebook are viewed by their female peers as less physically and socially attractive and less competent to perform tasks, a new study from Oregon State University indicates. "This is a clear indictment of sexy social media photos," said researcher Elizabeth Daniels, an assistant professor of psychology who studies the effect of media on girls' body image. Daniels' findings are based on an experiment she conducted using a fictitious Facebook profile. "There is so much ...

(PHILADELPHIA) – Pulmonary inflammation can cause shallow breathing and the lungs to become brittle in patients who experience multiple blood transfusions, sepsis, lung surgery and acute lung trauma. This complication can leave patients on ventilators, which can further traumatize the lungs, and often results in a mortality rate of 30 to 40 percent. To date, no medication has been successful at preventing or mitigating the damage caused by lung inflammation. Now, a multidisciplinary research team led by David Eckmann, MD, PhD, Horatio C. Wood Professor of Anesthesiology ...

TORONTO, July 14, 2014—Babies born to mothers who immigrated to Ontario from other countries have significantly lower rates of cerebral palsy than those of Canadian-born mothers, especially those from the Caribbean and East Asia, new research has found. "Predicting who is at highest risk of having a child with CP remains an international priority," said lead author Dr. Joel Ray, who notes that CP rates have not declined much over the last decade. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood and appears by the age of four. The underlying injury to the brain with ...

ST. LOUIS – Children with developmental disabilities are at higher risk for abuse and neglect from parents than children developing at a typical rate. So far, there was little evidence of specific parental behaviors that were associated with the risk, but a SLU study finds inappropriate expectations and lack of empathy play a significant role in triggering the risk. Debra Zand, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University and the principal investigator of the project, conducted the study in a small group of parents in St. Louis with 67 participants. ...

As government agencies recommend greater consumption of seafood for its health benefits, a new analysis led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future urges medical and public health professionals to consider the environmental and health impact of seafood sourcing, particularly aquaculture, or the farming of fish, shellfish and crustaceans. The paper appears in the July 2014 issue of the Journal of Current Environmental Health Reports. Nearly half of all seafood consumed around the world comes from fish farms. Increasing seafood consumption has ...

Getting more people to eat seafood because it's a healthier option will need careful planning to ensure that the expansion of the aquaculture sector does not pose a risk to the environment. Business leaders in the sector should not aim only for profits, but rather embrace the principles of the One Health model that sees the health of humans being interwoven with that of animals and the environment. The model brings together experts from various fields to develop sustainable operations that ensure adequate human nutrition, and healthy environments, say Juan Gormaz of the ...