Obesity and excess weight, and their negative impact on health, have become a significant focus for physicians and other health-care experts in recent years. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that an escalation in the number of those considered obese or overweight in the United States continues, signaling an ongoing upward swing in chronic health conditions as well. The study is available online June 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Compared with a similar study published in 1999 that estimated 63 percent of men and 55 percent ...

A global taskforce of 174 scientists from leading research centres across 28 countries studied the link between mixtures of commonly encountered chemicals and the development of cancer. The study selected 85 chemicals not considered carcinogenic to humans and found 50 supported key cancer-related mechanisms at exposures found in the environment today. Longstanding concerns about the combined and additive effects of everyday chemicals prompted the organisation Getting To Know Cancer led by Leroy Lowe from Halifax Nova Scotia, to put the team together - pitching what ...

WASHINGTON -- Using a simple structure comprising a mirror and an absorbing layer to take advantage of the wave properties of light, researchers at Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, have developed a display technology that harnesses natural ambient light to produce an unprecedented range of colors and superior viewing experience. An article describing their innovative approach appears today in The Optical Society's new high-impact journal Optica. This display technology, which could greatly reduce the amount of power used in multiple ...

The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study, and will now be tested in a larger trial involving three hospitals in London. Researchers analysed breath samples of 210 patients using the test. They found that the test can discriminate between malignant and benign oesophageal cancer in patients for the first time. The test is 90 per cent accurate and provides results in minutes, which can take up to four to six hours to process using other methods. The test can also be applied to detect gastric (stomach) cancer tumours. According to the researchers, ...

The chronic neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease affects an increasing number of people. However, scientists still do not know why some people develop Parkinson's disease. Now researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have taken an important step towards a better understanding of the disease. New research indicates that Parkinson's disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract and spread through the vagus nerve to the brain. "We have conducted a registry study of almost 15,000 patients who have had the vagus nerve in their stomach severed. ...

Since February 2015, aflibercept (trade name Eylea) has been available also for patients with impaired vision due to macular oedema that follows blockage of branch veins of the central retinal vein (branch retinal vein occlusion, BRVO). The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from the dossier because it contained no data relevant for the assessment. Manufacturer considered only the comparison ...

The worldwide spreading of the whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has substantially increased since 2010. Researchers from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have investigated structure and function of an important membrane protein of the bacterium causing pertussis. They discovered that the protein structure differs from a previously postulated model. Their findings, published in "Nature Communications", provide a basis for new treatment approaches for the infection. Many tiny protein pores are found in the outer membrane of the pertussis pathogen, the bacterium ...

TORONTO -- Alex C. Spyropoulos, M.D., system medical director of the Anticoagulation and Clinical Thrombosis Services at the North Shore-LIJ Health System is part of the steering committee that will discuss results of the BRIDGE study, a randomized trial on atrial fibrillation June 22 at The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) 2015 Congress. The findings are published simultaneously in the June issue of New England Journal of Medicine. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body. ...

To find life in the universe, it helps to know what it might look like. If there are organisms on other planets that do not rely wholly on photosynthesis -- as some on Earth do not -- how might those worlds appear from light-years away? That's among the questions University of Washington doctoral student Edward Schwieterman and astronomer Victoria Meadows of the UW-based, interdisciplinary Virtual Planetary Laboratory sought to answer in research published in May in the journal Astrobiology. Using computer simulations, the researchers found that if organisms with nonphotosynthetic ...

Teenagers are very familiar with the risks of smoking cigarettes, but are much less sure whether marijuana or e-cigarettes are harmful, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. While adolescents get clear messages from their families, teachers, peers and the media about the harms of smoking cigarettes, they receive conflicting or sparse information about the harms of marijuana and e-cigarettes, the study showed. The findings will be published online June 23 in the Journal of Adolescent Health. "Kids were really good at ...

Stanford University researchers studying how the brain controls movement in people with paralysis, related to their diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease, have found that groups of neurons work together, firing in complex rhythms to signal muscles about when and where to move. "We hope to apply these findings to create prosthetic devices, such as robotic arms, that better understand and respond to a person's thoughts," said Jaimie Henderson, MD, professor of neurosurgery. A paper describing the study will be published online June 23 in eLife. Henderson, who holds the ...

A review of medical records for almost 200 patients with breast cancer suggests that more selective use of biomarker testing for such patients has the potential to save millions of dollars in health care spending without compromising care, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Specifically, waiting to perform these tests until a patient has a full excisional biopsy instead of "reflexively" or automatically testing for them on initial small "core" biopsies could save as much as $117 million, according to a report on the study published in the July issue of The American ...

A global taskforce of 174 scientists from leading research centres across 28 countries studied the link between mixtures of commonly encountered chemicals and the development of cancer. The study selected 85 chemicals not considered carcinogenic to humans and found 50 supported key cancer-related mechanisms at exposures found in the environment today. Longstanding concerns about the combined and additive effects of everyday chemicals prompted the organisation Getting To Know Cancer led by Lowe Leroy from Halifax Nova Scotia, to put the team together - pitching what is ...

Researchers at University of California, Berkeley have taken inspiration from the cockroach to create a robot that can use its body shape to manoeuvre through a densely cluttered environment. Fitted with the characteristic rounded shell of the discoid cockroach, the running robot can perform a roll manoeuvre to slip through gaps between grass-like vertical beam obstacles without the need for additional sensors or motors. It is hoped the robot can inspire the design of future terrestrial robots to use in a wide variety of scenarios, from monitoring the environment to ...

The gut microbe Akkermansia muciniphila may hold the key to better metabolic health and healthier body fat distribution in people who are overweight or obese, reveals a small study published online in the journal Gut. The microbe seems to be linked to lower levels of fasting blood glucose and fats--key factors involved in the development of diabetes and heart disease--and healthier distribution of body fat, the findings indicate. In healthy people A. muciniphila makes up around 3-5% of the gut's bacterial ecosystem and is associated with a diet rich in insoluble fibre. The ...

Squatting in 'skinny' jeans for a protracted period of time can damage muscle and nerve fibres in the legs, making it difficult to walk, reveals a case study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Doctors describe a case of a 35 year old woman who arrived at hospital with severe weakness in both her ankles. The previous day she had been helping a relative move house, and had spent many hours squatting while emptying cupboards. She had been wearing tight 'skinny' jeans and recalled that these had felt increasingly tight and uncomfortable ...

New findings may help ease concerns for women with lupus who are interested in having a child. A new study concludes that most women with lupus whose disease is not very active will have a safe pregnancy. The results are to publish online June 22 in Annals of Internal Medicine. It was previously suggested that women with lupus avoid pregnancy because of serious complications to their own health and the health of the baby. As more knowledge became available, doctors told women with lupus to wait until symptoms were under control, but until now, it was still uncertain whether ...

BOSTON -- An expert panel convened by the Institute of Medicine clarified the cognitive aging process by making a distinction from Alzheimer disease and related dementias, and provided recommendations to enhance cognitive health in older adults. Now a new article published in Annals of Internal Medicine highlights key points of that report and serves as a guide for health care professionals seeking to improve the quality of life of older adults by maintaining brain health. Practitioners define "cognition" as mental functions encompassing attention, thinking, understanding, ...

As a new physician in Galway, Ireland, and then as a nephrology fellow at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Michelle O'Shaughnessy, MD, began to wonder whether similar treatment plans for all patients whose kidneys had failed was necessarily the best practice. "I was struck by my patients, who were often young and on dialysis at the age of 23 or 24," O'Shaughnessy said, referring to patients whose kidneys had failed because of glomerulonephritis, a group of rare disorders that damage the kidney's ability to filter the blood. "I thought there should be other ...

The results of a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of patients undergoing elective pulmonary resection was designed to evaluate the effects of statin therapy. Unfortunately, because of difficulties in enrolling patients who had never taken statins, the study was terminated early, and the sample size was smaller than anticipate. Trends in the data suggesting differences between groups failed to reach statistical significance except in a post-hoc analysis. The accompanying Editorial Commentary by Dr. Betty Tong emphasizes the potential importance ...

The microbiome of the human intestine consists of a variety of bacteria that assist in digestion, immune regulation, and other processes that are critical for human health. A subset of these bacteria produces urease, an enzyme that converts the waste product urea into ammonia. Ammonia supports a variety of physiological process. However, individuals with liver disease have excess ammonia in the blood, a condition referred to as hyperammonemia, that can cause neurotoxicity and hepatic encephalopathy. Current treatments for hyperammonemia-associated symptoms are limited and ...

(Boston)-- A major treatment breakthrough for total body scarring of the skin that occurs in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, may soon be available for the estimated 300,000 Americans who suffer with this condition. Currently, no treatment is available. Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers worked with 15 SSc patients who were treated with either one or two doses of fresolimumab, a new, unapproved drug therapy that targets a chemical mediator in the body known as TGF-beta. After seven weeks of treatment, the researchers ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers have analyzed size data for rodents worldwide to distinguish the truly massive mice and giant gerbils from the regular-sized rodents. They found that the furry animals with chisel-like teeth are 17 times more likely to evolve to nightmarish proportions on islands than elsewhere. The results are in keeping with an idea called the 'island rule,' which previous studies claimed didn't apply to rodents. The study appears online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Duke University biologists Paul Durst and Louise Roth analyzed data ...

PHILADELPHIA -- House calls, a long-running option dating back to the early days of medicine, can be used in a new way to improve geriatric care and lower costs, says a report issued last week from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Using first year results from Penn Medicine's Truman G. Schnabel In-Home Primary Care Program and its partners in the Mid Atlantic Consortium, Medstar Washington Hospital Center and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) along with the 16 other IAH practices nationwide, CMS announced last week more than $25 million was saved ...

For severely obese people, bariatric surgery may have a benefit besides dramatic weight loss: it can also substantially reduce urinary incontinence. A new investigation led by UC San Francisco is the first to examine the longer-term effects of the surgical procedure on incontinence three years after bariatric surgery. The study appears online June 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine. 'Our findings showing another important long-term benefit to bariatric surgery might help to motivate people who are severely overweight,' said first author Leslee L. Subak, M.D., a UCSF professor ...