Munich, Germany: A new study has found that factors, such as birth weight, gestational age at birth and lung function, growth and other measures at 8 years, can be used to predict lung function during mid to late teenage years. The study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich today (9 September 2014), is part of a growing area of research aiming to understand how early life factors have an impact on the development of disease into adulthood. Data out of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Mothers and Children (ALSPAC) from ...

Munich, Germany: A proportion of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) cases may be linked with asbestos exposure, according to the results of a new study. If confirmed, the findings would mean that current treatment strategies need to be altered as people with a history of asbestos exposure are not currently able to access new treatments for IPF. The research, which was presented at the European Respiratory Society's International Congress today (09 September 2014), provided new mortality data for IPF, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is the name given to the ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Sept. 9, 2014 – Regenerative medicine researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have addressed a major challenge in the quest to build replacement kidneys in the lab. Working with human-sized pig kidneys, the scientists developed the most successful method to date to keep blood vessels in the new organs open and flowing with blood. The work is reported in journal Technology. "Until now, lab-built kidneys have been rodent-sized and have functioned for only one or two hours after transplantation because blood clots developed," said Anthony ...

Treatment at the earliest age when symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear – sometimes in infants as young as 6 months old – significantly reduces symptoms so that, by age 3, most who received the therapy had neither ASD nor developmental delay, a UC Davis MIND Institute research study has found. The treatment, known as Infant Start, was administered over a six-month period to 6- to 15-month-old infants who exhibited marked autism symptoms, such as decreased eye contact, social interest or engagement, repetitive movement patterns, and a lack of intentional communication. ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – According to new research performed at the Mayo Clinic, iodine-based contrast material injected intravenously to enhance computed tomography (CT) images can be safely used in most patients. The study appears online in the journal Radiology. Of the 80 million or more CT scans performed each year in the United States, iodine-based contrast material is used in at least half to enhance computed tomography (CT) images, according to researcher Robert J. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., a radiology resident at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. According to Dr. McDonald, ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- What do skipping school, failing tests and engaging in risky sexual behavior have in common? Lots, according to Indiana University researchers who combed through 80,000 diary entries written by 14- to 17-year-old girls. Although the findings are intuitive, this is the first study to examine the day-to-day relationship between teenage girls' reports about school-related events, how they felt and the sexual behaviors they participated in. Published Sept. 9 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the findings are based on a 10-year study of the development of ...

Researchers have identified a novel virus that could be the source of a severe, sometimes fatal respiratory disease that has been observed in captive ball pythons since the 1990s. The work is published this week in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Investigators observed the virus, which they named ball python nidovirus, in eight snakes with pneumonia; virus levels were highest in the animals' lungs and other respiratory tract tissues. The team also sequenced the genome of the virus, finding it to be the largest of any RNA ...

Premature infants are at increased risk for a potentially lethal gastrointestinal disease called necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. Studies conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles demonstrate that a protein called neuregulin-4 (NRG4)—present in breast milk, but absent from formula—may be protective against the intestinal destruction caused in NEC. Their results will be published online on September 9 in advance of the print edition of the American Journal of Pathology. Thirty percent of babies with NEC die from their disease, and even survivors can ...

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 9, 2014 – A man's likelihood of accumulating fat around his heart – an important indicator of heart disease risk – may be better determined if doctors consider his race and ethnicity, as well as where on his body he's building up excess fat, reveals an international evaluation led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The findings, published online today in the International Journal of Obesity, indicate that it may be useful to take racial and ethnic differences into account when designing programs to reduce obesity because ...

ORLANDO, FL – SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 – Research published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolic Insights found that regular consumption of mango by obese adults may lower blood sugar levels and does not negatively impact body weight. These are important findings considering that approximately 34 percent of U.S. adults have been classified as obese and given the health concerns related to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome. "We are excited about these promising findings for mangos, which contain many bioactive compounds, including mangiferin, an ...

Higher rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders in males than females may be related to changes in the brain's estrogen signalling, according to research published in the open access journal Molecular Autism. The study examined the brains of people that had Autism Spectrum Disorders compared to controls, and found that they are linked with far lower levels of a key estrogen receptor and other estrogen-related proteins. Because of the small group size, these results indicate an exciting avenue for further research, rather than confirming a role for altered estrogen signalling ...

Scientists believe they have found a way to explain why there are not as many galaxies orbiting the Milky Way as expected. Computer simulations of the formation of our galaxy suggest that there should be many more, smaller galaxies around the Milky Way than are observed through telescopes. This has thrown doubt on the generally accepted theory of cold dark matter, a substance that scientists predict should allow for more galaxy formation around the Milky Way than is seen. Now cosmologists and particle physicists at the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and ...

Munich, Germany: The effects of tear gas are not just short term and could be experienced for up to two weeks after the event, according to a new study. The study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich today (10 September 2014), investigated the duration of lung health effects in protesters directly exposed to tear gas. Researchers in Turkey conducted a questionnaire survey with 546 people who had inhaled tear gas during public protests in June 2013. They collected information on smoking history, exposure to tear gas, ...

But high doses were no better than dummy (placebo treatment), the findings indicated. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil are able to cross over from the bloodstream into heart cells where they work to stabilise heart rhythm and protect against heart attacks. This is particularly important for people with epilepsy because they have a significantly higher risk of having a heart attack than those without the condition. And experimental research indicates that omega 3 fatty acids can also cross over into the central nervous system, where they reduce the excitability ...

A meta-analysis comprising 16 studies and 891,426 participants from various regions of the world shows that prediabetes increases the risk of cancer by 15%, with differing risks depending on the type of cancer. The study, published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) is by Professor Yuli Huang, The First People's Hospital of Shunde, Daliang Town, Shunde District, China, and colleagues. Prediabetes is a general term that refers to an intermediate stage between normoglycaemia and overt diabetes mellitus. It includes individuals ...

The safety of nicotine refill cartridges used in electronic cigarettes needs to be improved to prevent toddlers accidentally swallowing the contents and potentially coming to serious harm, warn doctors in Archives of Disease in Childhood. The warning follows their treatment of a suspected case in the UK and emerging US data on the substantial rise of unintentional nicotine poisoning from e-cigarettes among the under 5s. The UK toddler was brought into the emergency care department of Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham after the child's mother had spotted her picking up ...

This study of 1358 children investigated whether intermittent montelukast (a drug widely used to treat wheeze and other asthmatic symptoms) compared with placebo, reduced wheezing episodes in children aged 10 months to 5 years, and whether patient outcome differed according to genotype. Study authors found that intermittent montelukast only reduced wheezing episodes in children with arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) gene promoter 5/5, a gene that has previously been associated with a better response to montelukast in adults. There was no correlation with reduced wheezing ...

1. Health insurance not affordable for many under Affordable Care Act For many younger adults, the penalty for not buying health insurance may be less than the price of the least expensive plan available under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a study being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. The ACA aims to expand health care coverage in part by providing subsidies to individuals with low annual incomes. The law mandates that individuals purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. The penalty is waived if the cost of the least-expensive ...

1. Should lung cancer screening be covered for Medicare beneficiaries? Experts analyze evidence from the National Lung Screening Trial Researchers for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) analyze evidence on the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening by age in a study being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Smoking is the most important risk factor for developing lung cancer. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) reported a reduction in lung cancer mortality in high-risk participants aged 55 to 74 who were randomly assigned to screening ...

Illinois' Medicaid Primary Care Case Management Program Associated With Substantial Savings, Reductions in Inpatient and Emergency Care and Improvements in Quality Measures Illinois was an early leader in comprehensive Medicaid reform, implementing a primary care case management program, Illinois Health Connect, and a complementary disease management program, Your Healthcare Plus, in 2006. The programs aimed to promote preventive care, reduce the redundancy of services through continuity of care with a primary care provider, and improve the management of chronic diseases. ...

September 8, 2014 – Hamilton, ON – A team of researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton have successfully evaluated a new, antibody-based drug for certain patients with severe asthma. The drug – named mepolizumab – can replace traditional, steroid-based treatments for a specific subset of patients, resulting in improved outcomes and reduced side effects. The study and manuscript, published in the New England Journal of Medicine was led in Canada by Dr. Parameswaran Nair, staff respirologist, Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at ...

Bottom Line: More than half of nursing home residents with advanced dementia (a terminal illness marked by severe cognitive impairment and functional dependence) continue to receive medications of questionable benefit (including medications to treat dementia and lower cholesterol) at substantial financial cost. Author: Jennifer Tjia, M.D., M.S.C.E., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, and colleagues. Background: The Institute of Medicine recommends clinicians minimize interventions in patients with life-limiting disease and instead focus ...

Bottom Line: Health insurance coverage increased, as expected, among 19- to 25-year-olds after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) allowed them to remain on their parents' insurance longer but there were no significant changes in perceived health status or the affordability of health care. Author: Meera Kotagal, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues. Background: Nearly 1 in 3 young adults ages 19 to 25 years lacked health insurance in 2009. An early provision of the PPACA implemented in 2010 mandated that insurance ...

Bottom Line: In patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD, an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system similar to multiple sclerosis but even more debilitating), the immunosuppressant medication mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) appears to reduce the frequency of relapse, stabilize or improve disabilities and be well tolerated by patients. Author: So-Young Huh, M.D., of the University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea, and colleagues. Background: Disabilities from NMOSD arise due to acute attacks and just one or two attacks can lead ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Older adults are typically prescribed a large number of medications, often including drugs that should not be taken by individuals late in life. In a commentary published online by JAMA Internal Medicine on September 8, Regenstrief Institute investigator Greg Sachs, M.D., calls for physicians to carefully review older patients' medication lists. According to Dr. Sachs, current prescribing guidelines fail to adequately address instances in which specific drugs are not beneficial or may even be harmful to older adults. Current guidelines also fail to identify ...