In this week's PLoS Medicine, Riitta Luoto and colleagues from the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, and University of Tampere, Finland, evaluate whether lifestyle interventions can reduce the risk of high birthweight babies and gestational diabetes amongst pregnant women at high risk for these outcomes. They report the results of a cluster randomized trial in which groups of maternity clinics in 14 municipalities in Finland were randomized to an intervention. The intervention comprised physical activity and dietary counselling, and was compared with a control ...

Despite the recognition of stroke as a major contributor to disability and mortality worldwide, little is known about the long-term outcomes among individuals who survive a stroke. In a research study reported by Charles Wolfe from King's College London and colleagues, the researchers examine outcomes for up to ten years in a cohort of people surviving their first-ever stroke in an inner city area of London, UK. The researchers show that this cohort of stroke survivors experience ongoing poor outcomes in the long term, with high levels of disability experienced immediately ...

In this week's PLoS Medicine, Groesbeck Parham from the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, and colleagues describe their Cervical Cancer Prevention Program, which has provided services to over 58,000 women over the past five years. The authors share lessons learned from the program's implementation and its integration with existing HIV/AIDS programs, aiming to help other cervical cancer prevention initiatives succeed in the developing world and avoid placing additional burdens on health systems. The authors say "By integrating a setting-appropriate protocol ...

Recently the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released a study indicating that older employees as a group have a heightened risk of work-related injuries and illnesses. The study also found that workers age 55 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. workforce. Therefore, employers and employees should recognize these risks and proactively guard against occupational injury. NIOSH Study The study performed by the NIOSH, in conjunction with other agencies, analyzed occupational injury and illness data from 2009 for workers age 55 and ...

Over the last 20 years, the number of hospital emergency departments in nonrural areas in the U.S. has declined by nearly 30 percent, with for-profit ownership, location in a competitive market, low profit margin and safety-net status associated with an increased risk of emergency department closure, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. "As the only place in the U.S. health care system that serves all patients, emergency departments (EDs) are the 'safety net of the safety net.' Federal law requires hospital EDs to evaluate and treat all patients in need of ...

In an evaluation of contemporary antireflux therapies for chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), most patients who received treatment with either the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole or laparoscopic antireflux surgery achieved and remained in disease remission for 5 years, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. "GERD is a highly prevalent disorder caused by the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. It is a chronic, relapsing disease that negatively affects patients' health-related quality of life and reduces work productivity," according ...

Today the Court appointed Keefe Bartels as co-lead counsel in the DePuy ASR hip implant litigation for the State of New Jersey. The Court's Order ratified Keefe Bartels's election to the post by participating lawyers from New Jersey and other parts of the country. Previously the New Jersey Supreme Court had assigned all pending and future New Jersey state-court hip implant litigation to Bergen County for centralized management by the Honorable Brian R. Martinotti. DePuy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ. DePuy Orthopedics ...

Use of newer-generation antiepileptic drugs, which are also prescribed for bipolar mood disorders and migraine headaches, during the first trimester of pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects in the first year of life among infants in Denmark, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. Older-generation antiepileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of birth defects. "Epilepsy during pregnancy is a therapeutic challenge. Since the 1990s, the number of licensed antiepileptic drugs has substantially increased, but safety ...

Although some evidence suggests that prevention of vitamin A deficiency among women in developing countries may improve maternal and infant survival, pregnant women in rural Bangladesh who received vitamin A or beta carotene supplementation in a randomized trial did not have a lower rate of all-cause maternal, fetal, or infant death, compared to women who received placebo, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. Maternal vitamin A deficiency appears to be widespread in low-income countries, with the World Health Organization estimating that nearly 20 million ...

Boston, MA – Men who regularly drink coffee appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. What's more, the lower risk was evident among men who drank either regular or decaffeinated coffee. The study will be published May 17, 2011, in an online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "Few studies have specifically studied the association of coffee intake and the risk of lethal prostate cancer, the form of the disease that is the most critical ...

The National Trust has announced that over GBP500,000 has been donated just one month after it launched an appeal to secure the future of one of Snowdonia's most precious landscapes. The campaign to raise GBP1 million to secure Llyndy Isaf was given an extra boost as Welsh Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta Jones declared her support: "The National Trust plays a key role in protecting and managing the Welsh countryside, the beauty and landscape of Snowdonia is truly unique and we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect Llyndy Isaf in this stunning part of ...

Boston, Mass. -- Studies in institutionalized Romanian children have found that the length of time spent in conditions of social deprivation and neglect correlates with lower IQ and behavioral problems. A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Tulane University, shows that early adversity even affects children's chromosomes – prematurely shortening the chromosome tips, known as telomeres, and hastening how quickly their cells "age." The study, published online this week in Molecular Psychiatry, is the first to find an association between adversity ...

Every 30 seconds, infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis kill as many people as Jack the Ripper did in his entire career. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Health Geographics demonstrates how the mathematical model of geographic profiling, used in the hunt for serial killers, can help combat infectious diseases. Geographic profiling is a statistical technique which uses the locations of crimes to identify areas in which the serial criminal is most likely to live and work, and was originally ...

Admiral research has shown there are a staggering 405,000 rear-end bumps in the UK each year*, accounting for one in four of all road accidents.  Leading car insurance expert, Admiral looked at data from more than 200,000 of its accident claims in 2010 and found 27% of them occurred when one car hit another from behind. This is a 9% increase in the percentage of these types of accidents from 2009. Many rear-end accidents result in whiplash for the occupants of the car, and whiplash alone costs insurers GBP1.9billion a year and accounts for 75% of all bodily injury ...

During the last thirty years there has been an increase in the number of babies born by Caesarean section. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that there has also been a change in the social and economic status of the mothers involved and that advantaged mothers are more likely to have their babies by Caesarean section than mothers living in more difficult circumstances. Birth by Caesarean section can be a lifesaver for both mum and baby, however there are risks involved in such a major abdominal surgery and increased ...

17 May 2011 -- A reduction by half in the radiation dose to which cardiac patients are exposed during diagnostic perfusion imaging is now "feasible", according to an Israeli study. Results from the study will be presented as a late-breaking trial at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging (ICNC) in Amsterdam (15-18 May). ICNC is now one of the world's major scientific events in nuclear cardiology and cardiac CT imaging. The various modalities of modern perfusion imaging - such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) - allow ...

npower has confirmed plans to launch Britain's first bespoke Electric Vehicle (EV) tariff. Rob Harper, group project manager at npower said: "As an energy company, we have a major responsibility to assist the UK Government to meet its climate change targets and sustainability goals. We have already made significant inroads in reducing emissions from our power stations and we are experts in helping our customers reduce their consumption, and therefore bills, through energy efficiency measures. The time has now come to help decarbonise the transport sector. "We ...

Embargo: 17 May 2011 18:00 CET -- The coronary arteries of Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon - as visualised by whole body computerised tomography (CT) scanning - will feature in two presentations at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging (ICNC) this week in Amsterdam (15-18 May). ICNC is now one of the world's major scientific event in nuclear cardiology and cardiac CT imaging. The Egyptian princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, who lived in Thebes (Luxor) between 1580 and 1550 BC and who is now known to be first person in human history with diagnosed coronary ...

OTTAWA – May 17, 2011 – Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) have identified a novel gene in the nucleus of muscle and brain cells that affects heart development and the aging process. Their investigation brings the promise of new treatments for an old, failing heart. "We know that aging is the greatest predictor of cardiovascular disease and heart failure. So we have been working backward in time, looking at the fetal heart to understand changes in the process as it ages, grows frail and fails," said molecular biologist Patrick Burgon, PhD. ...

Montreal, May 17, 2011 - Researchers at the CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia have identified a new avenue for treating breast cancer. In 20 to 30% of breast cancer patients, the over-expression of a particular protein (human epidermal growth factor-2) is the main cause of the proliferation of cancer cells. Over the past few years Herceptin® (trastuzumab) has become the standard treatment for this kind of cancer. While it is known that it blocks the activity of this protein, its exact mechanism of action has remained a mystery. Professor ...

Confused.com has surveyed mums and found that 60% would like to help their children meet the spiralling costs of higher education. With the current annual cost of living and study for a higher education student estimated at around GBP15,500 to GBP16,600* per year, and fees predicted to continue rising, parents may want to consider protecting their children by increasing the term of their life insurance policy. The research from the car and life insurance comparison website also found that 55% of mums would like to help their children with a deposit for a house (the average ...

A team led by developmental biologist Professor Christophe Marcelle has nailed the mechanism that causes stem cells in the embryo to differentiate into specialised cells that form the skeletal muscles of animals' bodies. The scientists published their results in the British journal Nature on Monday (May 16). Scientists world wide are racing to pin down the complex molecular processes that cause stem cells in the early embryo to differentiate into specialist cells such as muscle or nerve cells. The field has the potential to revolutionise medicine by delivering therapies ...

A team of researchers from the University of the Free State in South Africa (René Fourie and Charles Haddad) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium (Rudy Jocqué) discovered very poorly known purse-web spiders of the genus Calommata in Africa. Four of the species described are new to science. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. What is really unique about purse-web spiders is that, in contrast to trapdoor spiders, they do not construct a structure to close the burrow. Instead, they build a purse-shaped web of dense silk that covers ...

VaNovo, of MyValera.com, announced today their patent-pending product, Valera, received a USDA Organic Certification, making it the only female lubricant and moisturizer in the World to have a USDA Certified Organic seal of approval. According to USDA.org, The USDA Organic seal assures consumers of the quality and integrity of organic products. Organic-certified operations must have an organic system plan and records that verify compliance with that plan. Operators are inspected annually in addition there are random checks to assure standards are being met. Organic-certified ...

Spanish researchers from the University of Leon (Nicolás Pérez Hidalgo and M. Pilar Mier Durante) have discovered the plant lice Schizaphis piricola (Matsumura) in Madrid, Spain from a photography displayed on a social network platform: "Biodiversidad Virtual" (http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/) (Ángel Umaran). The results have been published recently in the open access journal ZooKeys and are available for free download. "This discovery is yet another example of how social networks play an important role in our knowledge of biodiversity and the detection and/or monitoring ...