EDITOR'S PICK: IDOLizing low cholesterol High levels of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) are a risk factor for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) — a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. Although the use of statins and the adoption of lifestyle changes to reduce LDL cholesterol levels have decreased the incidence of and mortality from ASCVD, many individuals fail to reach target levels of LDL cholesterol. Researchers are therefore seeking new targets for LDL cholesterol–lowering ...

Melbourne based, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia's only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer. A world leader in cancer treatment, research and education, charitable donations to the Foundation support promising new cancer initiatives and help attract world-leading clinicians and scientists. Discussing the new partnership and why PeterMacCallum was chosen, Kris Satish, CEO at Vectron said: "We're extremely pleased to be an official partner of such a fantastic and worthy organization. By contributing to medical research, we can play our part ...

Men who are married or in common-law relationships seek medical care sooner for heart attacks compared with single, divorced or widowed men, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj110170.pdf. The benefits of marriage on health, particularly for men, have long been known. Fast, effective treatment for heart attacks is available and emergency department delays have been significantly reduced over the last few decades. However, patient delays in seeking treatment for chest pain have not ...

After scoring high in the outbound category, Callbox keeps the momentum by winning one more award in the inbound level, marking its first entry in the roster as a Top 10 Inbound Service Partner in the recent Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine's Top 50 Teleservices Agencies Ranking. Callbox was ranked 7th in the US domestic category among other top inbound performers. Rankings were determined by editors of CIS Magazine based on autonomously verified documents issued by each agency's telecom service carrier, indicating the number of billable teleservices minutes it ...

Although personalized medicine is a term used in science and medicine that holds significant promise of improved treatment, it may set up unrealistic expectations in patients, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj110607.pdf. The mapping of the human genome was a major scientific milestone that has opened the door to new approaches to understand and treat disease. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are two areas in which genomics are showing promise for treatment advances, although ...

PHILADELPHIA – Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a gene for endurance, or more precisely, a negative regulator of it. Not having the gene relates to greater endurance in the knockout mice that were studied. The investigators also showed that the gene is linked to Olympic-level athletes in endurance sports such as swimming compared to athletes in sprint sports such as the 100-meter dash. The study appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The work has implications for improving muscle ...

Every Tuesday evening at 7:03 PM eastern time, you can listen to Wellness, Wholeness & Wisdom radio with host Psychologist Parthenia Izzard, CNHP. The program is archived within minutes of the live broadcast on the internet and rebroadcast Saturday mornings at 9:03 AM eastern time. On your computer go to http://www.amtherapies.com and click on the Radio link to listen to the show live online or on your phone! Program topics range from authors like Bishop Jordan, James Redfield, Immaculee Ilibagiza, and William Tiller to owners of products like Rishi Teas, and Dr. Kracker. ...

There is a widespread return to film, in photography; photographers are rediscovering in 'analog' the control and expression that drew them to photography in the first place. Indeed, film photography is part of a broader movement rebelling against the constant updates and impersonal perfection of current technology—compare, for instance, the rebirth of the typewriter and persistent interest in vinyl records. To celebrate the renaissance of film photography and the move 'back to the future,' PhotoMFA.com and OldSchoolPhotoLab.com are co-sponsoring a photography contest, ...

LOS ANGELES – July 18, 2011 - A surgeon's behavior in the operating room affects patient outcomes, healthcare costs, medical errors and patient- and staff-satisfaction, says a commentary in the July issue of Archives of Surgery. In an increasingly rude society where it is rare for a stranger to give up a bus seat to a senior citizen and expletives have become all-too common in daily conversation, the lack of civility has degraded all aspects of life, even the surgical suite, says the article's primary author, Andrew S. Klein, MD, MBA, a prominent liver surgeon and ...

CDAA Pty Ltd, a South Australian web agency, has joined Sitecore's global Certified Partner program in June 2011. This partnership will enable CDAA to further expand its solution offering to clients - particularly in the enterprise space and for clients requiring highly sophisticated engagement and marketing capabilities from their website content management system. Sitecore is a global leader in Web content management (WCM) and online engagement for Fortune 1000 and FT 1000 companies, large governments, public and non-profit associations and organisations, and educational ...

A new study describes how hyperactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) promotes neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease (HD). The article appears online on July 18, 2011, in The Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org). The aggregation of mutant Huntingtin protein in HD disrupts many cellular processes, including metabolism. AMPK—a protein that balances a cell's energy production and usage—is abnormally active in the brains of mice with HD, but whether the kinase protects neurons from the metabolic imbalances associated with HD or whether AMPK contributes to ...

Northern Virginia motorcycle school Motorcycle Riding Concepts (MRC, saddleupVA.com) announced it has launched a new version of SaddleupVa.com to more easily enroll motorcycle rider students. "The new site lets new students view, reserve and pay for thei rmotorcycle classes," Motorcycle Riding Concepts President Jesse Bowman said. "Students can use the site to sign up for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course (MSF BRC). The beginner class is approved by the Virginia DMV, meaning graduates get their motorcycle driver permit. "To get ...

NEW YORK, July, 18, 2011 - NYU School of Medicine researchers report in a new study that exposure to tobacco smoke nearly doubles the risk of hearing loss among adolescents. The study is published in the July, 2011, issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. "More than half of all children in the U.S. are exposed to secondhand smoke, so our finding that it can lead to hearing loss in teenagers has huge public health implications,"* says Anil Lalwani, MD, professor of professor of otolaryngology, physiology and neuroscience, and pediatrics at NYU School ...

Autism is Andrea Richardson and Andrea Warner's lives 24x7, 360 days of the year. The two founders of Thriving with Autism, Don't just survive Autism, Thrive with Autism will appear on Blog Talk Radio's show "Autism and the Single Parent" (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/my-crew-magazine) with host Kim Kelly on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 7 PM Pacific, and 11 pm Eastern. The exclusive interview will feature Warner and Richardson whose tireless efforts to provide resources and strategies to help better prepare families to actually thrive with Autistic children. In ...

Avoiding HLA-DR mismatching appears to be beneficial in pediatric kidney transplant patients, however the likelihood of finding a matching donor must be considered against the wait time for a possible donation, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Although avoiding HLA [human leukocyte antigen; cell surface antigens that regulate host cell responses to transplanted cells] antigen mismatching has been shown to benefit long-term graft survival, it has raised concerns about disadvantaging minority groups, particularly ...

The rate of adverse events and harm reported at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers appears to have decreased, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. According to background information in the article, reports of wrong-site surgery range from 0.09 to 4.5 per 10,000 cases. "This 50-fold range in the estimated incidence reflects the variety of results reported in various settings and different methods for defining adverse events in this area," explain the authors. Their article represents ...

Dunwoody Wellness Center plans to offer Atlanta residents holistic rejuvenation treatments for the skin and body, as it celebrates its official grand opening on International Wellness Day on July 18, 2011. The First Annual International Wellness Day was held on July 19, 2010, in conjunction with the National Wellness Conference in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Countries represented included Brazil, Argentina, US, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, South Africa, Australia, China, and Japan. While Dunwoody Wellness may not be sending a representative to this year's event, ...

Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is associated with increased risk of hearing loss among adolescents, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Among U.S. children, approximately 60 percent are exposed to SHS, according to background information in the article. Studies have associated exposure to secondhand smoke prenatally or during childhood with various health conditions, from low birth weight and respiratory infections to behavioral problems and otitis media. Children exposed to ...

Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases is an important tool in the understanding and prediction of epidemics. Knowledge of social interactions is used to understand how infectious diseases spread through populations and how to control epidemics. New research published in BMC Medicine shows that a model, which included dynamic information about the heterogeneity of contact length and rate of making new contacts, was as effective as a more complex model which included the order of contacts. Data was collected over a two-day period, within the Socio Patterns project, ...

When the Hamiltons purchased their holiday home in Camposol Golf on the Costa Cálida six years ago, they had no aspirations for amassing a property portfolio. However, a combination of Barry's upcoming retirement and news of a Paramount-branded Theme Park encouraged them to take advantage of the current buyers' market and purchase an additional home in Camposol Golf. Barry (51), from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, picks up the story, "Spain was an obvious choice for us as it's just a couple of hours by direct flight from Belfast, has excellent infrastructure, ...

Taking another major step in sleuthing the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has determined what chemicals were contained in a deep, hydrocarbon-containing plume at least 22 miles long that WHOI scientists mapped and sampled last summer in the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Moreover, they have taken a big step in explaining why some chemicals, but not others, made their way into the plume. The findings, published this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the ...

CHICAGO – Among Latinos living in the United States, acculturation is associated with sunscreen use, but not with use of sun-protective clothing, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. According to background information in the article, DNA damage and skin cancer are an important health issue for U.S. Latinos. Their annual age-adjusted incidence of melanoma is 4.5 per 100,000, which represents an increase of 28.6 percent since 1992. Further, when melanoma is diagnosed, it tends to be thicker among Latinos ...

Young Frankenmuth writer Christopher Mundie has written a funny, up-beat book about the life of a special kind of guy; the kind of guy you wouldn't want to have at your party or end up owing any favors to. You know the type, the cynical, sarcastic, self-centered, lying and conniving—he's The Jerk. Being a Jerk isn't so bad though, it can get you free coffee, wads of cash and a gigantic fish (if you're lucky). You can definitely hate him, but there's one thing you can't blame him for, and that's for bumping into him in the first place. I spoke with Christopher Mundie ...

Physician-based screening for melanoma is associated with higher rates of physician-detected melanoma and detection of thinner melanoma, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The disease-specific survival rate for advanced-stage melanoma is poor, so detecting the cancer in an earlier stage is the best means to ensure a favorable prognosis, according to background information in the article. Previous research has demonstrated that patients find most melanomas, and that those lesions tend to be ...

Removing a portion of the platysma muscle may ease symptoms for patients experiencing chronic neck stiffness and involuntary movement, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In previous research, removal of parts of the platysma—the muscle stretching from the shoulders and chest through the neck—appeared successful in alleviating hypertonicity (muscular rigidity), according to background information in the article. The authors, who had begun to use muscle-transfer surgeries to treat facial paresis ...