Specific, relatively uncommon variations at a region of human chromosome 8 have recently been linked to fat (lipid) levels in the blood that decrease an individual's risk of atherosclerosis (a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is a main cause of heart attack and stroke). The only currently described gene in this region of chromosome 8 is TRIB1, but it has not been previously linked in any way to regulation of lipid levels. Now, a team of researchers, led by Jan Breslow, at The Rockefeller University, New York, and Daniel Rader, at the University of Pennsylvania ...

EDITOR'S PICK: At-TRIB(1)-uting a gene a new function in the liver Specific, relatively uncommon variations at a region of human chromosome 8 have recently been linked to fat (lipid) levels in the blood that decrease an individual's risk of atherosclerosis (a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is a main cause of heart attack and stroke). The only currently described gene in this region of chromosome 8 is TRIB1, but it has not been previously linked in any way to regulation of lipid levels. Now, a team of researchers, led by Jan Breslow, at The Rockefeller ...

The active involvement of health professionals in hygiene, sanitation, and water supply is absolutely crucial to accelerating and consolidating global health progress, says a new series of papers in PLoS Medicine by a leading group of public health academics and water advocates. Professor Sandy Cairncross from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and colleagues show how water and sanitation issues are woefully neglected across the world and suggest that action could prevent more than 2 million children dying each year. The authors say that in 2010, ...

While automated external defibrillators improve survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, an analysis of data indicates their use for cardiac arrest in a hospital does not result in an improved rate of survival, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. Use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been proposed as a strategy to reduce times to defibrillation and improve survival from cardiac arrests that occur in the hospital ...

Multiple testing with the cardiac diagnostic imaging technique of myocardial perfusion imaging is common, and in many patients is associated with a high cumulative estimated radiation dose, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it is being presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. Use of medical imaging has grown rapidly in recent years, but along with the potential benefits has come an increase in the amount of ionizing radiation associated with many such tests and the accompanying ...

Certain measures of the blood biomarker cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a cardiac-specific protein, using a highly sensitive test, are associated with the development of heart failure or cardiovascular death in older adults, according to a study that will appear in the December 8 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. "Older adults comprise the majority of new-onset heart failure (HF) diagnoses, but traditional risk-factor prediction models have limited accuracy in this population ...

Surgical items, such as sponges and small instruments, left in the bodies of children who undergo surgery are quite uncommon and rarely fatal but decidedly dangerous and expensive mistakes, according to a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study to be published in the November issue of JAMA-Archives of Surgery. Such errors added eight days, on average, to a young patient's hospital stay and nearly $36,000 in extra hospital charges, both stemming from complications and the need for follow-up surgery to retrieve the forgotten objects. Analyzing more than 1.9 million records ...

Although some data have suggested that omega-3 fatty acid supplements, such as from fish oil, may improve treatment of atrial fibrillation, a randomized trial with more than 600 patients finds that treatment with high-dose prescription omega-3 did not reduce the recurrence of atrial fibrillation over six months, according to a study that will appear in the December 1 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. "Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly prevalent disease that is responsible ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Herbal and dietary supplements are popular. People claim they make their joints feel better, their bones stronger, and their hearts healthier. But a recent study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City shows that many of these people may not realize their favorite supplement, mixed with prescription medications, may be putting their lives in danger, especially if they are taking warfarin – a blood-thinning medication commonly prescribed to patients living with atrial fibrillation to lower their risk of stroke. Researchers ...

HOUSTON -- (Nov.15, 2010) – In 2009, a Collins County, Texas, jury sentenced Philippe Padieu to 45 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – having sex with a series of women and not telling them he had HIV. An important part of the evidence that identified him as the source of the women's infection came from experts at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) and The University of Texas at Austin (www.utexas.edu/). In a report that goes online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org), Dr. Michael Metzker (http://www.bcm.edu/genetics/?pmid=10947), ...

STANFORD, Calif. — A preservative-free alternative to standard nasal sprays — which routinely use preservatives that can cause unwanted side effects, such as allergies or damage to the mucosal lining of the nose — was found to be both safe and well-tolerated, in a short-term study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The alternative acidified solution also maintained sterility in the applicator bottle without the use of the chemical preservatives, according to the study, which will be published Nov. 15 in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. "There ...

CHICAGO – Few children leave surgery with a foreign body left inside them, but such events appear most likely to occur during gynecologic operations, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This surgical error was associated with longer hospital stays and increased costs, but not with an increased risk of death. The Institute of Medicine identified medical errors as a significant contributor to costs, illness and death in a report issued in 1999, according to background information in the article. In response, ...

The amount of intra-abdominal fat appears to be associated with the risk of complications following major liver surgery, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, appearing overweight or having a high body mass index (BMI) were not associated with increased post-surgical risks. About 65 percent of the U.S. population is currently overweight, with half of those qualifying as obese, according to background information in the article. The increased incidence of obesity "requires surgeons to examine more ...

A small study of Japanese surgeons suggests that duration of surgery and the amount of blood loss are associated with increased stress scores, and that night duty is associated with reduced stress arousal scores, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the March print issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Young physicians are decreasingly likely to choose surgery as a specialty, according to background information in the article. About 80 percent fewer chose the profession in 2000 compared with the 1980s. "One of ...

A study involving 30 patients suggests that robotic-assisted surgery involving complex pancreatic procedures can be performed safely in a high-volume facility, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the March print issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Complex pancreatic surgery "remains the final frontier" for use of minimally invasive procedures, the authors write as background information in the article. These operations present two technical challenges: controlling bleeding from major blood vessels and reconstructing ...

Computer imaging to predict how patients will look following plastic surgery involving the nose appears to be moderately accurate, and patients value its inclusion in the preoperative consultation, according to a report in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Preoperative computer imaging is now widely used throughout facial plastic surgery, according to background information in the article. The technique may improve communication between surgeon and patient, help reconcile differences between a patient's ...

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels may remain high during winter months, and conditions can change rapidly, suggesting that adults participating in outdoor sports should rely on the season and time of day when judging the need for protective clothing and sunscreen, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Over 62,000 new cases of melanoma will occur this year that will claim 8,000 lives, along with over a million cases of basal (a form of slow-growing skin cancer) and squamous (a form of cancer that may ...

Individuals with the autoimmune skin disease bullous pemphigoid appear more likely to have a diagnosis of neurologic disease, such as dementia and cerebrovascular disease, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Bullous pemphigoid is a debilitating autoimmune skin disease that is characterized by large, tense blisters on the skin of the elderly," the authors write as background information in the article. The condition affects about 43 per million individuals per year in the United Kingdom and 7 to 13 ...

Patients who undergo radiation therapy for head and neck cancer appear more likely to experience hearing loss and to be more disabled by its effects than those who do not receive such treatment, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, according to background information in the article. Treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, either alone or in combination. Choice of treatment depends ...

In a small, short-term study, a preservative-free, acidified nasal spray appears safe and well tolerated and maintained its sterility in an applicator used multiple times, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The health of a topical nasal spray user relies on the prevention of contamination of the solution," the authors write as background information in the article. "Pharmaceutical manufacturers add various preservatives to destroy or inhibit the growth of micro-organisms that ...

Umbilical cord stem cells may be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Animal and in vitro experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy, have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) taken from umbilical cord blood can suppress inflammation and attenuate collagen-induced arthritis. Professor Zhan-guo Li worked with a team of researchers, from Peking University People's Hospital, China, to carry out the study. He said, "Very little is known about umbilical cord MSCs, and there has been no previous report ...

A major obstacle to achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals is the weakness of the health systems in many low and middle income countries, and their struggle to effectively provide health care to populations in need. Research into health systems aims to improve health care delivery; however, multiple definitions of this type of research exist and this lack of clarity is negatively affecting the credibility, and hence progress, of this research. In a paper published in PLoS Medicine this week to coincide with the first Global Symposium on Health Systems ...

AUSTIN, Texas—The source of HIV infection in two separate criminal cases in which men were convicted of intentionally infecting their female sexual partners was confirmed by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and Baylor College of Medicine using evolutionary forensics. The research shows it's possible to identify the source of a cluster of diseases by analyzing the evolution of a virus within its host and between individuals. This type of research is known broadly as phylogenetic analysis. In the cases, State of Washington vs. Anthony Eugene Whitfield ...

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore report that a new, highly sensitive investigative blood test may help predict the risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death much earlier than previously possible in older people who do not have symptoms of heart failure. Results of a study were presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association on November 15, 2010, and simultaneously published online in JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association. The new test measures troponin T, a marker for the biological process ...

A Queen's University neuroscientist is launching a medical tool at the world's largest neuroscience conference in San Diego on Monday, Nov. 15. The KINARM Assessment Station will greatly improve the way healthcare workers assess patients suffering from brain injuries and disease. The new technology, invented by Stephen Scott, is the only objective tool for assessing brain function, and clinical researchers need this tool to develop better therapies for treating brain injury or disease. "The beauty of this system is it that it captures subtle deficits caused by a ...