According to a consensus statement by the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB), high blood pressure in African-Americans is such a serious health problem that treatment should start sooner and be more aggressive. The ISHIB statement is published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Complications related to high blood pressure such as stroke, heart failure and kidney damage occur much more frequently in African-Americans compared with whites. "Evidence from several recently completed studies converged to convince our committee ...

San Diego, CA, October 5, 2010 – Influenza pandemics often come in multiple waves. As the one wave subsides, public health officials have to decide whether continuing vaccination programs is warranted to prevent or reduce a subsequent wave. In a new study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers report on a new computer model that can be used to predict both subsequent-wave mechanisms and vaccination effectiveness. They conclude that additional waves in an epidemic can be mitigated by vaccination even when an epidemic appears ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A new vaccine added to standard therapy appears to offer a survival advantage for patients suffering from glioblastoma (GBM), the most deadly form of brain cancer, according to a study from researchers at Duke University Medical Center and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The vaccine also knocks out a troublesome growth factor that characterizes the most aggressive form of the disease. "About a third of all glioblastomas are fueled by a very aggressive cancer gene, called EGFRvIII; these tumors are the 'worst of the worst,'" said John ...

Headed by the Kiel zoologist Professor Thomas Bosch, a team of scientists from Germany and Russia succeeded in deciphering the mechanisms, for the first time, with which embryos of the freshwater polyp Hydra protect themselves against bacterial colonization. The paper will be published this coming Monday (4 October 2010, press embargo 3pm US Eastern Time) in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). The researchers from Kiel University found a completely different composition of bacterial colonization ...

Children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at ages 4 to 6 are more likely to suffer from depression as adolescents than those who did not have ADHD at that age, according to a long-term study published in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Although it was an uncommon occurrence, the children with ADHD also were somewhat more likely to think about or attempt suicide as adolescents. "This study is important in demonstrating that, even during early childhood, ADHD in is seldom transient or unimportant" said study director ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: An image is available at http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/bird-biodiversity.html — David Tenenbaum, 608-265-8549, djtenenb@wisc.edu END ...

Babies whose mothers who receive influenza vaccines while pregnant appear less likely to be infected with flu or hospitalized for respiratory illnesses in their first six months of life, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Young children are consistently at higher risk of complications from infection with the influenza virus, according to background information in the article. However, they are ineligible to be vaccinated until age ...

Household investigations for suspected child maltreatment by Child Protective Services may not be associated with improvements in common, modifiable risk factors including social support, family functioning, poverty and others, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "A Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation, regardless of outcome, signals a household at risk," the authors write as background information in the article. "In the years following CPS investigation, households ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Using ice cream, candy bars and energy drinks to help volunteers gain weight, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered the mechanisms of how body fat grows. Increased abdominal fat seems to heighten risk for metabolic disease, while fat expansion in the lower body -- as in the thighs -- seems to lower the risk. The findings, appearing in today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), help explain why. "The cellular mechanisms are different," explains Michael Jensen, M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and lead author of the study. "The ...

In the past decade, cultural and gender-based differences in the frequency of drunkenness among adolescents have declined, as drunkenness has become more common in Eastern Europe and among girls and less common in Western countries and among boys, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Alcohol use is a major risk factor for illness, injury and death worldwide, especially in adolescence and young adulthood, according to background information ...

A school-based, six-session program targeting sexual risk behaviors appeared to reduce rates of unprotected sex and sex with multiple partners among South African sixth-graders, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. South Africa has an estimated 5.5 million individuals living with HIV or another sexually transmitted disease (STD), more than any other nation in the world, according to background information in the article. Almost 20 percent of South Africans age 15 to 49 have HIV, ...

Young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to be at greater risk for adolescent depression and/or suicide attempts five to 13 years after diagnosis, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Sixteen to 37 percent of clinically-diagnosed adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder also suffer from major depressive disorder and/or dysthymia (a mild form of depression). "When major depressive disorder occurs concurrently with ADHD, major depressive disorder has ...

Individual therapy and family-based treatments both appear effective in treating anorexia nervosa in teens, although adolescents in family-based programs may be more likely to achieve full remission six or 12 months after treatment, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The rate of new cases of anorexia nervosa is about 74 of every 100,000 individuals, and the prevalence of this disorder among adolescent girls is 0.5 percent to 0.7 percent, according to background information in the article. "Physical ...

Special mental health courts appear to be associated with lower post-treatment arrest rates and reduced number of days of incarceration for individuals with serious psychiatric illnesses, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Mental health courts are an increasingly popular post-booking jail diversion program," the authors write as background information in the article. "Mental health courts have the laudable goal of moving persons with serious ...

Using electrodes to stimulate areas deep within the brain may have therapeutic potential for patients with obsessive compulsive disorder that is refractory to treatment, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by persistent thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive ritualistic behaviors (compulsions)," the authors write as background information in the article. "It has an estimated lifetime prevalence of 2 percent and affects ...

Children whose mothers are genetically predisposed to have impaired production of serotonin appear more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) later in life, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Serotonin is a hormone and transmitter that performs a broad range of physiological functions in the human body," the authors write as background information in the article. "In addition to its transmitter function in the mature nervous system, serotonin has an important role ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered biomarkers that could lead to personalized radiation treatments for cancer patients. The findings appear today online in the journal Genome Research. "Overcoming resistance to radiation therapy would make treatment more effective for some individuals," says Liewei Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic genomic researcher and senior author of the study. "Our findings may make it possible to one day develop novel therapies aimed at selected subgroups of cancer patients." Roughly half of all cancer patients undergo radiation ...

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 gave universities significant control of the intellectual property associated with technologies that result from their federally funded research, allowing them wide latitude to license these discoveries to companies that can commercialize them. How well is this system working at translating new knowledge into goods and services that can benefit the public, and are any changes needed? MANAGING UNIVERSITY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, a new report from the National Research Council, examines these questions and recommends ways to ...

After a decade of joint work and scientific adventure, marine explorers from more than 80 countries today delivered a historic first global Census of Marine Life. In one of the largest scientific collaborations ever conducted, more than 2,700 Census scientists spent over 9,000 days at sea on more than 540 expeditions, plus countless days in labs and archives. Released today are maps, three landmark books, and a highlights summary that crown a decade of discovery. The now-completed documentation in books and journals, plus the accumulating databases and established ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Nanotechnology is about to emerge in the world of pesticides and pest control, and a range of new approaches are needed to understand the implications for public health, ensure that this is done safely, maximize the potential benefits and prevent possible risks, researchers say in a new report. In a study published today in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, scientists from Oregon State University and the European Union outline six regulatory and educational issues that should be considered whenever nanoparticles are ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study has determined that female executives are more than twice as likely to leave their jobs – voluntarily and involuntarily – as men. Yet despite systemic evidence that women are more likely to depart from their positions, the researchers did not find strong patterns of discrimination. Lead author John Becker-Blease, an assistant professor of finance at Oregon State University, and his co-authors at Loyola Marymount University and Trinity College, analyzed data from Standard & Poor's 1500 firms. They classified departures as voluntary or involuntary ...

Berkeley – Diagnostic X-rays may increase the risk of developing childhood leukemia, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health. Specifically, the researchers found that children with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) had almost twice the chance of having been exposed to three or more X-rays compared with children who did not have leukemia. For B-cell ALL, even one X-ray was enough to moderately increase the risk. The results differed slightly by the region of the body imaged, with a modest increase associated ...

Having survived for more than 400 million years, the horseshoe crab is now under threat – primarily due to overharvest and habitat destruction. However, climatic changes may also play a role. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg reveal how sensitive horseshoe crab populations are to natural climate change in a study recently published in the scientific journal Molecular Ecology. The horseshoe crab is often regarded as a living fossil, in that it has survived almost unchanged in terms of body design and lifestyle for more than 400 million years. Crabs similar ...

Malnutrition often goes hand in hand with COPD and is difficult to treat. In a recent study researchers at the University of Gothenburg, have come up with a new equation to calculate the energy requirement for underweight COPD patients. It is hoped that this will lead to better treatment results and, ultimately, better quality of life for these patients. Recently published in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, the study involved a total of 86 patients with an average age of 64. In contrast to studies in other countries, more than half ...

Patients facing planned surgery answered 36 per cent more questions about the procedure correctly if they watched an interactive multimedia presentation (IMP) rather than just talking to medical staff, according to research in the October issue of the urology journal BJUI. Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, randomised 40 patients due to undergo radical prostatectomy into two groups. The first group went through the standard surgery consent process, where staff explained the procedure verbally, and the second group watched the IMP. Both sets of ...