http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. New research offers a possible strategy for treating central nervous system diseases, such as brain and spinal cord injury, brain cancer, epilepsy, and neurological complications of HIV. The experimental treatment method allows small therapeutic agents to safely cross the blood-brain barrier in laboratory rats by turning off P-glycoprotein, one of the main gatekeepers preventing medicinal drugs from reaching their intended targets in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-strategy-delivery-medicines-brain.html Medical research Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:41:10 EST news266240425 Children exposed to diethyl phthalate (DEP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP)—phthalate chemicals commonly found in personal care and plastic products—have elevated risk of asthma-related airway inflammation, according to researchers at Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-children-exposed-phthalates-elevated-asthma-related.html Immunology Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:40:38 EST news266067630 Biju Parekkadan saw his future in the plight of a newborn thousands of miles away. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-body-disease.html Medical research Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:44:58 EST news265884286 Through the use of the Online Health Program Planner, a tool created by Public Health Ontario, a soon-to-be-implemented peer nutrition education program by and for university students looks to help enhance critical thinking skills. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-experimental.html Other Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:12:18 EST news264658321 A study published in the online journal Hepatology reports a potential new NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibitor therapy for liver fibrosis, a scarring process associated with chronic liver disease that can lead to loss of liver function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-successfully-halts-fibrosis-animal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:32:55 EST news263565170 Researchers at the University of York are launching a major study of lymphoma and myeloma aimed at promoting earlier diagnosis and improving survival for patients with these cancers, which are among the most common in the UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-survival-myeloma-lymphoma-patients.html Cancer Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:53:36 EST news262436009 (HealthDay) -- Resistance training (RT) can reduce visceral fat and alter levels of certain inflammatory markers, according to research published in the July issue of Obesity Reviews. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-resistance-inflammatory-markers.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:47:17 EST news261287189 Women using fertility drugs who did not conceive a 10-plus week pregnancy were at a statistically significant reduced risk of breast cancer compared to nonusers; however, women using the drugs who conceived a 10-plus week pregnancy had a statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer compared to unsuccessfully treated women, but a comparable risk to nonusers, according to a study published July 6 in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-fertility-drug-usage-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:00:01 EST news260799723 Although cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy, as well as the anticonvulsant topiramate, can help patients who binge eat, a magic bullet for the disorder remains elusive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-mysteries-unsolved-binge-eating-disorder.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:30:44 EST news259403363 The University of Southampton, in collaboration with Roke Manor Research Ltd, has pioneered the use of Xbox computer technology to develop the world's first process that measures hand joint movement to help stroke patients recover manual agility at home. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-technology-patients.html Other Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:56:40 EST news258890193 Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) require an array of specialized health care services. With these services come higher costs for parents and insurance providers. University of Missouri researchers compared costs and types of services for children with ASD to costs and services for children with other conditions like asthma or diabetes. The researchers found children with ASD paid more for health care than children with other conditions. In addition, children with ASD used more services yet had less access to specialized care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-health-care-disparities-children-autism-spectrum.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:56:51 EST news258652596 Researchers from the Macmillan Survivorship Research Group (MSRG), at the University of Southampton, have developed the first study of its kind looking at the experiences and needs of people after primary treatment of colorectal cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-radical-cancer-survivorship.html Cancer Thu, 17 May 2012 11:38:55 EST news256473403 An editorial published today in the prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives calls for increased research to identify possible environmental causes of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in America's children and presents a list of ten target chemicals including which are considered highly likely to contribute to these conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-toxic-chemicals-autism-disabilities.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:14:18 EST news254578412 A University of Leicester study has provided clear evidence that allowing a patient to see a particular doctor in the GP surgery has an important impact on reducing hospital admissions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-patient-access-chosen-gp-nhs.html Health Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:32:18 EST news254050309 Looking for an inexpensive and effective way to quickly improve the quality of your drinking water? According to a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, sunlight and a twist of lime might do the trick. Researchers found that adding lime juice to water that is treated with a solar disinfection method removed detectable levels of harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) significantly faster than solar disinfection alone. The results are featured in the April 2012 issue of American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-sunlight-lime-juice-safer.html Health Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:14:35 EST news253883668 Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered how exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. Inorganic arsenic, which affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen. A growing body of evidence suggests that cancer is a stem-cell based disease. Normal stem cells are essential to normal tissue regeneration, and to the stability of organisms and processes. But cancer stem cells are thought to be the driving force for the formation, growth, and spread of tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-arsenic-stem-cells-cancerous-spurring.html Cancer Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:27:25 EST news252746818 Where a child lives can greatly affect his or her risk for asthma. According to a new study by scientists at Columbia University, neighborhood differences in rates of childhood asthma may be explained by varying levels of air pollution from trucks and residential heating oil. Results appear online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-air-pollution-trucks-low-quality-oil.html Health Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:37:12 EST news252074227 Patient information leaflets for cancer trials are not up to the job, reveals a new study from the University of Leicester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-trial-leaflets-purpose.html Cancer Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:36:51 EST news251976998 The most current and comprehensive study in almost a decade of people with diabetes and the health care services they receive in Trinidad and Tobago has been completed by a team of experts from the Trinidad and Tobago Health Sciences Initiative’s (TTHSI) Diabetes Outreach Program. The survey focused on the South-West region.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-comprehensive-diabetes-trinidad-tobago.html Diabetes Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:14:56 EST news251010886 A consortium of federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations has published a report proposing a set of common measures and data-collection methods for use in asthma clinical research. Asthma Outcomes in Clinical Research: Report of the Asthma Outcomes Workshop, which appears as a supplement to the March 2012 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, resulted from a meeting organized by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc., with additional support for the publication from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NIH contributors were the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-standardized-outcome-asthma-clinical.html Immunology Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:38:22 EST news249914282 In an era of personalized medicine, the idea of our collective health may seem a bit old-fashioned. But as our growing population ages and alarm bells sound about the appalling prevalence of serious health threats such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, physicians, researchers and policy-makers alike are taking notice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-population-heart-health.html Health Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:35:32 EST news249554124 A study led by the University of Leicester has found that anti-obesity drugs coupled with lifestyle advice are effective in reducing weight and BMI. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-anti-obesity-drugs-lifestyle-weight-loss.html Health Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:02:09 EST news247921324 More than 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, which are proteins made by the immune system that target the body's tissues and define a condition known as autoimmunity, a study shows. The first nationally representative sample looking at the prevalence of the most common type of autoantibody, known as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), found that the frequency of ANA is highest among women, older individuals, and African-Americans. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers in Gainesville at the University of Florida also participated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-million-americans-autoantibodies-tissues.html Medical research Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:26:46 EST news245676379 A high-speed robotic screening system, aimed at protecting human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States, begins today to test 10,000 compounds for potential toxicity. The compounds cover a wide variety of classifications, and include consumer products, food additives, chemicals found in industrial processes, and human and veterinary drugs. A complete list of the compounds is publicly available at http://www.epa.gov/ncct/dsstox. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-tox21-screening-chemicals.html Other Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:12:48 EST news242482353 A first-of-its kind study led by Xiao-Cheng Wu, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports that a significant number of women are not receiving guideline-recommended treatment for breast cancer and what factors contribute. The research is published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology December 5, 2011 Early Release section. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-women-breast-cancer-adjuvant-treatment.html Cancer Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:43:08 EST news242394179 (Medical Xpress) -- Overeating is common this time of year, between the large holiday feasts and more and more sweets creeping into the kitchen. With Thanksgiving only a few days away, we asked nutrition expert Katherine Tucker, chair of the Department of Health Sciences in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, to offer her tips to eat healthy and avoid overindulging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-3qs-healthy-holidays.html Health Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:10:04 EST news241260188 Women's personal testimonies of cervical smear testing in the UK show that their experiences are often far from positive, says a new study from the University of Leicester published today in the international journal Family Practice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cervical-smears-humiliating-stressful.html Health Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:52:25 EST news240810716 Health costs exceeding $14 billion dollars, 21,000 emergency room visits, nearly 1,700 deaths, and 9,000 hospitalizations are among the staggering impacts of six climate change-related events in the United States during the last decade, according to a first-of-its-kind study published in November 2011 edition of the journal Health Affairs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-groundbreaking-quantifies-health-climate-change-disasters.html Health Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:23:04 EST news240077486 A major study calling for levels of obesity among South Asians to be recalculated has been published by researchers from the University of Leicester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-limit-south-asian-obesity.html Health Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:34:32 EST news239974465 Research commissioned by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and carried out by research teams from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) and the Universities of Exeter (Sport and Health Sciences) and Brunel (Health Economics Research Group), has called into question the effectiveness of exercise referral schemes as they are delivered at present. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-weak-evidence-referrals.html Health Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:01:26 EST news239860861