http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The average salt content of packaged bread sold in the UK has fallen by 20 per cent over the past decade. But salt levels still vary widely, indicating that further targets are required, finds research published in the online only journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-average-uk-salt-content-packaged.html Health Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:01 EST news290710784 (HealthDay)—Doctors should avoid ordering certain antibiotics for older patients who take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, such as Lipitor, Canadian researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-statins-antibiotics-toxic-reaction.html Cardiology Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:20:29 EST news290712022 New research analysing breast cancer mortality data spanning almost 40 years concludes that breast cancer screening does not yet show an effect on mortality statistics. The research, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, analysed mortality trends before and after the introduction of the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme in 1988. The research was based on an analysis of mortality statistics in the Oxford region because, unlike the rest of England, all causes of death on the death certificate, not just the underlying cause, are available prior to the commencement of the National Health Service breast cancer screening programme. In addition, mortality statistics for the whole of England, where death is recorded as an underlying cause, were analysed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-screening-affect-breast-cancer-mortality.html Cancer Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:09:48 EST news290160582 Being born preterm goes hand in hand with an increased risk for neuro-cognitive deficits. Psychologists from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Warwick, UK have investigated the relation between the duration of pregnancy and cognitive abilities under varying work load conditions. "Cognitive performance deficits of children dramatically increase as cognitive workload of tasks increases and pregnancy duration decreases," says Dr Julia Jäkel from the Ruhr-Universität. In the journal "PLOS ONE", the researchers report a new cognitive workload model describing the association between task complexity and incremental performance deficits of preterm children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-preterm-birth-affects-ability-complex.html Health Mon, 27 May 2013 08:41:31 EST news288862872 Trends in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and smoking explain a significant proportion of the decline of intestinal-type noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma (NCGA) incidence in US men between 1978 and 2008, and are estimated to continue to contribute to further declines between 2008 and 2040. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-pylori-trends-gastric-cancer-men.html Medical research Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:03 EST news288374296 The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was previously only found in birds. The findings have implications for planning the public health response to this pandemic threat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveal-population-immunity-bird-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 11:46:37 EST news288355588 The higher the percentage of people in a city, town or neighborhood with Facebook interests suggesting a healthy, active lifestyle, the lower that area's obesity rate. At the same time, areas with a large percentage of Facebook users with television-related interests tend to have higher rates of obesity. Such are the conclusions of a study by Boston Children's Hospital researchers comparing geotagged Facebook user data with data from national and New York City-focused health surveys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-facebook-track-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:00:10 EST news286037672 More than 1 in 5 seniors with Medicare Advantage plans received a prescription for a potentially harmful "high risk medication" in 2009, according to a newly published analysis by Brown University public health researchers. The questionable prescriptions were significantly more common in the Southeast region of the country, as well as among women and people living in relatively poor areas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-seniors-risky-meds-south.html Health Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:27:14 EST news284818948 A paper published today in BMJ suggests a strong association between population-wide weight change and risk of death from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-modest-population-wide-weight-loss-result.html Health Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:30:01 EST news284745666 People who smoke low-cost contraband cigarettes in Canada are less likely to stop smoking in the short term compared with people who smoke more expensive premium or discount cigarettes, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-contraband-tobacco-hinders-cessation.html Health Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:00:02 EST news281614853 Does eating too much sugar cause diabetes? For years, scientists have said "not exactly." Eating too much of any food, including sugar, can cause you to gain weight; it's the resulting obesity that predisposes people to diabetes, according to the prevailing theory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-quantity-sugar-food-linked-diabetes.html Health Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:00:16 EST news281193628 The large antiretroviral treatment (ART) scale-up in a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has led to a rapid and dramatic increase in population adult life expectancy—a gain of 11.3 years over eight calendar years (2004-2011)—and the benefit of providing ART far outweighs the cost, according to new research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scale-up-hiv-treatment-rural-south.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:00:23 EST news280676191 New York City's limit of a maximum 16-ounce size of sugar-sweetened drinks for sale in eating establishments is a positive public health move and should be replicated in Canada, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rationing-soft-sizes-good-health.html Health Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:03 EST news274958892 The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is low in countries where consumption of black tea is high, suggests a mathematical analysis of data from 50 countries, published in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prevalence-diabetes-regular-black-tea.html Diabetes Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:30:01 EST news271524624 The increase in anal cancer incidence in the U.S. between 1980 and 2005 was greatly influenced by HIV infections in males, but not females, according to a study published October 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hiv-anal-cancer-males.html HIV & AIDS Sat, 06 Oct 2012 07:15:35 EST news268726525 A new study has found that even though HIV diversifies widely within infected individuals over time, the virus strains that ultimately are passed on through heterosexual transmission often resemble the strain of virus that originally infected the transmitting partner. Learning the characteristics of these preferentially transmitted HIV strains may help advance HIV prevention efforts, particularly with regard to an HIV vaccine, according to the scientists who conducted the study. The research was led by Andrew D. Redd, Ph.D., staff scientist, and Thomas C. Quinn, M.D., senior investigator, both in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-heterosexuals-transmitted-hiv-strains-resemble.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:27:49 EST news267359257 Obese adults with excess visceral fat (fat located inside the abdominal cavity, around the body's internal organs) and biomarkers of insulin resistance had an associated increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, while obese individuals with higher amounts of total body fat and subcutaneous fat (underneath the skin) did not have this increased risk, according to a study in the September 19 issue of JAMA, and theme issue on obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-obese-adults-excess-abdominal-fat.html Diabetes Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:04:00 EST news267185033 (HealthDay)—Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy could hinder babies' brain development, impeding their mental and motor skills, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-vitamin-d-pregnancy-critical-brain.html Pediatrics Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:15:35 EST news267095723 Up to 50% of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe could be avoided by implementing population level changes such as taxation and regulation of advertising. Population level prevention will produce greater impacts on CVD than individualised approaches, according to the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation (EACPR) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-esc-percent-cvd-deaths-europe.html Cardiology Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:43:31 EST news262345403 More children are surviving cancer in Britain than ever before according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday). The improvement in survival has been driven by the increasing numbers taking part in clinical trials since 1977 when the UK Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) [2] was established. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-access-clinical-trials-survival-childhood.html Cancer Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:30:01 EST news261758728 Fewer people died or needed expensive long-term care when their physicians focused on the top risk factors for stroke and dementia, according to research reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-physicians-focus-dementia-money.html Cardiology Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:12 EST news261750736 Men who are recent immigrants and over qualified for their jobs are more than three times as likely to sustain an injury at work as their appropriately qualified peers who have been in the country for some time, suggests Canadian research published online in Injury Prevention. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-overqualified-immigrants.html Health Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:30:03 EST news261073439 In this week's PLoS Medicine, David Osrin of the UCL Institute of Child Health, UK and colleagues report findings from a cluster-randomized trial conducted in Mumbai slums that aimed to evaluate whether facilitator-supported women's groups could improve perinatal outcomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-urban-groups-women-effect-perinatal.html Health Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:00:03 EST news260553154 In order for the nation to achieve goals set by the federal government for reducing obesity rates by 2020, children in the United States would need to eliminate an average of 64 excess calories per day, researchers calculated in a study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. This reduction could be achieved by decreasing calorie intake, increasing physical activity, or both. Without this reduction, the authors predict that the average U.S. youth would be nearly four pounds heavier than a child or teen of the same age was in 2007-2008, and more than 20% of young people would be obese, up from 16.9% today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-calories-childhood-obesity-goals.html Health Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:06 EST news253207993 Epigenetics is the new hip science. Time Magazine's front cover and article, 'Why your DNA isn't your Destiny' from January 2010 explains why. Its more explicit subtitle provided the hook - 'The new science of epigenetics reveals how the choices you make can change your genes - and those of your kids'. Who wouldn't be interested in this? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-epigenetics-epidemiology-hip-hype.html Genetics Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:17:12 EST news251007329 Electronic health records and embedded tools can alert and direct pediatricians so they can better manage the weight of children and teenagers, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published online in The Journal of Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-computer-assisted-tools-pediatricians-obese-patients.html Health Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:24:33 EST news249053061 A simple physician notification system can help prevent further fractures in osteoporotic patients who have had already had fractures, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-physician-notifications-postfracture-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:03 EST news243516985 A collection of nine new articles to be published in PLoS Medicine and PLoS ONE, in conjunction with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), highlights how scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention in eastern and southern Africa can help prevent HIV not only at individual but also at community and population level as well as lead to substantial cost savings for countries due to averted treatment and care costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-scale-up-voluntary-male-circumcision-cost-effective.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:14:41 EST news241852472 Although children and adolescents in the child welfare system are at increased risk of attempted suicide compared with the general population, rates are highest before they enter care then begin to decline, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-suicide-hospitalizations-children-adolescents.html Health Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:37:21 EST news238073802 Consuming dietary supplements, including multivitamins, folic acid, iron and copper, among others, appears to be associated with an increased risk of death in older women, according to a report in the October 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-dietary-supplements-death-older-women.html Health Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:00:04 EST news237465917