http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/news-blog.html News blog From Cancer blog Thu, 29 Mar 2007 03:40:46 GMT en-us http://www.cancer-blog.org/images/blogs/news-blog-21020.jpg http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/news-blog.html 104 100 http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/the-house-of-the-dead.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/the-house-of-the-dead.html Thu, 29 Mar 2007 03:40:46 GMT If you get caught with your hands in the till, it is best to own up. If you are a politician, it is best to own up quietly. People might not notice. And there is no better place in which to own up than the House of the Dead

The Ferret Fancier (why does he call himself that?) has been delving around in the annals of the House of the Dead, and has caught Lord Hunt "in flagrante".

Delicious.

Patsy has been pretending that the selection of junior doctors suitable for higher professional training was going to be carried out by senior doctors. Seems reasonable.

A ......... ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/chemical-cues-for-embryonic-stem-cells.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/chemical-cues-for-embryonic-stem-cells.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT In order to differentiate and specialize, stem cells require very specific environmental cues in a very specific order, and scientists have so far been unable to prod them to go through each of the necessary steps. But now, for the first time, a study in mice by Rockefeller University scientists shows that embryonic stem cells implanted in the brain appear to develop into fully differentiated granule neurons, the most plentiful neuron in the cerebellum. The findings were reported Feb. 20 in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/few-primary-care-practitioners-offer-hiv-tests.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/3-2007/few-primary-care-practitioners-offer-hiv-tests.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Even as the AIDS epidemic in Los Angeles County has shifted largely to Hispanics, primary care practitioners serving this segment of the population often fail to offer either HIV testing or safer sex advice to their patients, according to a new UCLA AIDS Institute study. The study, published in the recent issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association, found that only 41 percent of these primary care providers including doctors, nurse practitioners and doctor assistants surveyed between March and June 2004 had regularly offered advice about sexually transmitted infection or safe sex to patients during the prior six months. Only 36 percent had offered more than 20 HIV tests during the same period, despite a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control in 2001 that physicians in high HIVprevalence areas routinely offer HIV testing to their patients........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/antidepressants-to-decrease-alcohol-consumption.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/antidepressants-to-decrease-alcohol-consumption.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT CIHR-funded study explored the relationship between use of antidepressants and level of alcohol consumption, examining whether using antidepressants affected the link between depression and level of alcohol consumption. The research conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) concluded that women suffering from depression consumed more alcohol than women who did not experience depression, regardless of antidepressant use. This finding differs significantly from rates found in male counterparts. While men suffering from depression generally consume more alcohol than non-depressed men, those who use antidepressants consume alcohol at about the same level as non-depressed men........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/protecting-womens-mood-under-stress.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/protecting-womens-mood-under-stress.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT German scientists have found additional evidence that the stress hormone cortisol can have positive effects in certain situations. Eventhough chronic stress, which brings long-term elevations of cortisol in the bloodstream, can weaken the immune system and induce depression, this new study adds to mounting evidence that cortisol given near in time to a physical or psychological stress may lessen the stressor's emotional impact. Psychology experts are particularly interested in what this means for preventing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings are reported in the recent issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA)........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/robot-help-users-regain-limb-function.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/robot-help-users-regain-limb-function.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT A robotic exoskeleton controlled by the wearer's own nervous system could help users regain limb function, which is encouraging news for people with partial nervous system impairment, say University of Michigan researchers. The ankle exoskeleton developed at U-M was worn by healthy subjects to measure how the device affected ankle function. The U-M team has no plans to build a commercial exoskeleton, but their results suggest promising applications for rehabilitation and physical therapy, and a similar approach could be used by other groups who do build such technology........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/patients-with-icds-have-less-driving-restrictions.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/patients-with-icds-have-less-driving-restrictions.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT People who receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) as a preventative measure don't need the same driving restrictions as people who get an ICD after surviving a life-threatening heart rhythm disturbance, according to an updated scientific statement. The statement, issued by the American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society, is an addendum to "Personal and Public Safety Issues Related to Arrhythmias that May Affect Consciousness." It will be published online today in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and on the Heart Rhythm Society's Web site........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/nano-magnets-to-enhance-medical-imaging.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/2-2007/nano-magnets-to-enhance-medical-imaging.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Nanoscale magnets in the form of iron-containing molecules might be used to improve the contrast between healthy and diseased tissue in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-as long as the concentration of nanomagnets is carefully managed-as per a new report* by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators. Molecular nanomagnets are a new class of MRI contrast agents that may offer significant advantages, such as versatility in design, over the compounds used today........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/1-2007/how-to-make-the-most-of-health-dollars.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/1-2007/how-to-make-the-most-of-health-dollars.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Like a one-size-fits-all shirt that doesn't fit anyone very well, American health insurance plans charge every person the same out of pocket cost for medical services - regardless of their effect on a person's health. So, whether your visit to the doctor is for life-threatening cancer, or just the common cold or a sprained ankle, you'll pay the same co-pay or deductible. These cash costs set by your employer and your insurance plan are designed to keep you from using "too much" health care........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/impulsiveness-linked-to-brains-reward-center.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/impulsiveness-linked-to-brains-reward-center.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT If you are acting lately very impulsively now you can blame on your brain. A new imaging study shows that our brains react with varying sensitivity to reward and suggests that people most susceptible to impulseandmdashthose who need to buy it, eat it, or have it, nowshow the greatest activity in a reward center of the brain. The study appears in the December 20 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience....... ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/many-ulcerative-colitis-patients-are-not-compliant.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/many-ulcerative-colitis-patients-are-not-compliant.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT A large survey supported by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) shows that 65 percent of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients are less than fully compliant with first-line therapies to treat their disease. The findings are significant because an earlier study found that patients less than fully compliant experience five times the number of disease flare-ups........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/software-access-to-brain-atlases.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/12-2006/software-access-to-brain-atlases.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT USC computer scientists have found a cheap, quick and copyright- respecting way to turn existing print brain atlases into multimedia resources. The software, now available in an experimental beta version for free download, is a robust and user-friendly interface that works on all the most popular computer operating systems........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/fortified-milk-for-preschool-children.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/fortified-milk-for-preschool-children.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Consumption of milk fortified with specific micronutrients-zinc, iron, selenium, copper, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E-significantly reduces diarrhea and acute lower respiratory illness among children in developing countries, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Center for Micronutrient Research at Annamalai University in India. The study was published November 28, 2006, on the website of the British Medical Journal........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/a-gene-that-enhances-muscle-performance.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/a-gene-that-enhances-muscle-performance.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT A team of researchers, led by scientists at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth College, have identified and tested a gene that dramatically alters both muscle metabolism and performance. The researchers say that this finding could someday lead to treatment for muscle diseases, including helping the elderly who suffer from muscle deterioration and improving muscle performance in endurance athletes........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/no-link-found-between-viagra-and-hiv-infection.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/no-link-found-between-viagra-and-hiv-infection.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications known as Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have been used by millions of men as safe and effective management options associated with high rates of patient and partner satisfaction. Recent reports have appeared, however, that some individuals have misused this class of drug, combining them with narcotics such as methamphetamines. These reports further note that such individuals may be, in particular, at an increased risk for HIV. If such claims of a large and expanding use of PDE-5 inhibitors are correct, this would signify an important public health concern........ ]]> http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/traditional-books-provide-parent-child-interaction.html http://www.cancer-blog.org/blogs/permalinks/11-2006/traditional-books-provide-parent-child-interaction.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:27:16 GMT Parents and pre-school children have a more positive interaction when sharing a reading experience with a traditional book as opposed to an electronic book or e-book, according scientists at Temple University's Infant Laboratory and Erikson Institute in Chicago. This shared positive experience from traditional books characteristically promotes early literacy skills........ ]]>