Approximately 150 people took part in the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) Public Meeting on Research Needs related to the Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanoscale Materials. The meeting was held January_4, 2007, in Arlington, Virginia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced a proposal to expand the list of allowable imports from countries recognized as presenting a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into the United States. Currently, Canada is the only minimal-risk country designated by the United States.
Scientists have shown in the past that psychological stress is linked to weight gain and fat storage — especially added fat around the waistline, where it raises the risk of heart disease. Researchers at UCSF are set to explore whether a stress-reduction program could reverse that fat storage. They seek 50 “apple-shaped,” overweight women to help them find out.
A new study on risk factors of new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) following liver transplant found that a history of obesity, impaired fasting glucose and hepatitis C infection (HCV) paired with the use of a particular immunosuppressant are associated with an increased risk of NODM. Since all of these factors can be detected prior to undergoing a transplant, treatment should be tailored to the patient’s risk.
“My father is exhausted caring for my mother with dementia. He refuses all help and I see him declining. I don’t know what to do or where to find help.” Visits over the holidays bring to the attention of adult children concerns about aging parents. More of us will be facing care giving needs as the oldest of the baby boomers will be celebrating their 61st birthdays this year and over 37 million Americans are age 65 or over, representing 12.5% of the U.S. population.
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) is proud to announce that January is Thyroid Awareness Month. This year?s theme, ?How?s Your Thyroid? Who Needs to Know?? is geared toward the fourteen million people living with an undiagnosed thyroid condition by educating them about thyroid disorders, while also helping people already diagnosed to successfully manage their condition. Once again, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) is working in cooperation with AACE to spread the message of thyroid health.
Long-acting octreotide does not improve outcomes for patients with liver cancer compared to a placebo, according to the results of a new double blind study published in the January 2007 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).
Use of the drug pexelizumab immediately before and for 24 hours after stent placement or angioplasty for certain heart attack patients did not have any significant treatment effect compared to placebo, according to a study in the January 3 issue of JAMA. The medication had shown promise in preliminary studies.
Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder show reduced pain sensitivity, a pattern that may be related to altered pain processing in the brain, according to a report in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
In the first known report of its kind, a study published in the January 1st issue of the journal SLEEP finds that sleep disturbances are common among suicide attempters, and that nightmares are associated with suicidality.