Research | Page 618 of 638 | SpiritIndia.com

Heart Disease :: Decline in Cardiovascular Disease Rates

Adults with and without diabetes have benefited similarly from the decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates over the last several decades, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). However the study, which is published in the November 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that people with diabetes still have twice the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people without diabetes.

Cancer :: Scientists create model that predicts follicular lymphoma survival

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have created a model that predicts the survival of follicular lymphoma patients based on the molecular characteristics of their tumors at diagnosis. The model is based on two sets of genes – called survival-associated signatures – whose activity was found to be associated with good or poor prognosis for patients with the cancer. The scientists’ results, to be published in the November 19, 2004, New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that immune cells infiltrating follicular lymphoma tumors have an important impact on survival – both signatures came from such immune cells.

Nutrition :: Major Initiatives for Dietary Supplements

The Food and Drug Administration announced three major regulatory initiatives designed to further implement the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). These initiatives — a regulatory strategy, an open public meeting, and a draft guidance document for industry — are significant steps FDA has taken in the implementation of DSHEA.

HIV :: Ranbaxy withdraws all its antiretroviral medicines from WHO prequalificat

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited India has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that it is voluntarily withdrawing all its antiretrovirals (all the product dossiers under assessment and all prequalified products) from WHO prequalification. This action was taken after the company found discrepancies in the documentation relating to proof of the products’ bioequivalence with originator medicines. The company has already presented WHO with a plan indicating proposed dates for the submission of new study reports for these products. The first study is expected to be completed by December 2004.

Epilepsy :: A call to improve treatment, services and prevention of epilepsy

With the launch of a new report, the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy (GCAE) is urging governments to improve treatment, services and prevention of epilepsy in the Western Pacific Region.

Lifestyle :: Surroundings can encourage active Lifestyles

A new $2.8 million effort, partnering public and private funding agencies, will examine how better community design encourages people to be more physically active in their daily lives. Researchers will identify how our built environment contributes to obesity and how environmental changes can combat a growing public health problem.

Infertility :: Sperm cells are grown in lab

A team of researchers working with cells from mice has overcome a technical barrier and succeeded in growing sperm progenitor cells in laboratory culture. The researchers transplanted the cells into infertile mice, which were then able to produce sperm and father offspring that were genetically related to the donor mice.

Heart Disease :: Olive oil may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability of a qualified health claim for monounsaturated fat from olive oil and reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Parenting :: Parents need child development information to identify problems

Groups of immigrant mothers from Japan and South America knew less about child development than did their European American counterparts, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

Psychiatry :: Smokers with psychiatric disorders consume most cigarettes

Adults with nicotine dependence and/or psychiatric disorders consume 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States, according to results of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study reported in the November issue of the “Archives of General Psychiatry (Volume 61).” Based on the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), the article provides the first national estimates among U.S. adults of the prevalence and co-occurrence of nicotine dependence and a broad array of other psychiatric disorders including alcohol and drug abuse and dependence, mood and anxiety disorders, and personality disorders as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).”