This week’s New England Journal of Medicine reported that annual chest computed tomography (CT) scans on those at risk for lung cancer can detect it earlier, at a more treatable stage. In the study, more than 31,000 people in the United States and overseas underwent spiral CT scans of their chests at the beginning and again in seven to 18 months unless something was detected on the first scan.
New research shows that higher levels of uric acid are strongly associated with high blood pressure in blacks, suggesting that a simple blood test could predict risk and that treatments to lower uric acid may be a novel way to reduce hypertension-related complications in this population.
The unassuming C. elegans nematode worm, a 1-millimeter workhorse of the genetics lab, is quite similar to human beings in its genetic susceptibility to nicotine dependence, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Scientists supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, report in this week?s New England Journal of Medicine that pregnant women who received non-surgical treatment for their periodontal, or gum, disease did not also significantly lower their risk of delivering a premature or low-birthweight baby.
Infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome have abnormalities in the brainstem, a part of the brain that helps control heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, temperature and arousal, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The finding is the strongest evidence to date suggesting that innate differences in a specific part of the brain may place some infants at increased risk for SIDS.
An important new study released finds that the tobacco companies’ youth prevention campaigns do nothing to reduce youth smoking rates and the industry?s parent-focused ads may actually increase intention to smoke among older teens. The findings, published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Public Health, are further evidence that Big Tobacco cannot be the source for kids when it comes to learning about the dangers associated with tobacco use.
To highlight the symptoms of lung cancer health minister Rosie Winterton today launched Lung Cancer Awareness Month at the Royal Mail’s South London Mail Centre, where she heard first hand the experiences of lung cancer patients and met representatives from Royal Mail, the voluntary sector and health professionals.
Researchers in New Zealand are sceptical of US findings that cot death, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), may be caused by an abnormality in the brain.
Though SIDS cannot be prevented, parents of infants are encouraged by pediatricians and popular parenting books to take several precautions in order to reduce the likelihood of SIDS or cot death.
Smokers will soon be confronted with a new set of graphic warnings on their cigarette packets, with seven gruesome pictures to be added to those already on display. From today, tobacco manufacturers can introduce a second set of seven images on cigarette packs, and all cigarette packs must be printed with this second set by 1 March 2007.