Body | Page 5053 | Science Codex

Depressed dialysis patients more likely to be hospitalized or die, UT Southwestern researcher finds

DALLAS – Sept. 12, 2008 – Dialysis patients diagnosed with depression are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized or die within a year than those who are not depressed, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

In the study, available online and in the Sept. 15 issue of Kidney International, researchers monitored 98 dialysis patients for up to 14 months. More than a quarter of dialysis patients received a psychiatric diagnosis of some form of depression based on a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM IV).

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2008

To arrange for an interview with a researcher, please contact the Communications and External Relations staff member identified at the end of each tip. For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov.

TRANSPORTATION -- New data available . . .

Gender differences in experience of rheumatism

Rheumatoid arthritis is often a more painful experience for women than it is for men, even though the visible symptoms are the same. Scientists are now saying that doctors should take more account of these subjective differences when assessing the need for medication. This and other findings are being presented at a congress currently in progress on gender medicine arranged by Karolinska Institutet.

New research shows physical therapy as effective as arthroscopic knee surgery

ALEXANDRIA, VA, Sept 11, 2008 — A new study questioning the usefulness of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee should encourage patients to consider physical therapy as an effective non-surgical option, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The study was published in the September 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Moving quarks help solve proton spin puzzle

New theory work at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has shown that more than half of the spin of the proton is the result of the movement of its building blocks: quarks. The result, published in the Sept. 5 issue of Physical Review Letters, agrees with recent experiments and supercomputer calculations.

Anti-tumor therapy with endoscopic ultrasound may fight cancer more safely and effectively

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 12, 2008 - The chairman of EUS2008 today announced that investigational research on a therapeutic technique that will allow physicians to directly inject malignant tumors with cancer fighting agents from inside the body will be presented at the 16th International Symposium of Endoscopic Ultrasonography (EUS2008) in San Francisco on September 12-13.

Key component of debilitating lung disease identified

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a close correlation between the decline in a key component of the lung's antioxidant defense system and the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in humans. COPD is a degenerative condition that decreases the flow of air through the lungs as the lung's air sacs are damaged.

COPD? Eat your veggies

You know it's good for you in other ways, but could eating your broccoli also help patients with chronic lung disease? It just might.

According to recent research from Johns Hopkins Medical School, a decrease in lung concentrations of NRF2-dependent antioxidants, key components of the lung's defense system against inflammatory injury, is linked to the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in smokers. Broccoli is known to contain a compound that prevents the degradation of NFRP.

Erectile dysfunction related to sleep apnea may persist, but is treatable

For sufferers of sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction (ED) is often part of the package. New research indicates that ED in cases of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) may be linked to the chronic intermittent hypoxia—oxygen deprivation— (CIH) that patients with OSAS experience during episodes of obstructed breathing.

Say 'goodbye' to back fat rolls

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. –Even as many of us yearn to wear the sheer, body-hugging fashions available today, we are stopped by our rear reflection and the sight of dreaded back fat rolls and lumps. A study published in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), reveals a new back lift procedure that removes these unsightly bumps and bulges while hiding the scar under the bra line.

The first new mineral with post-spinel structure is approved by CNMNC of IMA

Xiete is the first new mineral with post-spinel structure found by a Chinese-American team from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, which has recently been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association. The data of this new mineral are reported in Issue 21 (November, 2008) of Chinese Science Bulletin.

My, what big teeth you had! Extinct species had large teeth on roof of mouth

When the world's land was congealed in one supercontinent 240 million years ago, Antarctica wasn't the forbiddingly icy place it is now. But paleontologists have found a previously unknown amphibious predator species that probably still made it less than hospitable.

The species, named Kryostega collinsoni, is a temnospondyl, a prehistoric amphibian distantly related to modern salamanders and frogs. K. collinsoni resembled a modern crocodile, and probably was about 15 feet in length with a long and wide skull even flatter than a crocodile's.

Mate selection more biologically determined in some human populations

Some human populations may rely on biological factors in addition to social factors when selecting a mate. In a recent study, published September 12 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, scientists in China, France, and the United Kingdom report genomic data showing that immunity traits may be involved in mate choice in some human populations.

A strict Mediterranean diet can help reduce deaths from major chronic diseases

Sticking to a full Mediterranean diet provides substantial protection against major chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

A 'score' based on adherence to the Mediterranean diet could be used as an effective preventive tool for reducing the risk of premature death in the general population, say the authors.

Researchers develop nano-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.