Our body reacts to blood loss by stimulating the production of red blood cells (erythrocytes). The cells of the hematopoietic (blood-forming) system in the bone marrow do so upon receipt of a signal by a hormone called erythropoietin, or Epo for short. This hormone is produced mainly by the kidney that increases the Epo level by up to a thousand-fold as a response to falling oxygen saturation of the blood.
Body
A study in mice reveals that prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, like bisphenol-A (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES), may program a fetus for life. Therefore, adult women who were exposed prenatally to BPA or DES could be at increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study accepted for publication in Hormones & Cancer, a journal of The Endocrine Society.
A team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists has refined remote sensing tools for identifying invasive Ashe juniper shrubs and trees in central Texas and nearby regions. These findings can help rangeland managers determine the extent and severity of Ashe juniper infestations and boost mitigation efforts.
A comprehensive health promotion program reduced cardiovascular disease-related medical and hospital costs, according to a new study.
CSX Transportation, a national company with 30,000 employees, developed the program in 2004 to address employees' high rates of cardiovascular disease when compared to national benchmarks and the associated higher healthcare costs.
A pharmacist-led home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) program supported by the American Heart Association's Heart 360 website dramatically improved blood pressure control for patients with uncontrolled hypertension, according to a study.
More than 350 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, ages 18 to 85 years, and with Internet access were randomized to the Usual Care (UC) group or the HBPM group. All patients had their blood pressure measured in the clinic at the start of the study and at six months.
Oxford, UK, 21 May 2010 – New and universally applicable definitions of malnutrition are published in the current issue of Clinical Nutrition. These are the result of a major international collaboration that has been endorsed by ESPEN and the American nutrition society ASPEN. The importance of the work is emphasised by the unusual step that has been taken in arranging dual publication in Clinical Nutrition and the ASPEN journal JPEN. It is expected that these definitions will take precedence in much future work.
A simple blood test can now predict whether newborn babies are at high risk of developing allergies as they grow older, thanks to research involving the University of Adelaide.
Professor Tony Ferrante, an immunologist from SA Pathology and the Children's Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, says the new marker may be the most significant breakthrough in allergy testing for some decades.
Cancer and diabetes – are risk factors the same for these two diseases? Or does diabetes cause processes in the body which promote the onset or growth of cancer? It is still unclear why diabetics have a higher rate of cancer than people who are not affected by this metabolic disorder.
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2010 — Sexual activity declines in the year after heart attack for patients who don't get instructions from their doctors about when it's safe to resume sex, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 11th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.
Tai Chi, a low impact martial art, has been associated with reduced stress, anxiety and depression, and enhanced mood, in both healthy people and those with chronic conditions. A systematic review of the subject, published in the open access journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, found that although Tai Chi does appear to have positive psychological effects, more high quality, randomized trials are needed.
TUSTIN, Calif., May 20, 2010 -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and viral infections, will present data from three Phase II clinical trials highlighting the clinical potential of its unique phosphatidylserine (PS)-targeting antibody bavituximab for the treatment of solid tumors.
CHICAGO – Breast and prostate cancer patients who regularly exercise during and after cancer treatment report having a better quality of life and being less fatigued, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Pacemaker reuse may be a safe, effective and ethical alternative to address the medical needs for people in Third World countries who couldn't otherwise afford therapy, according to a new study.
Researchers examined pacemaker reuse compared with a control population of new device implantation in studies from Jan. 1, 1975 to July 1, 2009. They assessed complication rates, risk of infection, physiological complications and device malfunction.
A nationwide smoking ban would result in more than 18,000 fewer heart attack hospitalizations in the year following such a ban and millions of dollars in direct cost savings, according to a new study.
Smoking is a well established risk factor for heart attack. Researchers examined the potential impact of a nationwide comprehensive smoking ban legislation on the incidence of hospital admissions for heart attack.
New research has found that an experimental Ebola vaccine developed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health protects monkeys against not only the two most lethal Ebola virus species for which it was originally designed, both recognized in 1976, but also against a newer Ebola virus species that was identified in 2007.