Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2010 – Intermittent exotropia, a condition in which the eyes turn outward while looking at an object, occurs in about 1% of American children and is less common than esotropia, where the eyes turn inward. In an article published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, followed 135 patients with intermittent exotropia over a 20-year period and found that slightly more than 90% of these children became nearsighted by the time they reached their 20s.
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Deep under the Mediterranean Sea small animals have been discovered that live their entire lives without oxygen and surrounded by 'poisonous' sulphides. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology report the existence of multicellular organisms (new members of the group Loricifera), showing that they are alive, metabolically active, and apparently reproducing in spite of a complete absence of oxygen.
For osteoporosis patients unable to exercise, help may be on the way. That's because scientists have discovered precisely how mechanical stress, such as exercise, promotes new bone growth. This opens the door to entirely new therapies that can trick bones into thinking they are getting a workout. The research report describing this advance is published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org).
When forest biologist Claire Williams boards ferries bound for North Carolina's Outer Banks, the barrier islands that line the N.C. coast, the ferry captains call her the "Pollen Lady."
Each spring from 2006 to 2009, Williams traveled back and forth from the islands to the mainland, collecting pine pollen blown far offshore. She wanted to find out if pollen from the loblolly pine—the most commonly planted tree in the southern United States—can still germinate after drifting long distances.
"Reducing global neonatal mortality is crucial. In low-income countries, most births and deaths occur at home," state authors of a Policy Forum published in PLoS Medicine this week. David Osrin from University College London and colleagues from Ekjut, India, discuss the critical importance of reducing global neonatal mortality in developing countries and how community-based approaches can help.
Erectile dysfunction is one of the most prevalent diabetes-induced complications in men; current estimates suggest that as many as 75% of men with diabetes will develop some degree of ED, and in many cases diabetics develop more severe forms of ED that are less responsive to standard drugs.
An analysis by Mount Sinai researchers of over eight years of dietary data from more than 400,000 people has found that the relationship between high consumption of fruits and vegetables and a reduced risk of cancer is not as strong as commonly thought. The study is published online April 6, 2010 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-04/jaaj-ltf040210.php">Chinese.
For patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in remission, withdrawal of treatment with the drug methotrexate over 12 months vs. 6 months did not reduce the rate of relapse, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.
This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-04/jaaj-gva040210.php">Chinese.
Among kidney transplant donors, variation of a gene that is an inhibitor of the development of fibrous connective tissue is significantly associated with an increased risk of graft failure, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.
After receiving abnormal results on a flexible sigmoidoscopy screening test, more than 25 percent of participants in a large national trial did not go to a doctor for the recommended follow-up test, a diagnostic colonoscopy. Blacks in the study were less likely than whites to have the follow-up colonoscopy, according to a study published online April 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
An analysis of dietary data from more than 400,000 men and women found only a weak association between high fruit and vegetable intake and reduced overall cancer risk, according to a study published online April 6, 2010 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
DALLAS, April 6, 2010 — People at lower socioeconomic levels die more often within five to 10 years after heart surgery than those at higher socioeconomic levels, regardless of race and gender, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
In the study, researchers tracked the survival of 23,330 people (15,156 white men, 6,932 white women, 678 black men and 564 black women) who underwent heart bypass or valve surgery between 1995 and 2005.
ST. LOUIS -- In a broad-based review of studies focused on drugs that treat anxiety, a Saint Louis University doctor found no evidence supporting the use of so-called "natural" treatments in combating the effects of anxiety.
In the first survey of sand flies in Panama to use genetic barcoding, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Gorgas Memorial Laboratories identified 20 sand fly species from Barro Colorado Island. Two species carried Leishmania naiffi, a parasite that causes cutaneous leishmaniasis: persistent, itchy skin lesions. Three species carried Wolbachia, a bacterial parasite of insects that could contribute to a strategy to control the flies and limit disease transmission.
As many as 20 percent of adults with known risk factors are currently undiagnosed but suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), states a research article (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091784.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.
COPD is a common and costly respiratory condition that is estimated to affect 10% of people 40 years of age and older.