Migraine with aura (temporary visual or sensory disturbances before or during a migraine headache) is associated with a twofold increased risk of stroke, finds a study published on bmj.com today. Further risk factors for stroke among patients with migraine are being a woman, being young, being a smoker, and using oestrogen containing contraceptives.
The risk was highest among young women with migraine with aura who smoke and use oestrogen containing contraceptives.
Despite government outlawing of gagging clauses in NHS contracts, new evidence published on bmj.com today reveals how some trusts have continued to use them.
The first case relates to a dispute between Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust and Peter Bousfield, a long serving consultant, who was offered early retirement and a termination payment after he had raised a series of concerns about patient safety.
Almost half of adults surveyed in Summer 2009 in Hong Kong (45%) say they would take up free swine flu vaccination. However, this figure drops to around 1 in 7 (15%) if the price they have to pay for the vaccine reaches $HK200 (£16; €17; $26). In the absence of proved efficacy and safety, the figure decreases to less than 1 in 20 (5%), according to one of the first studies on behavioural intentions and A/H1N1 vaccination, published on bmj.com today.
UAB biologist and researcher Doug Watson, Ph.D., and his research team believe they have identified the blue crab molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) receptor, a key protein in the cellular pathway that controls molting. They are testing a compound designed to block the MIH receptor in the hopes of inducing molting.
A Dutch study that included nearly 90,000 women finds that liquid-based cytology, a commonly used alternative to conventional Pap tests, is not superior to Pap tests for the detection of cervical cancer precursors or cancer, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA.
Participation in the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines® quality improvement program significantly improves hospitals' adherence to evidence-based therapies and reduces gender- and age-related disparities in the care of coronary artery disease patients, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.
A healthy dose of exercise is good medicine, even for lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy, University of Alberta researchers have found.
The Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients (HELP) trial, a three-year study led by Kerry Courneya, Canada Research Chair in physical activity and cancer in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, found that a regimen of aerobic exercise training produced significant improvements in physical functioning and overall quality of life benefits in patients with lymphoma.
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, October 27, 2009— Supporting Los Alamos National Laboratory's role in the international Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) consortium, researchers are using the Roadrunner supercomputer to analyze vast quantities of genetic sequences from HIV infected people in the hope of zeroing in on possible vaccine target areas.
STANFORD, Calif. — William Kuo, MD, was the on-call interventional radiologist one Friday night three years ago when he received a call from the intensive care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. He was asked to attend to a 62-year-old woman who had collapsed at home and was rushed to the emergency room with massive blood clots in her lungs.
It has long been known that acids can erode tooth enamel but a new Swedish study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that strong alkaline substances can damage teeth too - substances with high pH values can destroy parts of the organic content of the tooth, leaving the enamel more vulnerable.
The study was carried out at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Sahlgrenska Academy and published in the Journal of Dentistry.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists here have identified how the motions of an enzyme are related to correctly copying genetic instructions, setting the stage for studies that can uncover what happens when DNA copying mistakes are made.
Perpetuation of DNA mistakes can cause mutations that lead to cancer and other diseases.
But before scientists can determine how and when errors are made during DNA replication, they must first fully understand what's going on when the copying process works properly – a monumental research pursuit that remains incomplete.
For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) offers hope. That's because researchers from the United States and China show that the enzyme adenosine deaminase may prevent priapism from progressing to penile fibrosis, a condition associated with the build up of scar tissue and eventual impotence. As penile fibrosis is a complication of priapism, so priapism is a complication of sickle cell disease.
A new study published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology reveals that anxiety in pregnant women impacts their babies' size and gestational age. Specifically, women with more severe and chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have affected babies.
Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants.
The answer, Tel Aviv University researchers believe, can be found in a patient's genes. And if their research is successful, these scientists may be able to provide psychiatrists with a simple genetic test to revolutionize the treatment of depression.
Millions of people around the world use medicines based on statins to lower their blood cholesterol, but new research from the University of Gothenburg, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, shows that statins may also be effective in the treatment of cancer.