Body | Page 4485 | Science Codex

Self-monitoring of blood glucose

Diabetes patients should always control their own blood sugar values if this leads to improvements in their treatment. This is the view advocated by Michael Nauck of the Bad Lauterberg Diabetes Center and his coauthors in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106[37]: 587-94), who discuss sensible approaches to blood glucose self-monitoring.

On the basis of their analysis, the authors make differentiated proposals for the cost-efficient self-monitoring of blood glucose in a manner appropriate to the patient's individual needs.

New perspectives on cancer surgery

Transgenic songbirds and the molecular biology of vocal learning

You can learn a lot from an animal. By manipulating the DNA of mice, flies, frogs and worms, scientists have discovered a great deal about the genes and molecules behind many of life's essential processes. These basic functions often work about the same in people as they do in "model" animals. But if you want to study more sophisticated cognitive processes such as humans' ability to learn language from one another, you need a more sophisticated organism.

Is obesity alone really to blame for osteoarthritis?

DURHAM, N.C. – The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight.

A Duke University study has found that the absence of the appetite hormone leptin can determine whether obese mice experience arthritis, no matter how heavy they are.

PCPs are front line defense in diagnosing serious illness in patients with acute lower back pain

A study by researchers at The George Institute for International Health in Australia found that it is rare for patients presenting to PCPs with acute lower back pain to have previously undiagnosed serious diseases. The most common serious disease cause documented was vertebral fracture, with half of the cases identified at the time of initial consultation. Full findings appear in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.

Study suggests obesity alone does not cause knee osteoarthritis in mice

In 2005 the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that globally 400 million adults were obese, defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater. WHO projects that by 2015 there will be more than 700 million obese adults worldwide. Obesity is considered to be one of the greatest risk factors for osteoarthritis, a progressive musculoskeletal disorder that is characterized by loss of joint cartilage.

Women who make poor shoe choices at risk for foot pain later in life

A recently published study determined that women who make poor shoe choices early in life suffer with foot pain in later years. Research shows that men do not experience the same foot pain as women, due to type of shoes they wear. Details of this study appear in the October issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.

Attention paramedics: uninterrupted chest-compressions key to surviving cardiac arrest

DALLAS – Sept. 29, 2009 – Maximizing the proportion of time spent performing chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) substantially improves survival in patients who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting, according to a multicenter clinical study that included UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Risk of bone fractures associated with use of thiazolidinediones

Research published this week in the open access journal, PLoS Medicine, suggests that there is an association between thiazolidinediones – a type of drug introduced in the 1990s to treat type 2 diabetes – and bone fracture.

Treatment for dementia associated with risk of hospitalization Psychotic illness and cannabis

Laura Park-Wyllie and colleagues, from St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, examined the health records of more than 1.4 million older adults in Ontario and showed that initiation of cholinesterase inhibitor therapy – a common treatment for dementia –is associated with a more than doubling of the risk of hospitalization for bradycardia.

What fruit flies can teach us about developmental biology

Pasadena, Calif.—Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have proposed a novel model that differs from a widely held hypothesis about the mechanisms by which developing animals pattern their tissues and structures.

Electric fish plug in to communicate

AUSTIN, Texas— Just as people plug in to computers, smart phones and electric outlets to communicate, electric fish communicate by quickly plugging special channels into their cells to generate electrical impulses, University of Texas at Austin researchers have discovered.

The fish generate electric fields to navigate, fight and attract mates in murky streams and rivers throughout Central and South America. They do so at night, while trying to avoid predators such as catfish that sense the electric fields.

Diabetes support -- actions speak louder than words

For physicians treating patients with diabetes, practical support is important in improving glycemic control. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health found that setting goals and pro-active follow-up helped patients achieve good glycemic control. In this study, empathic listening and eliciting patient preferences were not associated with differences in glycemic control outcomes.

Elderly suicide risk after previous attempts varies by sex

In older age groups, repeated suicide attempts constitute an increased risk for completed suicide in depressed women, while severe attempts constitute an increased risk for depressed men. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry studied suicide attempts in 100 patients who committed suicide and in an age- and sex-matched control group, investigating the effects of age on suicidal behaviour, as a risk factor for accomplished suicide.

Japanese Killifish know what they want in a mate

There may be plenty of fish in the sea but the medaka knows what it likes. A new study published in the open access journal BMC Biology shows how a single gene mutation that turns Japanese Killifish a drab grey colour renders them significantly less attractive to more colourful members of the opposite sex.