Culture

A new study of generally healthy men who used testosterone replacement therapy to normalize testosterone levels has found that taking supplemental testosterone does not increase their risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City studied 1,472 men between the ages of 52 and 63 who had low testosterone levels and no prior history of heart disease. The men were patients at Intermountain Healthcare hospitals.

A lack of vitamin D can result in weak bones. Recent studies also show that vitamin D deficiency is linked to more serious health risks such as coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

And now, a new study shows what level of deficiency puts someone at risk of developing these heart problems.

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City have found that patients are fine from a heart standpoint, and may need no further treatment, if their vitamin D level is anywhere above 15 nanograms per milliliter.

HOUSTON - (Nov. 9, 2015) - The continued marketing and use of experimental stem cell-based interventions inside and outside the United States is problematic and unsustainable, according to a new paper by science policy and bioethics experts at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and Wake Forest University. Disillusioned patients, tired of waiting for the cures they were promised, are seeking unproven stem cell-based treatments that are causing more harm than good, said the experts, who argue that public policy is needed to reduce this form of "stem cell tourism."

Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge have unearthed the earliest known European Christian church in the tropics on one of the Cabo Verde islands, 500km off the coast of West Africa, where the Portuguese established a stronghold to start the first commerce with Africa south of the Sahara. This turned into a global trade in African slaves from the 16th century, in which Cabo Verde played a central part as a major trans-shipment centre.

Clarksburg MD - In a major scientific breakthrough, a drug used to treat Parkinson's and related diseases may be able to delay or prevent macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness among older Americans.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Medicine, are a groundbreaking effort in the fight against age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects as many as 11 million Americans. AMD hinders central vision, and even when it does not lead to blindness it can severely reduce the ability to read, drive, and recognize faces.

SAN FRANCISCO--November 9, 2015--At the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting, Samumed unveiled groundbreaking pre-clinical and clinical research that demonstrated successful modulation of the Wnt pathway for potential applications in regenerative medicine. Samumed researchers have developed an injectable investigational drug that inhibits the Wnt pathway, causing endogenous stem cells to regenerate knee cartilage in animals.

Future Science Group (FSG) today announced the publication of a new article in Future Science OA, reporting data demonstrating the possibility of measuring 10 biomarkers relevant to autism spectrum disorder in adult saliva.

New Haven, Conn.--For the first time, research shows that a type 2 diabetes drug significantly reduces hospitalizations and death from heart failure.

The findings, from a large clinical trial known as EMPA-REG OUTCOME, were presented by Yale professor of medicine and clinical chief of endocrinology, Dr. Silvio E. Inzucchi, at the 2015 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Session in Orlando, Florida on Nov. 9.

For years doctors have been advising patients with lupus not to get pregnant. It was assumed that the likelihood of pregnancy complications was too high in this population. However, ongoing work by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is helping identify those lupus patients who are - and aren't - at increased risk of problem pregnancies.

Amsterdam, November 9, 2015 - We all know what it's like to take a bite of something expecting one taste and getting another - it can be an enjoyable or disgusting experience. New research published in Food Research International reveals that being pleasantly surprised or disappointed with a food product can actually change a person's mood.

ORLANDO -- Mechanical CPR, in which a device is used by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers to deliver automated chest compressions during cardiac arrest resuscitation care, is associated with an equivalent survival rate for patients experiencing cardiac arrest outside of the hospital as manual CPR, according to new findings from a team of researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

ORLANDO, Florida, Nov. 9 2015 -- Intimate partners of people with heart defibrillators are more concerned about resuming sexual activity than the patients immediately after the device is implanted, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.

Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) deliver an electric shock to the heart to correct life threatening heart beats.

Nihar R. Desai, M.D., M.P.H., of the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues examined trends in percutaneous coronary intervention use, patient selection, and procedural appropriateness following the introduction of Appropriate Use Criteria. This JAMA study is being released to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.

Josep Rodes-Cabau, M.D., of Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, and colleagues randomly assigned 171 patients with an indication for atrial septal defect (ASD) closure and no history of migraine to receive dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin + clopidogrel [the clopidogrel group], n = 84) or single antiplatelet therapy (aspirin + placebo [the placebo group], n = 87) for 3 months following transcatheter ASD closure. This JAMA study is being released to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, Nov. 9, 2015 - Self-weighing can be a useful tool to help adults control their weight, but for adolescents and young adults this behavior may have negative psychological outcomes. Researchers from the University of Minnesota tracked the self-weighing behaviors of more than 1,900 young adults as part of Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) and found increases in self-weighing to be significantly related to increases in weight concern and depression and decreases in body satisfaction and self-esteem among females.