Culture

Teenage physical fitness reduces the risk of suicidal behavior

Being in good physical shape at 18 years of age can be linked with a reduced risk of attempted suicide later in life. So says a study of over one million Swedish men conducted by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

A new, extensive report from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare on child and adolescent health shows that teenagers and young adults in Sweden have worse mental health than their age cohorts in other western countries.

Socioeconomic status plays major role in opioid pain control

Patients in moderate to severe pain in emergency rooms across the U.S. are less likely to receive opioid pain medications if they are black, Hispanic, poor, or have less education, compared to more affluent patients, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The study took place against the backdrop of a national epidemic of narcotics abuse, combined with a need to satisfy patients' legitimate complaints of pain.

Huge falls in diabetes mortality in UK and Canada since mid-1990s

Both the UK and Canada have experienced huge falls in diabetes-related mortality since the mid-1990s, with the result that the gap in mortality risk between those with and without diabetes has narrowed substantially. The findings are in new research published in Diabetologia, the Journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and written by Dr Marcus Lind, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and colleagues.

Issue III registry defines best syncope candidates for cardiac pacing

Athens, Greece 26 June 2013. Two important studies were released at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session II at EHRA EUROPACE 2013. The PREFER AF study2 found that Oral anticoagulation is now used in over 85% of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) eligible for therapy.

Patient suicide and homicide risk often missed say researchers

The assessment of risk in patients who go on to die by suicide or commit homicide is often poor, a new study has found.

A report by The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry (NCI) into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness out today has raised concerns about the way that risk is assessed and led to criticism of the tick-box approach to clinical practice.

Major rethink needed if chemical industry is to meet greenhouse gas targets

The UK chemical industry requires 'an urgent and radical rethink' into how it produces chemicals if it is to play its part in meeting Government's stringent greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 80% plus by 2050.

Exaggeration, exaggeration, exaggeration: Parties over-egg claims on education

Exaggeration, exaggeration, exaggeration: parties over-egg claims on education

Both major political parties have overstated their claims and counter-claims on education, according to an independent review of Labour's record in office.

The report, led by Professor Anthony Heath from The University of Manchester, says governments mostly fail to introduce policies which can be rigorously evaluated.

The report, published this month in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, praises Labour 's policy on further education and Education Maintenance Allowance.

Efficacy of acupressure to relieve migraine nausea presented at International Headache Congress

Boston, MA, June 26, 2013 – Nausea is one of the most debilitating symptoms of migraine and affects 80 percent of migraine suffers in the United States. Leading headache physician, Dr. Zoltan Medgyessy of the Berolina Clinic in Lohne, Germany demonstrated in a trial that pressure to the P6 antiemetic point on the inner wrist with an acupressure wristband is an effective and quick therapy for relieving nausea of migraine sufferers. He will be presenting his findings to the U.S. for the first time at the International Headache Congress in Boston, MA on June 27 – 30, 2013.

Women like computer science if media nixes 'nerd' stereotype

Parents and teachers like to tell children they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. But are there inaccurate stereotypes in the media that nudge them away from certain careers?

Death rates from heart disease continue to decline in most of the EU

Death rates from heart disease in the European Union have more than halved in many countries since the early 1980s, according to new research published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1]. In the majority of countries, there have been ongoing steady reductions in heart disease death rates in both sexes and most age groups, including among younger people, despite increases in obesity and diabetes during this time. However, heart disease remains a leading cause of death in Europe.

Health systems should be re-organized to better help stroke patients

Patients who have experienced a stroke spend a substantial amount of time and effort seeking out, processing, and reflecting on information about the management of their condition because the information provided by health services worldwide is currently inadequate, according to a study by UK and US researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Delivering the best care to the right patient at the right time

There are two popular models when it comes to delivering the best healthcare – using evidence-based guidelines or applying personalized medicine. Each method has its own merits and drawbacks, but according to one Northwestern Medicine® cardiologist, when the two theories are integrated the result is an optimal healthcare delivery model that is both less expensive and better for the patient.

Telecoupling pulls pieces of sustainability puzzle together

Global sustainability is like a high-stakes jigsaw puzzle – and an international group of scientists have created a new framework to assemble the big picture without losing pieces.

Scientists led by Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Michigan State University's Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability, have built an integrated way to study a world that has become more connected – with faster and more socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. They say "telecoupling" describes how distance is shrinking and connections are strengthening between nature and humans.

First-ever therapeutic offers hope for improving blood transfusions

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have developed an unprecedented approach to restore nitric oxide (NO) to donated blood, a breakthrough that could dramatically reduce harmful effects from transfusions.

IDIBELL and ICO project to improve diagnosis of Lynch syndrome

The Fundación Mutua Madrileña, in its 10th Call for Aids to Research, has selected a project to improve the diagnosis of Lynch syndrome led by researcher Marta Pineda, from the Hereditary Cancer research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). The aid is provided with 33,000 euros and has a duration of two years.

Hereditary predisposition to cancer